Temperature management in enclosure
I have made an enclosure for my mk3 so I can print ASA etc better. I am concerned the stepper drivers will get to hot so I have a 4pin 40mm fan that ducts outside air onto the stepper drivers. What temperature should I be aiming at keeping the board at?
Likewise, is there an ideal temperature for the enclosure or is it just the hotter the better for the prints?
Thanks.
RE: Temperature management in enclosure
I have the Prusa enclosure. The power supply is outside the enclosure. Other than that, I have had no issues. There was a discussion about putting heat sinks on the Einsy to help dissipate the heat and you may be able to find it by searching the forum. I did that as well. I have had temperatures in the low 40's in the enclosure in the summer while printing ASA.
Some people have modified the cabling to take the Einsy out of the enclosure.
A fan that is extracting heat from the enclosure is partly defeating your purpose. It will bring in cooler air and can cause air currents in the enclosure which can affect your prints. Air currents was one of the first lessons I learned about print failures at work. One of the printers is still in the original cardboard enclosure that was built years ago.
I didn't know the correct answer so I pulled down the data sheet for the TMC2130 driver. From the data sheet. Maximum operational temperature for the chip is 125 degrees. It is recommended to keep them under 100 degrees. The prewarning temperature is 120 and shutdown is 150. This is interesting to know. Your printed printer parts will be melting before the chips shutdown.
RE: Temperature management in enclosure
I've never seen the temps in my LACK enclosures exceed 36 degrees. Never had a problem with steppers or electronics, and ASA and PC-CF print nicely.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: Temperature management in enclosure
Like others I've never had a problem as it doesn't get hot enough in there. The one caveat I would point out though is chip temperature is ALWAYS higher than the ambient outside it, even if measured right next to it on the pcb. Many microprocessors have in built temp readings and those can get 30-50 degrees higher inside than they do on the outside. That being said I wouldn't expect any issues with drivers until the ambient gets up to around 60-80.
By that point the extruder heat break will be having much much more trouble and you will have other things to worry about.