Thermal qualities of E3D’s Edge Filament

I’m making some containers for a client who needs to evaporate water from a solution to get the weight of the solids.  It’s straightforward high school chemistry:

1. weigh container
2. add solution
3. dehydrate water in a special enclosure
4. weigh container + solids

now you have the weight of the solids.

The problem they have is that the container has to have certain chemical characteristics and fit in certain enclosures.    I’m 3d printing some prototypes to test things like “does it fit in the enclosure?” and “how easy is it to handle while wearing various types of PPE?”

I have a prototype that meets the basic requirements, hey, I wonder if they could just test dehydration with my prints.  It would save us money and time spent getting samples from an injection mold company.  I’m printing with E3D Edge filament at 240C, way above the boiling point of water.

I can even do the test at home in my oven!  Add 50mL of water, put it in the oven, set it at 125C and check it every 20 minutes…

20 minutes not looking so good.  The shadow in the lower half is actually the water-line.

40 minutes:

60 minutes:

oh well, let’s see how bad it gets… 90 minutes:

120 minutes (my Pixel doesn’t focus well in a hot oven):

and we give up at 140 minutes.   The water did evaporate but the cup is destroyed.