Do the Hexagon AO hot ends come with the rubber isolator caps for the heat blocks?
Printable View
No, Sadly I did not receive the Silicon caps :( it isnt even mentioned in the contents for the kit... Which blows.
Bummer that they bagged the silicone jackets.
Apologies, I realize this isn't really the right thread...
Would you be able to answer a kinda generic question about your print cooling shroud here? There is a large newbie element to the question...
Thx.
Thx!
ATM, I'm running a stock 12" I3V w/ RUMBA. Hexagon HE, 0.4mm for 3mm filament (w/ silicon bootie) and standard MF fan shroud. The key thing here is that the fan effectively ends up blowing down on the table, and thus provides some continuous, albeit "meh", part cooling.
Per comments someone made in my "diary" thread, I'm printing some retraction test objects.
The last of the tests is printing now, and I'll post in my thread the results, but the results I'm seeing thus far suggest to me that adjusting retraction times is effective, but has practical limits, and that some cooling tweaks might have a role to play.
I think I would like to try your extended part cooling fan shroud, initially leaving the MF HE cooling in place and then possibly switching to your Hex cooler as well.
Questions:
- Would the part cooling fan be wired to the controller rather than straight to power? If so...
- Any general rule of thumb for the situations in which you'd use it or not?
Again, thx!
The goal with the part cooling fan is to cool the deposited layers of plastic so they solidify without drooping before the next layer goes down on top. A part cooling fan can help immensely with bridging and overhangs, and it helps get crisp edges when printing layers with short build times. I've had parts with narrow towers that print poorly because the hot end just sits over the top of the tower, building straight up and the radiant heat from the hot end never lets it set up. A fan helps with this.
Usually though, you want to avoid air blowing on the print for the first few layers to prevent warping. To much air too soon can cause the parts to peel off the bed, especially with ABS.
I always run the print cooling fan on a PWM channel under software control. I'm not familiar with RUMBA, so I can't tell you where to connect it. Slic3r has configuration settings for cooling policy to control when the fan runs. I usually have it set to skip the first 5 layers and then power on progressively for layer times less than 45 seconds or so, slowing down to prevent layer times less than 10 seconds. You want it on for bridging.
For some parts with lots of detail, you will want the fan on continuously. For others that are prone to warping, you will want it off. It's an art and you will have to learn from experience.
I hope this helps..