Hi Oregonerd. It’s my old Ender 3 Pro. I’ve fitted a linear rail on the x-axis, and dual Z-lead screws driven by a single motor via a belt. That works nicely. Fitted a Sprite extruder, and now working on the fan duct (which as you can see is cooled via a remote fan and a 20mm flex tube). I also fitted a TriangleLab CHCB-OT hot end which is 9mm longer than Creality’s ceramic hot end. And finally, added the excellent BDSensor which requires a little flat platform at most 7mm above the z-height of the nozzle (see the little red dot in my original pics).
Question:
Is there any reason the two ducts can’t separate laterally higher up? In Xdrakosha’s pics, you can see the fans still descend vertically to past the bottom bracket, and then diverge. If I could only figure out how to do it, I’d try to have the ducts start spreading horisontally as soon as possible. The ducts are “behind” the brackets, so there’s no reason they need to be confined to the two vertical
This is a pic of an earlier (non CPAP version) of the duct. I’ve tried to indicate the shape of the duct, emerging almost immediately into a gently arc (my finger shape), terminating where is should, of course. That would open up the view of the nozzle completely, and wouldn’t be in the way of the brackets either…
Hi. I’m amazed at how you can do this. I really need to learn more about how to drive Shapr3D. If you read my comments to Oregonerd in this thread, I’ve tried to explain what I consider the optimal shape of the ducts. Is any of that helpful?
Sorry guys - but how the hell do es one delete posts? This is so frustrating. orry for the miniature pics. Anyway here are full-size pics of my suggestions.
The only constraint you have is how the duct mounts to the extruder. Separating the ducts higher up is very doable from this perspective. That’s ultimately what you are after, better visibility during printing?
How many CFM is coming out of your air source? You don’t want to cool too fast or layer adhesion might be an issue.
The other thing you might keep in mind is keeping the extruder as compact as possible. Some slicers have the ability to print multiple parts, one part at a time on the bed (with some height limitation).
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I’m going to try to print 4 different parts, 4 different colors. I’ll be testing this soonish. Still working on my mods after a slightly painful upgrade process.
You got it in one. Visibility during printing is the top priority. The CFM? This can vary. I’m not planning to use a proper CPAP fan, but rather a 4020 or 5015 (or pairs of these). So no greater CFM than normal, except that the printhead will be without the weight of the fans, since they will be mounted on the frame domewhere.
I was planning to keep the width within the original constraints.
I look forward very much to your efforts - and then you’ll have to educate me on how you did it… Ha ha.
I can do almost any form. The reason I do it as I do because I’m trying to leave the form to be smooth. I think sharp corners will be bed for air delivery. Also I try to leave enough space inside of the duct because very sharp angles leads to smaller inner diameter of the duct.
Today I’ll try to start from the very top part. As on your pictures above.
P.S. To delete the post just press on 3 dots near the Reply button and press again on recycle bin. Even after deletion post will stay as “(post deleted by author)” for some time (you can restore it during this period) and then will be deleted permanently.
One final thought… It isn’t necessary for the duct to be in FRONT of the motor. It could quite as easily be mounted on top - reducing the moment-arm, and by moving nthe weight a little closer to the linear rail. Just a thought. I think the mounting brackets could easily be moved into the correct alignment.
I think this is it!
It’s got (almost) everything I was looking for. Great visibility, superb geometry to allow free air-flow…
All I need to add is a little horisontal platform on which to mount the BDSensor. It is 5mm deep, and needs to be at most 2mm above the tip of the nozzle. But I can add that myself, I think,.
Gosh, this is such a good outcome, and highlights the value of peer co-operation. I couldn’t be happier.
That was useful experience for me too I certainly push my knowledge about lofting a little bit further. That’s why I’m here actually to learn something new.
Well, I couldn’t be happier. Visibility of the nozzle is excellent. I’ve adjusted the mount for the BDSensor to ensure it is 0.2mm above the nozzle, and added the funnel to accommodate the CPAP tube.
I managed to short out my SKR Mini e3 V2 the other day, so a new SKR mini e3 v3 is on its way courtesy of Amazon Prime (arrives tomorrow). Then I;m going to print this duct and verify that it works as expected.
