Enclosure Ventilation

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sun May 31, 2015 12:23 pm

As per a couple of threads I felt there was a benefit to vent my enclosure. Thus, after a bit of trial and error I think I have it done and it is effective. Final cost was about $45.

Here is what I ordered from Amazon.

Squirrel Cage Fan (12CFM, 16 mmAg pressure, 42 dBA) : (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B2A ... ge_o01_s00)

Vacuum Hose: (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LPO ... ge_o05_s00)

Here is what I bought from Home Depot.
1" PVC pipe: 3 foot
1" 90 degree elbow: Two pieces.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sun May 31, 2015 12:27 pm

First I printed a spacer for the fan such that it would clear the edges of the enclosure.

Then I printed a connecting adapter to attach the fan and hose connector.

Then I cut a hole in the back of the enclosure with a hole saw.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sun May 31, 2015 12:32 pm

I used super glue to attach the hose adaptor (first picture shown above) to the fan and then silicone sealed the edges of the adaptor and fan. We could redesign this adapter a bit such that it snapped onto the fan at some point.

After drilling two holes into the enclosure for the SS bolts, I attached the spacer and fan to the back of the enclosure with a little bit of silicone to each side of the space to seal it off.

I wired the fan into the power unit such that when the printer is switched on the fan starts. I do still need to secure the wire to prevent it from catching something and damaging the wire.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sun May 31, 2015 12:49 pm

With a 1" hole saw put a hole in the house after making sure to miss any wires or wall studs. Then cut the 1" PVC and attached the elbows. I cut the vacuum hose to fit the space and silicone sealed the hose to the adaptors that came with the vacuum hose I bought from Amazon. Then connected to hose to the fan adaptor and to the PCV pipe.

Of note the vacuum hose connector that came with the kit was slightly smaller than the 1" PVC elbow and I simply wrapped this with black electricians tape twice to get a good seal.

I do still need to seal the PCV pipe and house siding as well as secure it with a bracket to the side of the house. Planning to print that next.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sun May 31, 2015 1:13 pm

After finishing off the fan, I then sealed off every hole in the chamber including the hole under the hot plate that feeds power to the print bed with Kapton tape. I sealed the small holes at each corner of the enclosure with silicone. Finally I sealed the holes in the towers (non-belt) edges with silicone.

To help keep the power unit vented (since I put Kapton tape over the vent holes along the back side of the base), I opened up the back side of the base.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sun May 31, 2015 1:24 pm

I've now printed 4 items and there is no smell of filament at all in the house. The enclosure does run about 10 degrees C cooler without turning on the Halogen lights. However, with the Halogen light on low-medium, it does stay right at 45-50 degrees C. The three halogen on high quickly heat the enclosure to 60 degrees.

I will have to see but this may partly solve the problem I have had with the enclosure and small parts which do not set up and are soft before the next layer. Before I had to open up the enclosure to cool the chamber and/or print another part to allow it to cool before the next layer. We will see.

As well this past days I've upgraded to Trick Laser arms. Which by the way..........are AWESOME!!!

Post by **Eaglezsoar** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:32 pm

Using the motor to evacuate the particulates and such out of the enclosure to the outside is a great idea and I intend to use the idea.
Thanks for sharing what you came up with.

barry99705 · Post by **barry99705** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 7:28 pm

Don't forget to put a screen on that vent!! You'll end up with critters in your printer.

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 7:38 pm

Excellent.

I have an old vaccum cleaner that i have been saving just for this.

I will attach the hose clipping mechanism on to my ikea cupboard. But i live in an apprtment, havent figured out where to vent it :S

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 9:28 pm

barry99705 wrote:Don't forget to put a screen on that vent!! You'll end up with critters in your printer.

Agree! Thanks. I did buy a PVC cap that I was planning to put a bunch of holes, but I like the screen idea better.

barry99705 · Post by **barry99705** » Thu Jun 04, 2015 10:05 pm

3D-Print wrote:
barry99705 wrote:Don't forget to put a screen on that vent!! You'll end up with critters in your printer.
Agree! Thanks. I did buy a PVC cap that I was planning to put a bunch of holes, but I like the screen idea better.

What we did for my dad's rv heater vent was to use a stainless steel sink drain strainer. You could probably do the same thing, except cut the outer solid part off then just bend the screen over the pipe and hose clamp it in place. That way the screen is small enough to keep out mosquitoes and whatnot, but also strong enough to keep larger critters from chewing through.

teoman wrote:Excellent.

I have an old vaccum cleaner that i have been saving just for this.

I will attach the hose clipping mechanism on to my ikea cupboard. But i live in an apprtment, havent figured out where to vent it :S

Is it close to a window?

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 12:42 pm

Yes it is close to a window,

but during the summer we run the AC , it is not the heat but the humidity

Pondering how i could keep the windows ajar stick the hose out and then cover the other parts.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:11 pm

teoman wrote:
Pondering how i could keep the windows ajar stick the hose out and then cover the other parts.

You could put a piece of wood such as a 1X4 between the window and the window frame. Then use weather stripping around the board to seal it. Then you could drill a hole drilled through the board to vent the enclosure to the outside. You could also print a barrier, however this would need to be a couple of separate pieces depending On the width of your window.

barry99705 · Post by **barry99705** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 11:28 am

teoman wrote:Yes it is close to a window,

but during the summer we run the AC , it is not the heat but the humidity

Pondering how i could keep the windows ajar stick the hose out and then cover the other parts.

Sweet! When I was still in AK our house didn't have AC, so we had a couple of those sit on the floor and vent out the window types. What I did was make a small plexiglass window with a hole cut in it so the vent would fit. I then sealed the vent to the glass and made a wooden frame to go around the plexi. Then we could just put the new vent window in and close the real window down onto it. The plexi let in light, the first one I made was all plywood, and that worked too, but my wife said it blocked too much light. Personally, when you live where the sun doesn't really go away for 4 months of the year, blocking a little light isn't that big a deal.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 2:12 pm

Finally loading up some final images of how I completed the enclosure ventilation. Thanks "barry99705" for the tip to use a screen. I had some extra screen in the garage and simply wrapped it around the exhaust PCV pipe slid it back down the tube and put a couple of zip ties in to hold it it place. Then trimmed off the excess with a utility knife.

Also printed some brackets to secure the vent tubing to the side of the house, then a bit of silicone to seal around the pipe.

It has been an awesome addition and does a great job venting the fumes. If I ever need to replace the fan I would likely go with a slightly higher CFM and consider adding a 12V rheostat.

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 2:31 pm

Run your fan with 5V.

It will turn much slower. But all you need is a minuscule pressure differential so gas from the chamber does not leak in to the room.

It will be quieter and your chamber will be warmer. The fan at full power will cause some drafts in the chamber. The air that it is pushing out of the house has to come from somehwere so it will enter from where you do not have insulation on your chamber. If the fan is strong enough there can be significant drafts.

Also check the temp of the hoses after a long print.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:11 pm

I'm about 2 hours into a print now with the print bed at 90 C and the hit end at 220 C. The tubing is just warm to the touch and my chamber temp at the level of print is 43.5 degrees.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:13 pm

The only place where I have any substantial air draw is from the enclosure door (I taped up every hole I could find with Kapton tape or sealed cracks with silicon). As well opened up the base such that the powers unit keeps cool.

The enclosure was 50-53 degrees the other day when my office was warmer, the bed was at 100 C and the three 50 W halogens were off. I can increase the chamber by up to 10+C with the lights on depending on how bright I set them with the rheostat.

teoman · Post by **teoman** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 5:55 pm

It would be pretty cool if you could pump start the fan from gcode and the make it go full speed once the print finishes.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 2:10 pm

teoman wrote:It would be pretty cool if you could pump start the fan from gcode and the make it go full speed once the print finishes.

I agree that would be cool.

AlanZ · Post by **AlanZ** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:03 pm

I am trying to determine the best placement for an exhaust/vent fan inlet. My initial inclination is to put it near the base of the Z tower. However, before I cut a hole on my Lexan panel, I am wondering if the intake should be mounted higher.
I am trying to balance the potential drafts across the build plate that might be exacerbated by having the inlet down low, against possible impact to the efficiency of the two ceramic heaters that I have near the top of the enclosure if I move the inlet up. In any case, this fan will likely be run at a fairly low output... Just enough to vent any fumes. Then again, I don't know if ABS fumes rise in the enclosure, or settle near the build plate... That would be handy to know.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:37 pm

Great questions. I put the vent at the base with the idea that I would pull the heat from above where my 3, 50W halogen lights. I did tape off all holes except a couple in the top.

Not sure how ABS fumes act in the chamber and it is an interesting question if they rise or fall.

I will tell you that this past winter when the room was cool, I did tape off the edges of the chamber door since it was clear that cool air being down into the chamber at the base of the door was resulting in some lifting of large prints off the PEI bed near the door.

3D-Print · Post by **3D-Print** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:23 pm

I'm not sure the best way to more effectively seal off the door to control the flow of air. I like the idea of moving air from top to bottom to allow a "stable mixing" of cool exterior air with chamber air at the print and bed level.

Should more formally make a door that actively closes and seals. This would allow much better control over the chamber air flow.

Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community