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I've almost finished my Rostock MAX, just waiting for my kapton tape and ptfe tubing for the hot end resistors to come in and then I can start calibrating, in the mean time I've been thinking about a design for a heated build chamber. I want to build a chamber to be able to heat up to the 70-80C range I've read was recommended for large abs prints. One thing I was wondering about is the heat affect on the components, obviously the X, Y, & Z stepper motors and all the electronics are already separated from the build area so no issues there, however I was wondering about the extruder stepper motor, would that have an issue with those temps? Would the peek fan require cool air from outside the the heated print area to not have an issue with printing?

I guess the other question too is would be be worth it having a heated chamber capable of maintaining those temps, or would just a straight up chamber around the build area with only the heat generated from the bed and extruder be adequate for the build volume of the Rostock MAX?

Shizuma wrote:I've almost finished my Rostock MAX, just waiting for my kapton tape and ptfe tubing for the hot end resistors to come in and then I can start calibrating, in the mean time I've been thinking about a design for a heated build chamber. I want to build a chamber to be able to heat up to the 70-80C range I've read was recommended for large abs prints. One thing I was wondering about is the heat affect on the components, obviously the X, Y, & Z stepper motors and all the electronics are already separated from the build area so no issues there, however I was wondering about the extruder stepper motor, would that have an issue with those temps? Would the peek fan require cool air from outside the the heated print area to not have an issue with printing?

I guess the other question too is would be be worth it having a heated chamber capable of maintaining those temps, or would just a straight up chamber around the build area with only the heat generated from the bed and extruder be adequate for the build volume of the Rostock MAX?

The "chamber" that several people have used enclosed the entire printer from the bed to the top but you raise some valid questions like the peek fan, etc.
No reports have come into this forum about having to use outside air for the peek fan on using such enclosures nor have any reports of damage to the cold end extruder motor
have been reported. IMHO the best heat chamber would be one that encompasses the heat bed and raises only to the Z height of the printer and kept the area within such a
chamber to a temperature of approximately 75c. The ones who have built enclosures have done so fairly recently and it may be that the problems that you mention could still
occur. You can Google search this forum by using site:forum.seemecnc.com enclosure to read about what some have done.

You won't run into issues with overheating the stepper... They run full duty cycle, and are meant to handle it. What you will run into issues with (maybe) is the axle heating up, which heats up the drive gear, and then heats up the filament, and if its PLA it can deform up on that end (or just become soft and the drive gear will just cut into it) and stop extruding, but you don't need (and probably shouldn't) use your HBC with PLA so it should be fine anyways I had an experience with the PLA thing, except my extruder body was made out of PLA... and it melted pretty hard core

Eaglezsoar wrote:The "chamber" that several people have used enclosed the entire printer from the bed to the top but you raise some valid questions like the peek fan, etc.
No reports have come into this forum about having to use outside air for the peek fan on using such enclosures nor have any reports of damage to the cold end extruder motor
have been reported. IMHO the best heat chamber would be one that encompasses the heat bed and raises only to the Z height of the printer and kept the area within such a
chamber to a temperature of approximately 75c. The ones who have built enclosures have done so fairly recently and it may be that the problems that you mention could still
occur. You can Google search this forum by using site:forum.seemecnc.com enclosure to read about what some have done.

An expanding heated build chamber, that's a really interesting idea and one I hadn't though of, though that would be more difficult to implement and would require some programing skills which I don't have, I do have some general electronics skills as I took 4 years of electronics in high school, but mainly I do the mechanical side of designing.

I did some digging and it sounds like the extruder stepper motor would ultimately fail as a search for NEMA 17 stepper motors showed they had an upper range of 40-50C depending on the specific motor, the peek fan would probably be fine, or at least less prone to failure as all the 25mm fans I came up with had a max operating temp of 70C, though a heated build chamber would slightly exceed that depending on temp settings. Fortunately the extruder motor would be very easy to isolate from the heated chamber to keep it cool, so I'll definitely separate it with my design.

I use a giant trashbag to keep large abs prints intact. And actually I did cut it so it falls just below the build plate; originally I just had the printer covered all the way down, but I did have one motor which would consistently overheat and fail.

Ive had NEMA 17's get hotter than 50C just from running them.... I'm pretty sure I could have cooked an egg on a few of them.... I think you were reading that data sheet wrong...

Glacian22 wrote:I use a giant trashbag to keep large abs prints intact. And actually I did cut it so it falls just below the build plate; originally I just had the printer covered all the way down, but I did have one motor which would consistently overheat and fail.

That would help with the heated part, however my other reason for the build chamber is the cat factor, I have 2, so I need to keep them from wanting to play with it while printing and the printer isn't in a room with a door I can close.

Nylocke wrote:Ive had NEMA 17's get hotter than 50C just from running them.... I'm pretty sure I could have cooked an egg on a few of them.... I think you were reading that data sheet wrong...

The motors themselves do get well over 50C, they have a temperature rise of 80C, 50C is their max ambient air temperature they are designed to operate in, at 50C they would be running as high as 130C.

In case anyone doesn't know, Misumi has a $150-off first order deal going on util the end of March. Search Reddit for the coupon code.
I really didn't know what I should get from them, so I thought, "Why not a build chamber?"
The (30mm extrusions) frame is a complete kit (HAUBA6L-3030-W600-D600-H1200) for $138, and I grabbed some sheeting that hopefully will withstand the temperatures. I will be placing some more horizontal extrusions (15mm) in the middle to support a "gasket" between the hot print volume and the electronics in the base, as well as one on top to have the spools of filament in their own space with desiccant. Some more extrusions to hold LED lighting and my netcam.
I might add actual doors in the future, but that will cost actual money.

Very nice enclosure. The kit is a good idea but you can also create one from extrusions that you can get from
80/20 or Misumi. Buying the parts separately will probably exceed the cost of the kit, making the kit a bargain.

ArthurDent wrote:In case anyone doesn't know, Misumi has a $150-off first order deal going on util the end of March. Search Reddit for the coupon code.
I really didn't know what I should get from them, so I thought, "Why not a build chamber?"
The (30mm extrusions) frame is a complete kit (HAUBA6L-3030-W600-D600-H1200) for $138, and I grabbed some sheeting that hopefully will withstand the temperatures.

$150 off first order? damn, that's a pretty amazing deal, just went over there looking at their site and some ideas are coming to my head using the angled extrusions they sell and polycarbonate sheets for a heated build chamber

Terms of the offer: http://us.misumi-ec.com/news/topics/201 ... tions.html

While that is the offer for business clients, this is the official thread for 3D Printers (individual users): http://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comm ... y_company/

I'm pretty sure if you asked the guy who posted on reddit, he'd tell you it's actually the very same offer, with a slight addition to the promotion code so he can claim credit for those orders. Notice that both places use the word "companies", not customers, and are very nearly cut/paste for the rest. But there are plenty of one-man companies, so the distinction is likely moot in practice, so long as you have a credit card.

Misumi site:
"To receive the $150.00 Credit, companies must place their first order online using a Credit Card or Corporate Account and include promotion code First150 in the "Special Instructions" of the order. Offer is based only on the value of the goods purchased; freight and handling charges are excluded. The full value of the $150.00 credit must be used on the first order; no promotional credit balance will be carried forward. Offer expires March 31, 2014"

vs reddit:
"To receive the $150.00 Credit, companies must place their first order online using a Credit Card and include promotion code "First150--Reddit" in the "Special Instructions" of the order. Offer is based only on the value of the goods purchased; freight and handling charges are excluded. The full value of the $150.00 credit must be used on the first order, no promotional credit balance will carried forward. Offer expires March 31, 2014. Available in US and Canada only. "

Eric wrote:I'm pretty sure if you asked the guy who posted on reddit, he'd tell you it's actually the very same offer, with a slight addition to the promotion code so he can claim credit for those orders. Notice that both places use the word "companies", not customers, and are very nearly cut/paste for the rest. But there are plenty of one-man companies, so the distinction is likely moot in practice, so long as you have a credit card.

Misumi site:
"To receive the $150.00 Credit, companies must place their first order online using a Credit Card or Corporate Account and include promotion code First150 in the "Special Instructions" of the order. Offer is based only on the value of the goods purchased; freight and handling charges are excluded. The full value of the $150.00 credit must be used on the first order; no promotional credit balance will be carried forward. Offer expires March 31, 2014"

vs reddit:
"To receive the $150.00 Credit, companies must place their first order online using a Credit Card and include promotion code "First150--Reddit" in the "Special Instructions" of the order. Offer is based only on the value of the goods purchased; freight and handling charges are excluded. The full value of the $150.00 credit must be used on the first order, no promotional credit balance will carried forward. Offer expires March 31, 2014. Available in US and Canada only. "

Misumi_Carey is a she for the record. She advised the #reprap irc channel if they were buying for themselves to use the instructions on the First150--Reddit promo instead of the companies promotion. She is their community manager of sorts and is running both promotions. I'm not an employee there, just relaying what the person in charge of the promotion said.