MakerFarm 8" Prusa i3v Enclosure

[gmay3]

That's a good point. I'm thinking the airflow through my enclosure might keep it on the cooler side so maybe it will all even out to be around the same.

Thanks! I hope to be able to post it this week. I'm going to add it to the SHOW YA MODS stickied thread so look for it there! A couple things I should mention about it.

1. The 8" basic (ye olde) LCD display mount side panels are critical for the spool holder as it attaches to the frame at these point. From a far away glance it seems like Colin may have reused these in the design of the 12" printer graphical LCD side panels but I would need confirm the dimensions with you.

2. The top of the 8" LCD display mount is about level with the top of the highest part of the spool. So for 8" printers you wouldn't be able to have the display sticking out and also have the spool rotate as it is currently designed. BUT since the graphical LCD on your 12" seems to stick up higher than the LCD side panels you might be ok. Either way, the spool holder can be easily modified to work how ever you need it to with google sketchup.

[gmay3]

So today I used the left over cardboard boxes to prototype the enclosure. The sides top and bottom will be made out of wood and the front door will be acrylic.

The entire top front and sides will hinge back to allow access to the printer for large repairs.

[gmay3]

sniffle, do you find that having the enclosure has made your heatbed heat up faster?

[sniffle]

sniffle, do you find that having the enclosure has made your heatbed heat up faster?

yes and i tend to have less trouble with a lot of things like warping etc just from having a stable environment.

[gmay3]

Awesome thanks! Yet more motivation to get this enclosure finished! I have it designed in 3d, now I need to explode it into dimensioned parts to take to the hardware store!

[sniffle]

Awesome thanks! Yet more motivation to get this enclosure finished! I have it designed in 3d, now I need to explode it into dimensioned parts to take to the hardware store!

just to give you more motivation... i have a 12" heatbed... 120 degrees in about 5-6 min :-D

[usarmyaircav]

Awesome thanks! Yet more motivation to get this enclosure finished! I have it designed in 3d, now I need to explode it into dimensioned parts to take to the hardware store!

looking forward to your design so I can copy it

[RobH2]

sniffle, do you find that having the enclosure has made your heatbed heat up faster?

In the meantime, until you get enclosed, get one of those mylar space blankets. You know, the thin silver things that fold up the size of a soap bar. Then cut a piece of cardboard that is about 1" larger than your bed. Wrap a piece of that mylar around the cardboard and tape it well on the back side. While your bed is heating, just put that mylar board face down over the bed. It will reflect all that heat back and will it heat up much more quickly. Just make sure you are around when the printer starts so you can lift it off. It works really well for me.

[clough42]

In the meantime, until you get enclosed, get one of those mylar space blankets. You know, the thin silver things that fold up the size of a soap bar. Then cut a piece of cardboard that is about 1" larger than your bed. Wrap a piece of that mylar around the cardboard and tape it well on the back side. While your bed is heating, just put that mylar board face down over the bed. It will reflect all that heat back and will it heat up much more quickly. Just make sure you are around when the printer starts so you can lift it off. It works really well for me.

You can also replace your heat bed transistor (RAMPS) with this one:
http://www.digikey.com/product-searc...IRLB8743PBF-ND

It has much lower Rds-on, so it runs cooler and the bed heats faster. Best $1.40 I've spent on my printer.

[AbuMaia]

404 on that link, c42.