Cooling duct help

[Ghosty]

so i got round to poking about at my mainboard last night, and i dont seem to have a spare connector to connect an extra fan 2, where there should be one is just an empty space. so suggestions required as to where to connect to, also what specs does it need to be as my local maplins sell a 40x40x10 mm brussless fan that is 12v for £6.98 off the shelf. is this to small

[stevekr2]

Hi. No one else has jumped in so you got me, a novice, how ever I have set up a fan as you are asking. First thing to establish is what printer you got? This helps guys help you.
I have a FFC PRO so my info is based on this. This board is 24 volts so to come off this board you need a 24 volt fan. Not the one you asked about.
There are a number of 24 v outlets off the transformer?? Power box??Look CAREFULLY you will see they are marked. This set up will require a switch. There is a place on the board next to the case fan connecter for additive cooling on the FFC PRO. I slice with Simplify3d that has a setting to stop start fan as required.....If you really really must have the 12 volt then you will require a voltage stepper 24 down to 12, this will have to come of the power box. Heat sink paste will be needed.I have done this to cool 2 of my stepper motors. You will be wise to ask at your electricial store the set up.
With thanks......

[Ghosty]

thanks for the reply,

lol silly me, i have a replica of a flashforge, wanhoo, ctc etc, it is the dual extruder model, was looking at S3D but cant justify the cost atm (just bought a brand new mercedes a class), so i need every spare penny. as for the fan that was just one i could go out and get within 15mins lol, so really what im after is what size and what power i sould be looking at. then i can ebay or amazon etc for one. as for connecting there are no spare outputs on the board, the only one that would be there has the fet missing where extra is, so i dont think i have any available source, except splicing into the main loom and using an existing "fan" wire.

im also looking at the posibility of running an led strip (ring 27led tent light) that has both 12v and 240v with switches and abitity to daisy chain, so instead of another led strip using a fan coming from the mains, then that would be on when the light is on.

[curious aardvark]

40mm, 24volt fan.
I Just used the same connector that the motherboard fan is wired into. As both fans are really low power consumption, there's no problem with load.

I don't do electronics. But this was a doddle :-)

Ductwise I'm using version 1 of this: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:295317
with this bracket: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:350649
Clips in and out in seconds, does a great job - so I haven't bothered with version 2 yet.
I'm also pretty sure it could be printed quite happily in pla. Bearing in mind that I have my fan on all the time the machine is on. So the ducts are cooled with the print and they're not that close to the printhead anyway. I'm using thermochromatic abs as well. And the duct points don't get warm enough to change colour.
Plus with pla the printbed is cold.

[Bobbler]

Hi Ghosty - as you say Maplins I take it you are in the UK like myself.
In that case - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o00_s00 - this fan is perfect for the Flashforge Dual (and clones), I bought a pair as I broke one of my fan blades - this fits the extruder mounts perfectly and is the same as the fan on the mainboard too - 24V 40x40.

[Ghosty]

thanks fro the info CA i had looked at that duct but im not sure if mine will do the overhangs correctly hence needing the duct in the first place. a guy at work has tasked me with printing the low poly pokemon set, but every way i try i have to cut (using netfabb) the object to like 20 different pieces to avoid overhangs, so as most people sugest a cooling duct was gonna give that ago as it seems fairly cheap. didnt think you could get a 24v fan hence the 12v option.

and yes bobbler im in the UK, still learning myself, getting there though with the help of the excellent people on this forum....

Edit: so i just bought this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121498411230

should be here friday

[curious aardvark]

the duct prints fine without cooling and no supports.
How do you think i printed the one I'm using ?

There are no noticeable overhangs. Just load it into makerware, 0.2mm and hit print :-)

Fan looks same as the one I got - remember: label side faces the printhead.

Might be worth printing a cover for the fan as well I've poked the moving blades three times today lol

Haven't broken one yet !

This is the fan I bought
half the price of yours ;-)
And if you think the extra oomph you've got on yours will make it better. Think again. I'm getting plenty of backdraft on my fan, apparently there's more airflow with the MKII, but even so I suspect there'll still be plenty air bouncing back.
There's probably a technical term, but essentially that's what happens.

[Ghosty]

damn i should of gone via amazon, oh well it will be here tomorrow, and then im gonna print out the duct.

how does the snap in/out work, might look at seeing if magnets can be used.....

yeah mine comes with a filter that i suspect can be turned into a guard, or i could just print one, lol. will this duct be ok in pla as thats all i have here atm.

[ssayer]

That's the cooling duct I'm using too (well, V2 of it anyway). I printed it in PLA as a test to see how it all fit on my printer. Tried it out, and printed with it, and printed with it, and printed with it, and still printing with it. Some day I'll probably print another out of PETG since it's got a higher melt point. But with how well it's working printed in PLA (heck, there is air flowing through it and it isn't THAT close to the extruder), it might be a while...

[curious aardvark]

just keep the fan on all the time and it can't get too hot.
And pla really isn't as sensitive as people seem to believe.

Don't need magnets. Just print the bracket and short spacers. Screw together with a couple of the spare nuts and bolts you got with the printer and it just clips in and out. Very stable, very effective.