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Workshop woes!
Hey everyone and greetings from Finland!I've been 3D printing for good couple of years, I'd like to think I've learned a lot and I've ran into tons of different 3D printing problems too. I have over 20 years of expertise in operating large format inkjet printers and 8 years of experience running various CNC machines, like lathes and mills. I'm currently running two 3D printers (and for long hours), but I've had 4 different FDM printers so far. However, past winter here was difficult, and I'm running out of 'usual suspect' fixes.There's been nothing but trouble with my 3D printing for past months. Delamination, constant nozzle clogs, heat creep, you name it. I've been trying to do the common fixes, tweaks and adjustments, but usually after 2 or 3 days of printing generally okay, the problems resurface. My current active printers are Sovol SV05 and Artillery Sidewinder X2, the defunct ones are Ender-3 Pro and Mingda Magician X. I print mostly PLA, Wood PLA and Silk PLA. No plans to print ABS, ASA or other more high end materials yet, but if I had, I'd buy a fully enclosed heated chamber printer for that job.Thing is, the past winter was challenging here, weather-wise. The temperature in my workshop (basically a garage) fluctuated about 10 to 12C (from +12C to +24C) in relatively short intervals. When the temperature inside was below +15C, I didn't even bother switching my printers on. Even today it's really gusty outside (and still snowing, in April!) and I felt a subtle breeze inside when I was on my morning workshop stint an hour ago. I have also kept my filament spools on desk, I have a filament dryer but I'm starting to think I'm not using it properly, or enough. I've seen people on the Youtube and Interwebs claim that you don't need to dry your PLA, but I'm starting to think otherwise.I'm wondering if I could benefit from a special printer 'cabinet' where all my printers would sit, semi-enclosed? I'd place it in the farthest reach of the garage door, which is made out of cheese and helps little keeping interior temperature even remotely ambient. The cabinet would have walls on three sides, probably open top for ventilation and maybe a curtain of some kind in the front, so I can open it for the summertime. Would I be running into other problems sooner or later, and should I upgrade my household fire insurance?Any ideas from other people from colder regions?