I’m currently building a hobby workshop. Mainly for woodworking, but having a 3D printer seems to be a good add-on.

My workshop is unheated and can’t be fully closed, so Its dry but humidity will come in and it can get cold during winter (-5°C coldest, freezing is rare).

I don’t need to print under those conditions but storing the printer without damage would be necessary. Is this possible or rather not advisable?

Edit: Thx for all the answers, you are great!

  • einfach_orangensaft@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    I have been printing ABS on my balcony at -8C for a few years now.

    I use a Monoprice Mini Delta and upgraded the heatbed (i removed it from the internal power supply and connected it to a old PC power supply, heats up to about 100C).

    The whole system is haused in a isolation foam box for pizza delivery…added a little plastic windo to see whats going on inside.

    At very cold temps the setup needs 10-15 min to preheat the chamber but then it prints just fine.

    The ABS filament roll is outside of the chamber and it dosent cause problems.

  • ccunix@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    My printer (ender 3 V3 SE) has just finished its first winter a modern, but uninsulated garage (insulation on the ceiling but nothing else other than the cavities in the breeze blocks). I think it got down to near freezing, but not below.

    Absolutely 0 issues with the printer itself. I have had 1 spool of PLA go a bit stringy due to moisture, but it was just sat in a cardboard box; I made no effort to keep it dry.

  • paf@jlai.luEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    To just store your printer there if you are not printing isn’t big issue as long as you don’t live in a too humid place, if I was to do that, I would leave printer in his original box to avoid collecting dust on it and would drop a few silicate bags. Two primary issues for printing will be to maintain your filament dry (enough) and warping due to the difference of temperature

  • Bluewing@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    Immediately, there should be little issues. The woodworking dust being the worst, it’s insidious.

    Long term, you will shorten the life of your printer some as all the components go from cold to hot. Will it be horribly noticeable? Possibly. I need to keep my machine shop at least at 50F/10C to keep the electronics functional and rust at bay over the long term.

  • D_C@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    I don’t see a problem.

    Though I would potentially get a bit of 50mm (2 inch) polystyrene insulation board and some polystyrene contact glue then make up a box for it.
    It’d only cost about £20 to 25 and it’s a quick and easy ‘just in case’ fallback. You know, just in case…