Making active enclosure for UM3E

[Swissengineer 25]

Hello everyone, I was thinking about making an enclosure for my UM3E.

My goal is thermal and acoustic. So I want to have the best results to work with hard to print materials and at the same time, reduce the noise, to have the printer inside our office. ( Also prevent dust and moisture exposure)

But my concern for now is: What temperature (max) should I have inside the enclosure?

I was thinking about having a fan with the electronics to regulate it based on a set temperature automatically.

For example, 20°C less than the bed temperature. So when my enclosure gets to that temperature, I regulate it with the fan speed. And I would try to get the temperature of the bed automatically. So whenever I print I always have the best temperature.

What do you think?

[SandervG 1,521]

I believe the specs say the ideal operating temperature should be between 15º and 32ºC approximately, so I think that is what you should aim for. I believe @UltiArjan might have ran it around 50ºC but I am not entirely sure what his experience was.

Maybe he can tell us.

It definitely make sense to close the front. Do you want to close the top for accoustic reasons, or to improve your build quality?

What filaments are you (trying to) print with mostly?

[Swissengineer 25]

My goal is primary acoustic ( We have the printer inside our office next to our working stations) and secondly, is a am closing the printer anyway for acoustics, let's do it the right way and making it the best thermally also. We want to print with CPE+ for example.

I was thinking a full enclosure around the whole printer. Using Bosch aluminum frames. With plexiglass. Isolating foam on the sides. and 2 doors (Front and back). A top removable panel just in case. The hole thing bolted over a cabinet with all the tools and filaments under it. And additionally a computer fan (low noise) with thermal control of the inside case to avoid overheating.

The whole system is next to windows (here in Switzerland it gets cold!) so for now when we print we can't open the windows because we worry of affecting the printing.

Also avoid to much exposure of the printer of the sun. (Machines don't like UV )

[owen 19]

I used one of these temperature controller on ebay

With a fan to remove the heat. I set it to 45C for ABS and tall prints are much better. I just have the top enclosed and the front.

[ultiarjan 1,223]

I was thinking a full enclosure around the whole printer.

 

I did NOT fully enclose my machine, so I don't need to worry about the temp of my electronics. But if you build in the total machine it would be the safest I guess if you could separate 2 area's, and have two temperature controllers / fans, to keep the bottom electronics cool.

You don't need to worry about the stepper motors, they can handle some heat.

Heating the feeders could be an issue depending on the materials you use, if they are to hot they can grind the filament, for PLA it could be bad, but if you have active cooling you can ofc keep a lower temperature.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Guest

[Swissengineer 25]

This makes it complicated... It means I will have 3 areas...

One for the electronics with vent holes

One for the spool with thermal regulation

One for the printing area with thermal regulation (Higher temp?)

Now what I need to define is the temperatures of these areas....Any ideas?

[BrayChristopher 36]

I know the UM3 has better heat sinks on the electronics, but I would still make sure they can breathe really well.

https://ultimaker.com/en/community/26114-dramatic-layer-shifts?page=1&sort=#reply-162078

https://ultimaker.com/en/community/26114-dramatic-layer-shifts?page=1&sort=#reply-163941

This is pretty cheap "insurance" that might help prolong the life of the electronics and save some headaches down the road.

As for the enclosure, here is what I ended up with. It is kind of a mash up of different peoples' concepts. You might want to look for a Top Cover concept based on 1/8" acrylic. The 1/4" acrylic was expensive.

https://ultimaker.com/en/community/17521-enclosure?page=1&sort=#reply-158697

You might also want to put your printer on a turn table since it seems to be boxed into a corner.

[kenjkelly 0]

I wish Ultimaker would enclose the UM3 to make it a turn-key pro product. I'm sure Ultimaker could do it correctly to make the UM3 a solid performer on higher-temp materials. Will owners void warranties by using home made or 3rd party boxes and bags?

[SandervG 1,521]

There was a discussion about this recently. You won't void warranty on your Ultimaker by adding a 3rd party box, however if this box is the root for damages inflicted on your Ultimaker that won't be covered by warranty.

On the other hand, if something would happen with your Ultimaker which is completely unrelated to this box, you are still good.

Let me know if you have any further questions about this.

[cregenpri 0]

Hi.

I didn't want to open a new topic, since it's kind of related.

I'm new to everything 3D, had my UM3ex printer for 1 week.

I've made a plexiglass door for my printer

, and I was wondering if I need any vents to prevent it from overheating or as long as I don't cover the top, I should be fine?

Thank you!

[DidierKlein 729]

You should be fine don't worry

[SandervG 1,521]

Does it stick out far enough for your print head to reach the edge of your build plate in the front?

Looks like a nice design!

[cregenpri 0]

Thank you both!

I did not think of that! I doubt I will ever print something that big, but you do have a point. I hope I will remember to open the door in case I print something that big:)

Here is a picture from above to show how much is the window getting forced by the print head:

Edited March 2, 2017 by Guest

[cregenpri 0]

Okay. I just realised what you meant SandervG. You meant touching it when the print is starting. No, it doesn't touch it then

[SandervG 1,521]

Okay. I just realised what you meant SandervG. You meant touching it when the print is starting. No, it doesn't touch it then

 

Actually I meant what you probably understood in your initial reply When you print something which reaches to the far front of your build plate, if your print head doesn't collide with your door. But it seemed like no problem for you

[cregenpri 0]

Oh okay. Apologies Thanks again for thinking of that!

[XYZDesignPro 70]

I fashioned a similar door from Lexan. Print head does not touch the door in normal use

Putting the hinge pivots at the outer corner of the printer allows the door to swing open completely against the printer and out of the way.

Hinges and handle are PLA, as is the control knob with a crank for improved ergonomics. Ultimaker Robot on a keychain to keep track of my USB drive.

[barnold08 0]

Does anyone have the stl files for these hinges?? 

[Smithy 1,144]

You can also look at Thingiverse or Youmagine, there you find a lot of solutions for the UM3 if nobody has the STL of these hinges.

[JohnInOttawa 104]

I printed a version of these hinges and cut a door to match.  I like the design, however I find that, in my case, when the door swings open it tends to pull the hinge forward and it releases from the frame.   

 

Now in fairness, I did not go with PLA for my final, so maybe stiffness was a factor.  

 

J