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Thank you for your quick response, I appreciate it.

JFettig wrote:...The screws taken from the base can be used to attach the top pieces.

That was my exact thought for the top pieces.

Did anyone ever find out if plugging the holes at the top of the enclosure had an impact on the internal temperature?

Raised mine a few degrees and I only taped over them on one side.

Tape eh? That's probably easier, I was thinking of using cotton balls or something.

Started printing my pieces today and ordered the hinges! If anyone else is looking to do this I found the hinges a little bit cheaper here: http://www.ffr.com/sg-supergrip-hinged-panel-former

Thanks again JFettig for the files and the idea! Appreciate it!

JFettig wrote:Raised mine a few degrees and I only taped over them on one side.

I used Kapton tape to tape off the holes as well as the cheapscape towers and and got 5-7 degrees more. With the halogens temp was 60-65. It was hot enough that with a small print ABS didn't harden by the time the next layer was being placed.

Herrminator117 wrote:Started printing my pieces today and ordered the hinges! If anyone else is looking to do this I found the hinges a little bit cheaper here: http://www.ffr.com/sg-supergrip-hinged-panel-former

Thanks again JFettig for the files and the idea! Appreciate it!

I hadn't been paying attention to this thread, but my design was coincidentally going to use the same sort of hinge strips. Thanks for the link!

After running with this enclosure for awhile, I found out that one of my cheapskates has loosened up over time (just to be clear: not the enclosure's fault). It's the one on the Z tower, furthest away from the door.

I found that it's damn near impossible to get a tool in there to tighten it up. Is there a fancy trick that does the job that doesn't involve removing the panels? They were a challenge to install in the first place and I'd rather not go through it again.

I had the same problem. I ended up removing the panels but I plan to print a shorty wrench. The bolts are still tight enough

Oh yess, a short wrench setup to adjust the eccentrics would be awesome.

Voice of experience, PLA will transmit more torque than ABS, box end would be even better.

...and print a dualie that will grab both eccentrics at the same time.

g.

Oops, for the eccentrics, the box end comment is irrelevant.

I had a pretty cool idea the other day - what if instead of this enclosure being 6 flat panels, what if it was round?!

Polycarb has a decent amount of flex, right? I bet we could bend it into a circular enough shape to fit around the printer. And that would make installing and removing the polycarb for maintenance a HELLUVALOT easier - just slide it out sideways!

That would also (probably) solve the issue of the effector platform colliding on large perimeter prints.

Might also save material too. I don't remember exactly what size sheets I ordered off Amazon but I had to get 3 big ones and there was a decent amount of waste. Maybe this way we could just get one or two sheets instead. (Less positive about this advantage obviously, but it's still a possibility!)

EDIT: Just thought of something else - less holes to seal if you're trying to make it airtight!

BenTheRighteous wrote:I had a pretty cool idea the other day - what if instead of this enclosure being 6 flat panels, what if it was round?!

Polycarb has a decent amount of flex, right? I bet we could bend it into a circular enough shape to fit around the printer. And that would make installing and removing the polycarb for maintenance a HELLUVALOT easier - just slide it out sideways!

That would also (probably) solve the issue of the effector platform colliding on large perimeter prints.

Might also save material too. I don't remember exactly what size sheets I ordered off Amazon but I had to get 3 big ones and there was a decent amount of waste. Maybe this way we could just get one or two sheets instead. (Less positive about this advantage obviously, but it's still a possibility!)

EDIT: Just thought of something else - less holes to seal if you're trying to make it airtight!

I actually had a similar idea a while back and looked at poly carb tubes.... VERY EXPENSIVE!!! So that idea was out. I think it would require building a form and slowly bending poly sheets with heat applied to make flat sheets round...not sure how well that would turn out.

mvansomeren wrote:I think it would require building a form and slowly bending poly sheets with heat applied to make flat sheets round...not sure how well that would turn out.

I feel like with some thinner plexi, like 1/32" (.03"), you could definitely get the curve you wanted. You would most likely just have to go really slow and let it bend at its own time. I have a free night tonite, I may sketch something up and see what happens!

I think I have some spare thin plexi laying around, even if not the thin stuff is cheaper.

That's a really good point. Even if you wanted the original thickness, if you were worried about thermal insulation or something, you could just get multiple thin sheets and layer them. I bet that would bend a lot easier, and I can't think of any practical downside.

I have definitely considered it but it would be hard to keep them round if you're not forming them. Towards the middle(Between top and bottom) it would have enough strength to bring it closer to straight while tops and bottom it could be rounded. I can modify the design if someone wants to try it. I'd still leave the narrow sections flat and just make the long sides with a curve in them.

JFettig wrote:I'd still leave the narrow sections flat

Why? I think it would look cool being uniformly round, except for the front door...

You could get the overall diameter down with flat edges by the towers. Because if not, it would have to account for the cheapskates that go outside the base and top.

Although if you do then theres more cutting, and you have to find a way to seal the gaps (probably the same sysetm as the orginal) Either way Ill give it a whirl and see what comes up!

The thing I liked most about the idea was that there was no hard corner. If you ever needed to remove the panel, just pull the door hinge towards you and SHWOOOOOP out comes the whole thing!

Maybe it wouldn't turn out that way in reality, but in my head, it's awesome!

I love the candor and free dreaming on this thread. The polycarbonate is fairly flexible but hard to break. I did consider using silicone to fill the gaps but decided against it as removal would be more difficult.

Here is the finished product.
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8175

So this a took a bit longer than expected, but i have the base done, I havent gotten around to splitting it into different parts!

But i did come up with a really interesting way of making doors. It uses two sheets of plexi that overlap in the back and then there will be handles in the front to close or open it.
Hopefully that makes sense, use the picture below for a reference.

The only issue I see now is that it uses a good amount more of plastic. Ups the print time significantly Id imagine. But the top shouldnt be too difficult. Hopefully I can get it done before I start studying for finals!

Yess!! I LOVE that design - I can't wait to see how it might turn out in reality!

I didn't quite understand the door idea. Were you thinking of something like french doors where you're got two panels and they open in the middle? Or something like a sliding door, where once it's open it's overlapping with one of the sides of the enclosure? That's an interesting idea....

Herrminator117 wrote:So this a took a bit longer than expected, but i have the base done, I havent gotten around to splitting it into different parts!

But i did come up with a really interesting way of making doors. It uses two sheets of plexi that overlap in the back and then there will be handles in the front to close or open it.
Hopefully that makes sense, use the picture below for a reference.

The only issue I see now is that it uses a good amount more of plastic. Ups the print time significantly Id imagine. But the top shouldnt be too difficult. Hopefully I can get it done before I start studying for finals!

Cylinderical Enclosure.png

Sliding plexiglass doors. Cool! Will probably be pretty hard to make work right without some kind of form for the plexi though.