I dont own a 3D printer yet, but thinking of buying the Creality Ender-3 S1, even if it claims to be pretty quiet I still hate the idea of noise. I looked at many DIY your own 3D printer enclosure to get some idea, and I must say that this guy gave some of the best tips.
Summary: 1) Get the Air out. 3d-Printed Parts will melt when the tempearture inside is too hot. Also Heat Creep is more likely to occur 2) Protect Electronics. 50°C will half the lifespan of the electronics -> Place Electronics outside, motors are a bit more tolerant 3) Place the Power Supply out of the enclosure 4) Circulate the Air inside to avoid temperature variations 5) Don't let the cables hit the enclosure to reduce wear.
Really good tips which need being mentioned. I never understood why people put heaters inside the enclosure, the bed usually produces enough heat to heat the chamber. I always tried to cool it down to keep it at a constant temperature. I added a temperature control module which triggers a fan. This way the temperature always stays between 40 and 42°C. The Fan sucking air out contradicts your 4th tip, but I haven't had a problem with it. Another tip, which is worth to be mentioned, is to make sure that you can reach everything in the enclosure. I installed drawer slides so I can slide out the whole printer. Or just build a cover as enclosure which can be removed.
Thanks for the tips, too! Did you leave the Mainboard and the Power Supply inside the enclosure? And how did you solve the mentioned problem with no air coming in when you have a fan blowing out? :)
@@RCShowdown I have an Anycubic I3 Mega, where the electronics are beneath the printer, so they are also inside the enclosure. To prevent them from overheating I have a slow spinning 120mm fan under the enclosure. This way the electronics always get some fresh air. When this air leaves the electronics compartment and enters the enclosure, it's already a bit preheated as well. This works quite well for me.
You put heaters inside the enclosure to get more heat. You get better layer adhesion for all high shrink materials. 40 degrees is nice, but why not aim for 50 or 60 instead?
@@antalz When I have the heatbed at 100°C for printing ASA oder ABS the enclosure would easily reach 50°C without the extraction fan. The reason I set the temperature controller to 40°C is because of the stepper motors. If the ambient temperature is higher, they will also get hotter. For me personally 40°C is a good compromise between better adhesion and longevity of the motors.
Another thing many people would be interested in is probably how to soundproof such an enclosure. I have behind me a long journey of wooden enclosures with different foam- and gum-materials and ended up with thick sheets of rockwool. Decoupling the printer-body from the enclosure is a big point, too, as otherwise you might build a nice resonance body that amplifies the printer sounds. Slow big temperature-activated 120mm fans that suck air out high above the printbed and slots in the other side of the enclosure help to control the temperature and avoid negative effects of harsh airflows. I am playing with the thought of using peltier-elements to cool down the print chamber.
Oh, and according to the latest studies in potentially unhealthy particle emissions (src: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02786826.2018.1464115?scroll=top&needAccess=true), you might want to think about a HEPA filter, too...
I enjoy this type of video, Joel. Great work and nice to see you reigniting the relationship you have with PrintedSolid via Dave Randolph! The full screen graphics take away from the video a bit - make them smaller so we can stay focused on that beautiful smiling face!
Looks like I've managed to hit every one of those points with the enclosure I'm working on now, very glad to see that I'm on the right track. Started w/ 2 Ikea Lack corner tables and a Lack coffee table. Coffee table as the base and then the 2 corner tables stacked on it. I then decided I wanted all of the control components outside of the enclosure, so I found a box on Thingiverse that was close and used it as an inspiration to design my own box to hold the processor board, 2 mosfets, terminal strips, raspberry pi and a 4 channel relay. Now I'm working on gathering what i need to be able to extend all of the wiring to ensure that I have the needed length. The only thing I haven't really explored yet is filtration, but I had already been thinking that it needed to have a way to recirculate the heated air through filtration and back into the enclosure so that it didn't cause the temperature fluctuations that they mentioned.
Hey, interesting tips on the ventilation and recycling the air through a filter. I'll have to incorporate that somehow. What are your thoughts on wooden enclosures?
At 0:55 David warns that warm chambers are a danger to printed parts because you might be approaching the glass transition point of the plastic. While his warning is correct in that yes, many printed plastics will get deformable and soft without much heat, this has nothing to do with the glass transition temperature. Polyethylene is the world’s most used plastic, is perfectly solid at room temp, and also has a glass transition point of -125C. Tg says something about microscopic structure but not macroscopic behavior at a temperature.
A very good video, even if I can say, that I already agree on them, and my own project took them all into consideration. I'm sure many people will learn from this video.
You have been a awesome helper in my printing experience. I started out with basically being the mantaor of my school's makerbot 2 and then I decided to get my own cr10s. It is awesome and I have all ready done some projects with it. I recently upgraded the bed to a mirror and blue tape but I can't seem to get my prints to stick. I have leveled my bed and done a mesh. How should the paper feel when your leveling. Thanks so much Joel and keep making this awesome content!
Wish you would have talked more about filter systems and what actually works to keep us safe from abs fumes and other harmfully fumes printers can put off from more exotic materials
How would you go about regulating the temperature if you are just circulating the same heated air back into the chamber? or is the point to keep the air circulating to avoid hot spots forming around the heat bed?
As the ambient temperature could vary greatly (winter, summer, basement, etc.), there is no easy way of regulating the temperature by circulating the filtered air. A filter is great and a temperature regulated fan, that gets rid of the hot air as well as slots off to the side, that let ambient air in. Moving the power supply out is an important step.
There's some good information here, but something very important that you both (especially David) neglect is that we've had scientific proof for several years now that even raw unadulterated PLA filament expels significant quantities of VOC particulates at finenesses known to cause persistent damage to lungs and esophagi. So, no, "Unless you're printing in ABS … you don't need an airtight enclosure" is not good advice, although the rest of the information here may be. It's also a bit disappointing that none of your tips regarded the actual construction process or materials choice.
@@3DPrintingNerd I can't seem to find the article I remember reading before, which specifically sited researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign with a quick search but here are a couple of more recent ones. cen.acs.org/materials/3-d-printing/3-D-printer-emissions-raise/96/i13 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28165927
@@3DPrintingNerd Also noticed a vlogcast about 3D printer emissions in my RU-vid recommendations when I was researching something else last night but forgot to check it out. About an hour and a half I think.
17 дней назад
I think, making it airtight would not solve the issue that you address in any way. You will need to open the enclosure to pick the printed up. So, the solution still would be avoid making the enclosure airtight and formulate how to exhaust based on the work enviroment.
The point on filtering the air and returning it is something that I never thought of! I am concerned with properly filtering the air around the printer because of the microscopic particles that are hazardous. Does anyone know of the best way to filter such small particles effectively? Great job on the video as always Joel!
If anything you want a positive pressure on the inside so dust stays out. It's just a thing on which speed to set the intake fan (filtered) so you achieve the inside temp you want. Vent freely via large surface filter or extract and filter with a smaller fan than on the intake. No recirculation dude, you didn't even mention printing ABS and fumes... Just calm and steady filtered intake air and temps will be constant. Also testing the setup and running it in with temp sensors should be done, not to "eyeball" the temps. This guy might have been building bird houses for past 8 years, not 3d printer enclosures.
punished props guy is very good at what he does, I have learned a lot from that guy. Just not how to build enclosures.....though I did learn how not to build one.
Seems quite common sense to me. I build mine for my cr 10 s4 and i think i hit all the points mentioned here. Few other things to take care of are 1. Add some lights inside the box if ur printer doesn't have any. 2. Add a temp sensor to sense the ambient temperature. 3. Make sure the printer is servisable to some minimum extent while inside the box.
The CR-10 series is good for enclosures because because their electronics boxes are seperate. However, they are quite large, and prusa-style too, so you need a large box. Are there any smaller printers with seperate electronics boxes? It seems like everyone is moving towards integrated electronics nowadays.
@@antalz Does it? Oh yeah, you're right. My bad, I'd forgotten, haha. Isn't there a CR-10 Mini though? I'm pretty sure it's close to the size of the Ender 3, not sure about the PSU and board location
@@Patchnote2.0 Yeah the CR-10 mini would work, but despite "mini" it's still a 300x220x300 printer. I'm just wondering if there's anything smaller. I'm strongly considering getting a mini, I'm just wondering if anyone has a better idea before I pull the trigger.
@@antalz There's always a Monoprice Maker Select. That's a 203x203. I have no experience with it personally (own a Select Mini), and I recall something about one specific printer of Monoprice being a real pain, so I'd look into that.
It would be nice if he defined what it means outside the chamber. I have an ultimaker 1 and a closed top, the electronics are "out" but still it is bolted to the bottom plate of the chamber. I wonder if it's not too close and so far I do not want to do it.
I am worried about fumes, and it sounded like you suggest to not filter those, when printing PLA or did i miss something (i am not a native speaker)? The trick might be an air or water cooled heat exchanger for printing PLA? An additional advantage would also be: you could control the air temperature with a pid controller, which controls the fans of the heat exchanger. It also would be possible to cool the electronic components with a water cooling system. I do not have a 3d printer, so i am new to this, but would't it be possible to print fitting coolers, and buy a silicone ring and copper plates for the head conduction to screw this under the cooler or is the surface to uneven to get a tight seal?
LOL I so did this on my first printer, a Chinese Prussia i3 clone. The 3d printed part that held the extruder to the x axis belt was place and it melted and let go of the belt LOL. I had to reprint one in ABS with 100% infill
Just think about PC Case and the overheating problem can be solved by the ventilation system and some cpu fan (I think). And how about adding liquid cooler for the power supply? That would solve this problem entirely plus makes it more durable and good looking! But we'll still need the ventilation system like cpu fan to make heat comes out from the enclosure. Love it! Lol, gonna make one beautiful enclosure for my cr10 max!
I know this is an old video, but I just wanted to ask if anyone else got a mixed message here. In one point, he says that heat is bad, but then in another point, he says you don't wanna put in a fan that exhausts the heat and pulls in cold air (he suggests 'recirculating the air through a filter', which would result in keeping the hot air in, yes). Am I missing something?
Hey! So... Heat is bad, in that, you don't want TOO MUCH heat to build up when electronics and motors are in the enclosure. You also don't want to exhaust the heat and pull in cold air, as you want the temp inside the enclosure to be consistent. I hope that helps.
@@3DPrintingNerd OK, thanks, but I guess that begs the obvious question, "how hot is too hot?". I imagine that an active temperature control mechanism would be desirable, which would be fairly expensive, no doubt.
Could somebody please explain me TIP #4 "Don't breath cold air into warm chamber" (2:56 - 4:00). If I want to regulate the temperate in the encloser for the optimal conditions for a special filament (for example polycarbonate). I have to heat up the encloser at the beginning and get some of the heat out (archieve is: constant temp). With temperature sensore and a power controlled Fin (etc.), with all parts needed. If no air comes out it overheat. I don't really get the point with the pressure, well thats my question. Do I need to put air back in ? If the encloser heats up anyway, I "just" put the hot air inside out in a controlled way (blows faster if temps get higher, fin blows low or stay still if temp is okay), right ?
It's simple, if you're trying to maintain a temperature but exhausting warm air, the negative pressure will pull in cold air, and bring down the temperature. That's a problem if you are trying to maintain temperature. As opposed to the first tip, which is to expel some hot air so you don't get too hot. If you are measuring/controlling temperature and need cold air, go right ahead.
I got the creality ender 3 pro with the creality fire proof cover enclosure, now I’m scared to use it if it’s going to get too warm in there. Thoughts?
i should add a carbon filter plus fan if I manage to build one. one setting sets it to 35 degrees for ABS and activates it if it's higher. the other one just runs the fan all the time? but that way the sound won't be reduced :( damn 3d printing is a pain..
looking at that printer and a few others like it, I think there is a possibility of creating a cover that starts below the rails for the print bed (so on top of the enclosure that houses the electronics) and then rises up to engulf the entire top section. you would ideally move the spool holder on top of the enclosure (if it's solid enough) or to the side on its own mount. a hinged open front would let you get to the prints easily, and you would only get a little air leakage from below with the slots cut to allow free movement of the rails, fasteners, cables, etc. however since the heated bed is right there it would warm the air as it rises to the rest of the chamber anyway. this is how I envision it but it may be somewhat difficult to properly execute and I don't have a physical model on-hand but I was thinking something like this for my own all-in-one unit. the only other thing would be to move all the parts to its own enclosure and run new cables to the rest of the printer. I don't feel comfortable working with wiring to that extent myself.
So what I gather from this video is I'm not building a box now. I think this was his goal...but I'm not buying a stupid expensive one either I'll just go without.
I do not know why I should have a fan sucking in the cold air ... heater + temperature controller with a sensor must be enough, and the windmill in the middle just to make the air evenly inflated and not the warmest at the heater ...
The semiconductors of each that a runaway temperature. It doesn't matter where the semiconductor is or the power it handles. Temperature is it. So the power supply semiconductors run away and fail at the same temperature but since the device creates heat there is a temperature gradient. A well heat sink power device may have a lower gradient then a semiconductor attached to the pcb. The other devices physics does not have a runaway point. Every part including the semiconductor are made of materials that degrades, oxidizes faster when hotter and the thermal coefficient of different materials cause cycle failures. the power supply and logic from experience are seldom well thermally designed and which is worse is hard to say. (Spent ~15 yrs packaging above 30 kw motor drives.)
Electrolytic caps won't live very long if kept hot, either. Especially cheap Chinese ones. Especially low ESR ones... Like the ones in switching power supplies.
This statement does not make sense. Aluminum usage would not help retain heat. It is a good conductor of heat and would actually act as a heat sink for the chamber. You need insulative materials for enclosure materials to hold in heat: wood, plastic, foam, dead air, etc... Metals, while not as bad as totally open air, are still going to leech heat from the enclosure. Venting air requires air be available to replace the exhausted air. The electronics are going to generate some heat on their own, yes, but not necessarily enough to preheat an air charge up to the required chamber temperature. You may well lose heat doing this, while possibly overheating your electronics if they're not getting enough air flow. Better to leave them outside of the enclosure altogether where they can get maximum air flow and cooling. In summary, it seems it is best to just use insulative materials and let the enclosure heat up without any external circulation. To keep the remaining components from really overheating, you could use a fan and an enclosed duct running from one corner of the back wall to its opposite corner so that you would at least get circulation within the enclosure. I would need to look at the specifics of how to do it, but it seems reasonable that you could use a thermistor and an arduino or similar controller to program a vent to open and close in the back wall ducting, thereby allowing a basic form of temperature control to keep the motors and other electronics that can't be removed from the enclosure from overheating.
Great Video. Were a family owned company that makes custom made fixtures out of polymers and have been getting orders for 3d printer enclosures. We can engrave anything you want into the material (ussualy acrylic). I am working on a enclosure right now. Ill post a link when its finished if anyone is interested in seeing what the finished product looks like. In the mean time feel free to contact Queen City Polymers in West Chester Ohio for a quote.
I found a patch to the Stratasys patent issues grabcad.com/groups/3d-printers-makers-diy-hacks-solutions-and-post-printing-tools/discussions/printing-with-an-enclosure-cocoon-instead-of-a-whole-printer-enclosure More here grabcad.com/groups/3d-printers-makers-diy-hacks-solutions-and-post-printing-tools/discussions/fight-warping-print-with-enclosure
