Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?  

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

Preferably I would have it sitting on my desk and watching it all day while enjoying a beer. .. but unfortunately I have to work and write some code as well, to support my printing habit. 😋 

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

Not a Mini, but I found a heavy base makes a huge difference. Stefan of CNC Kitchen has videos on this topic that are well worth watching:

• Vibration analysis
• Silencing the Prusa Mk2

Key points are:

• The trick to reducing printer mechanical noise is to increase mass.
• Mounting the printer on a heavy surface such as a 17x17 inch paver stone adds mass.
• Acoustically coupling the printer to the mass maximizes the vibration dampening effect.Do not isolate the printer from the base. Felt non-isolating feet work well.
• De-couple the printer mass from the resonating surfaces. Isolating foam or Sorbothane feet work well to keep any remaining vibration from being transmitted into the flat supporting surfaces.

Before doing too much else, I'd try a solid slab to mount it on and see what else needs quieting after that. I've found my Mk3 quiet enough that I regularly fall asleep on the couch next to it. I'd start with a heavy base like a small paver and add some Sorbothane feet to start with.

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

Thanks. Good input.

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

I have not heard any other printers, but the Mini is not that loud to me. I have it about 6 feet from where I do calls and it does not bother me or anyone else. I do have it on a solid table in an enclosure but I leave the door open when printing PETG.

Regards,

Mark

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

Hi Mark, thanks for the feedback. And good point with the PETG. I have a thin Ikea PAX closet Ill put it in and see if that will dampen it sufficiently. 

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

I run my Mini all day in my small office and I have no problems with video calls. It is inherently quieter than most printers, but I further reduced the noise by sitting it on top of ~10mm of EVA foam to dampen vibrations. It's on a built-in cabinet that is very solidly mounted to the wall, which further discourages vibration. If you have it on a free-standing table or desk, I'd add a heavy paver. I didn't find it necessary.

These things made it very comfortable for me to work around. I worried about the noise being picked up on calls, so I started asking people on calls if they could hear it. They couldn't. I think the headset I use is pretty good at ambient noise rejection.

Finally, we should start lobbying Prusa to add stealth mode to the Mini. They have no plans to do it, but it's very effective on their other printers, so it might be a good noise reduction tactic.

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

@pogopilot

Hi, thanks. That was just the feedback I was looking for. I didn't know that stealth wasn't implemented for the Mini and this is my first Prusa, but I have a cabinet that I can close, so sounds like I'll be fine. I'll try to put it on foam.  

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

It's interesting to hear these replies, because I just got a mini, and can clearly hear it from the next room, even with the door closed.  It's much louder than my Ender 3's (which have a silent motherboard).  Every time the bed moves at more than about 25mm/s, it is very noticeable, and the tones that it makes sound very much like my other printers before I got the silent motherboards.

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

This is a what I ended up doing. I have an Ikea pax in my tiny office. 
44cm deep and 2x75cm wide with sliding doors. 
It would just fit sideways, with some insulation for sound proofing and noise dampening. 
I have video meetings all with a USB blogger microphone less than 2 meters away.
The power brick and octopi is in the other closet to minimize heat and protect the octopi from overheating.

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/7cqvN97BhZCR4CFS7 

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

Nice setup.  It is tough to soundproof, but that will reduce it.  

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

@cwbullet

Thanks Chuck  🙂      After this photo, I replaced the piece of oak, which was just what I had at hand, with a heavy tile, with a good vibration damper underneath. Just as everyone else describes. Its been running most days and nights now for a few months. Nicely sound dampened and rock solid. 

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

What do you print?

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

On this one, just PLA and PETG. Tried a few flexibles. I have a Delta and a CR10S Pro in the basement in enclosures for ASA and ABS and other stuff.  I haven't had problems with PLA with the door closed. Yet 😀 

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

@larswa

If the temperature is low enough, you will not.  

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

To “sound proof” my mini+, I use a 60x60cm tile slab with roughly 10mm thickness (which I happen to have). I just added five 3M plastic footing (4 corners and 1 in the center). This greatly reduced the noise coming from the motor vibration to my desk.

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

Hi, have the same issue, would you mind sharing the picture again? It's not accessible any more. Thx!

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

My mini is in my office which is next to the bedroom. I found it was keeping me awake at night sometimes. I decided that most of the noise was resonating from the cabinet it was stood on. So I glued some felt pads under the feet. This halved the noise coming from the printer.

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

Here is my example for the others.
At first Prusa Mini+ was standing directly on the parapet on the little pads it has when it comes in the box.
The noise it was producing become unbearable especially in the evenings, when the world becomes quiet.
Noise was transferring to the construction walls and was heard in EVERY part of my flat.

I got a granite slab as a part of failed work from the tomb stonecutter nearby, size is something about 30 x 30 x 3 cm. The benefit of this is that the top surface is super flat and smooth so the printers legs are touching it and printer is not moving on the surface when it prints.

I used a silencing foam from computer disks (those dense parts in the corners), and a noise cancelling foam used in audio studios.
I used double sided adhesive tape to attach foam to the granite block.

Foam is about 3cm in height and gets compressed under the weight to about 2cm, though notice that the print area may not bee perfectly horizontal which may be an issue for certain materials, but because I use PETG thus I have not noticed any issues.

Noise cancelling works so well that I can talk with people when working remotely and they do not hear printing sound.
Also sound does not travel to the parapet so it is no longer transporting to other construction elements.

RE: Soundproofing the MINI for a small office?

DIY Ways to Soundproof a Room Cheaply

Wooden shutters. 

Sound dampening curtains. 

Soft furnishings. 

Rugs and carpets. 

Wallcoverings and thick blankets. 

Fix loose floorboards. 

Acoustic caulk. 

Plants and hedges.