Recently I printed a few really cool silica gel containers, which screw into the centers of spools. The design is by KYZ Design over on MakerWorld. The holders are AMS compatible and is really well thought out to work well and print efficiently. There is an update not included in the base 3MF however, which I recommend using - its for the small lids which cover the compartments. Those updated lids can be found in the 3MF named "Test Fit Cap Trial - Read Profile Description" and are worth printing.
Regarding the silica gel itself, if you have shopped for the stuff, you will soon find there are several options. Some are just plain clear/white and others have indicator colors added. The indicators look cool and serve a function, however there are some downsides. The blue indicators use cobalt chloride and are not food safe, but I've read it's a bit cheaper. I'm no chemist, but I would not use the blue silica gel beads due to the cobalt chloride colorant. The other choice for an indicator is orange (Methyl violet) which is also not food safe (for direct contact at least), but should be safer than the blue stuff. I think the best balance for use with my filament spools is the mixed orange and clear silica gels, since they contain only 5-10% orange indicator beads and the rest is just the clear stuff with no additives. If I had pets that got into stuff I'd go with the clear beads and skip the indicators, since using a humidity sensor can tell me when it's time to change or recharge it. I picked up some of this mixed orange and clear silica gel, which was a buck cheaper than Amazon, and includes free shipping. I wish they sold smaller sizes since I don't know if I will be able to use up a gallon of the stuff, but it's still cheaper to buy that size than try to get enough in smaller quantities. Having a gallon of the stuff also allows me to add more gel to my storage containers... but I will need to print more of the silica gel containers.
Regarding the silica gel itself, if you have shopped for the stuff, you will soon find there are several options. Some are just plain clear/white and others have indicator colors added. The indicators look cool and serve a function, however there are some downsides. The blue indicators use cobalt chloride and are not food safe, but I've read it's a bit cheaper. I'm no chemist, but I would not use the blue silica gel beads due to the cobalt chloride colorant. The other choice for an indicator is orange (Methyl violet) which is also not food safe (for direct contact at least), but should be safer than the blue stuff. I think the best balance for use with my filament spools is the mixed orange and clear silica gels, since they contain only 5-10% orange indicator beads and the rest is just the clear stuff with no additives. If I had pets that got into stuff I'd go with the clear beads and skip the indicators, since using a humidity sensor can tell me when it's time to change or recharge it. I picked up some of this mixed orange and clear silica gel, which was a buck cheaper than Amazon, and includes free shipping. I wish they sold smaller sizes since I don't know if I will be able to use up a gallon of the stuff, but it's still cheaper to buy that size than try to get enough in smaller quantities. Having a gallon of the stuff also allows me to add more gel to my storage containers... but I will need to print more of the silica gel containers.
Update 3/10/2024: I remixed a cap with an integrated handle for KYZ's FF2 Desiccant Spool Holders. This cap remix just removes the need for a tool to tighten the caps, and still sits flush with the top of the holders (well, really about 1mm proud of the surface). The design does go in further than the original cap, so a small volume of beads will be sacrificed, but I'm fine with that tradeoff for a tool free cap. You can find the remixed cap here.
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