UM2 Enclosure plan

[bez 9]

I'm not sure if I'm the only one but I've noticed a couple things with my UM2 which I'm really keen to address to help improve my print quality and consistency.

Unfortunately my UM2 can only live near a draft and now its getting cold again here its playing havoc with my print quality and settings, one brisk draft of the dogs going in and out is enough to get some really ugly lines in the layers. I can only come to this conclusion as when we had some nice warm weather 27c+ the print quality and consistency was far better than it is currently.

I have also noticed sometimes the filament ends up getting rotated up to 180 degrees in the bowden tube. Which really doesn't help me when I'm printing tricky materials like ninjaflex.

In a nut shell I want to reduce the possibility of drafts effecting the prints and find a more efficient way of mounting the spool so it has a more direct or "natural" path to the feeder. To also complicate things further its important that I can easily access the feeder to mount fresh spools and I don't want to be drilling holes in my lovely UM2. Not only that I didn't really want to end up making what is essentially a easy on the eye machine into some Frankenstein creation mainly because it lives in my living room (I have a awesome wife, who does well to put up with me lol).

This is my design that I have come up with to address my problems:

Temperature fluctuations are being minimized by a simple 6mm thick lexan "window" with printable latches that lock it into place. This means its easily removable and if It proves to work well I can put more effort into making a hinged option.

There is also a 6mm polycarb "greenhouse" on the top to help keep the temperture up and the drafts out while printing. With a opening at the rear large enough for the lines not to snag and hopefully not too large to let too much warmth out (This could always be extended behind the printer to make a full enclosure).

As for the filament path it seems logical to me to allow the filament to follow its natural arc straight into the feeder, which I am hoping will reduce and twisting and potential bowden tube friction issues as possible. The box its self simply sits under the weight of the printer and is held in place by a raised center section to stop the printer falling of the box.

Fingers crossed once I build the parts up that they work as well in practice as I'm hoping they will in theory.

I will keep this topic up to date as I progress with the build

 

[gr5 2,265]

I like everything but one thing - the top - the hole in the back - that's going to let out much too much warm air. Instead have the top have the hole in the bottom rear running across the back.

See 4th and 5th pictures here:

http://www.vinland.com/blog/?p=191#more-191

Like that but with a somewhat larger openeing for the bowden.

 

[bez 9]

Thanks for the feedback, Yeah I did thing that might be an issue, but Its not difficult to revise the design. I will post up a picture once I have had a tweek

edit:

I have had a poke with the design taking into consideration what you mentioned, what do you think of this?

 

[zoev89 73]

Depending on the inside temperature you might want to move the x and y motors to the outside since they will run very hot.

 

[bez 9]

Thanks for the heads up.

I don't suppose anyone has any details on the temps of the motors, ie what the normal running temps should be and what temperatures are considered to be acceptable etc.

 

[patiwat-kamonpet 1]

My design is coincidentally pretty similar to yours but it is a snap-fit design no screw or glue applied. I also add printable carbon-activated air filter to tone down the smell.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-byUQnia8oew/VA4CKj_gC7I/AAAAAAAAEnc/VJVAUyCjlQ4/w411-h550-no/Ultimaker%2BEnclosure%2B-%2Bfront.png

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9u4wcllyKKs/VA4CU2upmDI/AAAAAAAAEno/A3q5PCDIMwg/w411-h550-no/Ultimaker%2BEnclosure%2B-%2Bback.png

 

[bez 9]

Great minds think alike

What are the temps like inside the enclosure if you don't mind me asking, also do you feel you need to run a fan/extractor to keep the enclosure cooler?

 

[patiwat-kamonpet 1]

I would not go that far, ha ha.

The temperature is around 40-45 C and RH is around 40-50% when I printed with PLA (head 210 C, bed 75 C). This is with the air filter turned on. My objective is not to cool it down, though. The flow is low just enough to create negative pressure at small holes and cracks around the printer and scrub the air.

Thailand ambient is pretty hot and humid (currently 28 C and RH 70%). I am worried about the temperature too. The first effect I saw was on the LED strip. The glue did not like the heat. I might need other mean to secure the strip.

 

[gr5 2,265]

40C should be okay for the steppers. I believe they can be at 80C but I'm not 100% certain. They are pretty tough. So if the air is 40C then hopefully the steppers don't go over 80C.

The Z stepper is already outside.

On the UM original you can move the x/y steppers outside the box with zero parts purchased - they just fit either way.

 

[bez 9]

Cheers for the info guys.

The specs seem pretty decent to be honest. So baring that in mind I will just continue as I have planned and monitor the temperatures, I cant see them getting much over 70c, but I suppose it all depends on the length of print.

I have a couple of 30 hour prints I need to knock out soon so it will be an ideal test for temperatures.

 

[3poro 9]

In case you are planning to print ABS, I would pay a lot of attention on closing gaps in the enclosure. At first I didn't close the holes of the original filament spool holder and some other smaller holes, as I felt I had already managed to get rid of most of the smells. Some weeks back I took the time to close them - and it really did make a nice difference.

I haven't yet added any air purifier into my enclosure, but I'm thinking of doing it to get rid of whatever is left of the fumes - but I'll keep the air circulation closed.

Here's my implementation: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/5921-um2-greenhouse-edition/

Regarding the front door, I would recommend Kris's solution: http://umforum.ultimaker.com/index.php?/topic/6612-another-green-house/

 

[patiwat-kamonpet 1]

Cheers for the info guys.

The specs seem pretty decent to be honest. So baring that in mind I will just continue as I have planned and monitor the temperatures, I cant see them getting much over 70c, but I suppose it all depends on the length of print.

I have a couple of 30 hour prints I need to knock out soon so it will be an ideal test for temperatures.

 

Not really. In my experience the temperature stabilized after a few minutes of printing. If you regulate the ambient temp well it should stay there thru the rest of the print session.

[densohax 0]

A while ago I made this little contraption to clean the air in my room.. It works well enough, the air feels fresher..

It's an ozone purifier I made using a high voltage power supply I got from a neon transformer for PC:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800888036

I simply made a little board with an ATTINY microcontroller that switches on/off a relay to activate periodically the electrostatic plate..

Works pretty well, but I don't use it because frankly, I don't like electrostatics around my equipment

 

[nick-s 0]

I am planning on building a similar enclosure for better ABS prints. Being concerned about overheating the motors etc I went out and got an IR thermometer so I can monitor what is happening inside a housing.

This has shown that after a couple of hours PLA printing with a fully open UM2 machine, the Y axis motor on the left, which protrudes above the white metal shield, runs at 56 to 60 deg C and the X axis one on the right runs at about 48 to 50 deg C. So this is the normal operating temp.

As a very rough and ready quick fix, I then put a glass plate over the door and a cardboard box on top. This enclosed the machine with only the underside of the rear overhang open. When printing ABS at 100 deg C bed and 240 nozzle, it stopped the drafts, the general inside temps rose well (about 45 deg C) and the motors only went up to about 10 deg C above their normal temps. I am inclined to keep the bottom horizontal surface of any top box open so as to not overcook the motors.

Hope this helps as a guide.

 

[bez 9]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and findings guys.

I'm still waiting on my mate with a cnc business to find some free time and cut some stuff for me, the curse of mates rates lol

 

[bez 9]

Time for a bit of a small update:

I had the bottom box cut in MDF as a test run (nice cheap material) and so far so good. I'm currently playing with printing nylon and im having no feed issues what so ever. The real test will be ninjaflex.

Anyway here is a piccy of the MDF version of my spool box:

Its really nice being able to push the machine further against the wall.

Next Step is to cut it in Plastic now I know it works and to also get the "greenhouse" part of the enclosure sorted.

 

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Nice... can you share a pic from the back to see how you guide the fillament?

[bez 9]

Sure, (excuse the crappy quality of the picture)

 

[ultiarjan 1,223]

Ah, I see, just plain practical, no fancy guides.

Think it would also look very nice in colored or white acrylic ...

 

[bez 9]

Yeah I could make a cover or guide, but to be honest im a fan of keeping things simple and effective

The plan is to try and get hold of some of the white frosted plastic that is used on the side of my UM2 to try and keep it all looking uniform. I dont know how long my OCD will be able to put up with the MDF lol

 

[nallath 1,124]

Be very, very carefull with ninjaflex! It's poisonous at high degrees! Ninjaflex contains polyurethane, which can form hydrogen cyanide.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 558]

Be very, very carefull with ninjaflex! It's poisonous at degrees above 230 degrees. Ninjaflex contains polyurethane, which can form hydrogen cyanide.

 

Thanks for the warning! Have you taken this information out of the safety data sheet?

 

[nallath 1,124]

One of the chemists at UM told me this.

 

[bez 9]

Be very, very carefull with ninjaflex! It's poisonous at high degrees! Ninjaflex contains polyurethane, which can form hydrogen cyanide.

 

Cheers for the heads up ........ interesting the cheeky buggers don't mention this when you buy it ...... I'm pretty sure the last few times I printed it I was well under that ........ around 210C.

However should I ever want to bump off the wife ....... I will make a mental not of a huge ninjaflex print at high temps lololol

 

[Dim3nsioneer 558]

Clever people there at Geldermalsen...

If you have more information like that please share it... if the UM customers live longer, they can buy more printers... so it's in your company's interest...