# Ep 281: Metal Clay, Desiccants, Silica Gel, and Keeping Filament Dry

- Show: [Hackaday Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast)
- Published: 2024-07-26
- Length: 38m
- Episode: 281
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry
- Listen: https://hackaday.libsyn.com/ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry

## Summary

Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Christina Panos discuss a variety of hardware hacks, including Leah Beakley’s use of metal clay for 3D printing bronze and Marcine Plaza’s mechanical keyboard laptop. They also cover Aaron Wayne’s use of X-ray CT scanning to identify contents of sealed Pokémon card packs and Action Lab’s technique for welding wood through friction. The episode concludes with a deep dive into the material science of hygroscopic 3D printing filaments, specifically how water degrades nylon and PLA, and the importance of proper storage with desiccants like silica gel.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=1) Introduction: 2024 Tiny Games Contest and What's That Sound
- [2:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=129) Leah Beakley's Metal Clay 3D Printing and Slicer Design
- [7:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=426) Marcine Plaza's Titanium Mechanical Keyboard Laptop
- [10:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=641) Aaron Wayne's X-ray CT Scanner for Pokémon Cards
- [15:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=934) Action Lab's Wood Welding and Single-Pixel Camera
- [21:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=1290) Big Clive's Desiccant Testing and Fake Capacitors
- [26:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=1587) Quick Hacks: Robot Dog, Baron Harkonnen, and Carbon Fiber Safety
- [28:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=1731) Maya Posch's Research on Hygroscopic Filament Degradation
- [33:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-26-ep-281-metal-clay-desiccants-silica-gel-and-keeping-filament-dry#t=1981) Campus Articles: Keycap Maps, Historical Clackers, and Draggle

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Leah Beakley (other)
- Marcine Plaza (other)
- Aaron Wayne (other)
- Action Lab (other)
- Big Clive (other)
- Maya Posch (other)
- silica gel (material)
- bronze clay (material)
- nylon (material)
- PLA (material)
- ESP32 (chip)
- Arduino (other)
- Ali Express (company)
- LCSC (company)
- DigiKey (company)
- Mauser (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [423: Accountabili-buddies](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2023-12-15-423-accountabili-buddies) (Making It)
- [Episode 198: We make mistakes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2019-01-18-episode-198-we-make-mistakes) (Making It)
- [STL: Digital woodworking with MatterHackers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2023-11-10-stl-digital-woodworking-with-matterhackers) (Shop Talk Live)
- [230. 3D Printing Gets the Hannah Montana Treatment](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2025-10-07-230-3d-printing-gets-the-hannah-montana-treatment) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [349: We’ve had a series of ducks…](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2022-04-01-349-weve-had-a-series-of-ducks) (Making It)

## Citing this page

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