ReFilament

ReFilament Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from ReFilament, Recycling Center, Skene.

05/04/2026

After a good run, Refilament is coming to an end.

I’ve taken some time to be honest about where things are at. With my recovery and ongoing health concerns, I’ve decided to stop the service completely.

This wasn’t an easy decision. Refilament started as a simple idea and grew into something people actually used and supported, which I’m genuinely grateful for. Every message, order, and bit of feedback meant a lot.

Right now, priorities have shifted, and I need to focus my time and energy where it matters most.

Thank you to everyone who supported Refilament along the way.

Gerry

28/02/2026

Hi ,

I wanted to share a personal update. I’ve recently suffered a heart attack. I’m now stable and recovering, but it’s clear I need to take proper time away to focus fully on my health and recovery.

As a result, ReFilament will be pausing operations for the near future. If you have an active subscription, it will be suspended automatically and no further payments will be taken during this time, there’s nothing you need to do.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. While responses may not be immediate, we will do our best to support you and make sure everything is handled properly.

Once I’m in a stronger place and ready to return, I’ll reach out and speak with you about restarting services.

Thank you for your understanding, patience, and continued support. It genuinely means a great deal.

Gerry

04/01/2026

For the past 2 years we’ve been pulling filament drying apart, not by repeating advice, but by following the physics all the way down.

Diffusion governs moisture loss in polymers. Thermodynamics decides whether water can leave the system at all. Psychrometrics explains why a humidity number can look “better” while nothing has actually dried. Conduction, convection, radiation, airflow and pressure losses decide whether your watts go into filament… or into heating metal and marketing claims.

Once you actually map those laws onto real dryers, uncomfortable things start showing up.

So we started testing. Measuring temperatures where they matter, not where they’re convenient. Watching dew point instead of chasing relative humidity. Looking at airflow paths instead of fan RPM. Comparing what happens when you heat air versus when you heat the spool core. Logging what changes over hours, not minutes.

At the same time, we contacted vendors. Asked for base-resin data. Drying curves. Moisture specs. Test methods. Asked what their dryers are actually designed to achieve, and what’s being inferred, assumed, or quietly skipped. Some replied. Some didn’t. Some answers raised more questions than they resolved.

The takeaway so far is simple: most filament dryers don’t fail because they’re badly made — they fail because they’re built around the wrong assumptions.

You can’t defeat diffusion. You can’t dry without removing moisture. You can’t rely on RH alone. And you can’t fix airflow problems by adding more heat.

So instead of arguing online, we’ve been designing around the laws themselves. Controlling boundary conditions. Forcing airflow where it has to go. Heating the places diffusion actually cares about. Measuring the system honestly, even when the results aren’t flattering.

We’re not ready to show it yet.

But what’s coming isn’t a warmer box, a louder fan, or a bigger number on a screen.

It’s a dryer built to obey physics, not fight it.

Watch this space.

01/12/2025

Filament Dryers: What They Actually Do (And Don’t Do)
Not anti-drying. Not anti-dryer. Just the facts.

I’ve been doing some research on all the hobby filament dryers on the market — Sunlu, eSun, PrintDry, Sovol, Creality, Anycubic, Cosori, the lot. Roughly 20 unique models, 80+ rebrands.

Every hobby dryer works the same way
They heat the air around the spool. That’s it. no dehumidifier, no pressure gradient, no dew-point control.

Some have better airflow, some have a nicer case, but the mechanism is identical
1) warm air
2) weak circulation
3) sealed box
4) timer

Warm air helps the surface of the filament dry.
It does not magically dry 100% of a full wound roll.

What they claim… vs what they actually do

CLAIM: “Dries your filament thoroughly.”
FACT: They dry the outer layers and whatever filament is feeding during a print.

CLAIM: “Restores filament to its original state.”
FACT: Only if the moisture level is very low (0.05–0.5%).
The inner windings of the spool barely change.

CLAIM: “Humidity control.”
FACT: Showing humidity on a screen is not humidity control.
If the dryer can’t remove moisture from the air, the RH rises during drying.

CLAIM: “Dries a full 1kg roll.”
FACT: No hobby dryer on the market can dry the entire depth of a tightly wound 1 kg roll. None. Zero.

This is not opinion... this is polymer science.
Moisture has to diffuse through solid plastic, and warm air on the outside doesn’t fix that.

Why they seem to work anyway
Because when you print, you’re only using 30–100 cm of filament at a time. The dryer heats & dries the active outer layers as the spool unwinds. This gives good results even though the core remains unchanged. So yes dryers work during printing.
Just not in the way the marketing suggests.

Cardboard spools: the “melting glue” myth
People blame temperature.
The real culprit is Warm air and rising humidity inside a sealed dryer = the glue rehydrates and softens.

Heat and WET air is steam.
Many dryers recirculate moisture instead of removing it.

So what would dry a full roll?

Only these:
1) Vacuum drying but you still need heat
2) Industrial desiccant dryers (dew-point controlled)
3) Unspool → dry → respool

Not a single hobby dryer does any of these.
They’re all warm-air boxes.

And that’s fine.. as long as you know what you’re buying.
So should you dry filament?
Yes, absolutely, if
1) your filament absorbs moisture (nylon, PETG, TPU, etc)
2) your environment is above 50% RH
3) you’re getting popping, stringing, haze, blobs, etc

Just understand the limits
Dryers help the part you are printing, not the whole spool.
And they’re great for that.

Final thought

This post isn’t “don’t buy a dryer”.
It’s know what they can do and what they physically cannot do.

You’ll get better results
and stop expecting miracles from a warm plastic lunchbox with a fan inside.

If anyone wants the full breakdown of every dryer model, airflow type, and what’s actually happening inside the spool during drying, I can post that too.

20/11/2025

Black Friday is almost here…

Is your system ready to handle the surge?

One breakdown on the busiest day of the year can cost thousands in lost productivity and missed orders.

Abercol can help you stay ahead of the chaos. 📦⚙️ Zero downtime. Maximum output.

03/10/2025

A bit of a random one.

Anyone interested in a ticket for tonight's Feeder gig at the O2 Academy?

Get in touch.

12/09/2025

Your material handling systems are the backbone of your operations, and keeping them in top condition means fewer breakdowns, reduced downtime, and better productivity.

At Abercol, our expert servicing and repair team ensures your equipment stays efficient, reliable, and ready for the demands of your business. ⚙️✅

Visit www.abercol.co.uk to learn more.

31/08/2025

We’re Calling It, PLA Has Won (for Now).

After a year of trials, tests, failed prints and wasted spools, we’ve drawn the line: PLA can’t be treated as one stream anymore.
We’ve always separated the obvious stuff like carbon-fibre PLA, glass-fibre PLA, wood-fill, glow-in-the-dark. No surprises there they’ve never mixed cleanly. But the real headache has been the “everyday upgrades” to PLA like Tough, +, Matte, Silk, HT.

On paper they’re all just PLA. In practice? They’re chemically loaded in ways that clash when you try to recycle them together
Matte PLA has chalk/talc fillers to dull shine. Too much mineral = brittle, clogs extruders. Silk PLA has flow modifiers & polyester-like additives for gloss. Mixed with chalk-heavy Matte = micro-fractures and weak bonding. PLA+ / Tough PLA have elastomeric impact modifiers. These fight chalk-filled Matte, giving inconsistent extrusion and layer splits and HT (High-Temp PLA) has crystallisation agents for higher heat resistance. Blended with standard PLA streams means uneven shrinkage, warping, and inconsistent extrusion.

We’ve thrown everything at this
* Shredded waste into 3–6 mm chips.
* Pressed into consistent 3 mm and 5 mm sheets.
* Built water-cooled and air-cooled extruder mods.
* Controlled moisture and extrusion speeds.

None of it cracked the real problem to be honest, the additive conundrum. Every tweak that makes one type of PLA “better” makes it chemically incompatible with the next. Chalk vs flow modifiers, elastomers vs crystallisers, it’s a battlefield...

So here’s the line in the sand, we cannot run a single-stream PLA recycle that covers Tough, +, Matte, Silk, HT, Etc We’ve tested it every way, and the material science says, no!

From here on, we ask you keep separating, Glass, carbon, wood, glow as always and now also the “extras” (Tough, +, Matte, Silk, HT etc). It’s more work, but it’s the only way to make recycled filament that prints well and lasts. Better separation = better recycled filament. That’s the standard we’ll stand behind.

17/08/2025

Celebrating my 8th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

Not again..
16/08/2025

Not again..

04/08/2025

Is Today’s PLA Really Biodegradable? Let’s Talk About It

We all love PLA for 3D printing it’s plant-based, easy to use, and often marketed as “biodegradable.”
But let’s be real for a second: not all PLA is created equal anymore.
These days we’ve got:
PLA+ (stronger, shinier)
PLA Tough (flexible, drop-resistant)
Matte PLA (that sweet non-glossy look)
Silk PLA (shiny and smooth like a liar in a suit)

And the thing they all have in common? Mystery additives usually not disclosed.

So what’s likely added?
TPU or PETG for toughness → not biodegradable
Calcium carbonate or talc for matte effect → inert but not compostable
Colorants, fillers, plasticisers → depends on the formula

Lignin or starch (less common) → actually biodegradable

Now, is the base PLA itself biodegradable? Yes under industrial composting conditions.
But throw in a bunch of mystery ingredients and you’ve got a filament that might Break down partially leave microplastics or not degrade at all

So when someone says “PLA is eco-friendly,” ask

Which PLA?
Any certifications? (e.g. EN13432, ASTM D6400?)

Bottom line
If the additives are secret, the compostability is too.

Curious to see how it actually breaks down? I’m doing my own compost test..

box A is 65°C active compost.
box B is soil only.

Weekly pics incoming.

Address

Skene
AB326FA

Opening Hours

Monday 12pm - 6pm
Tuesday 12pm - 6pm
Wednesday 12pm - 6pm
Thursday 12pm - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+447704689537

Website

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