Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures  

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

Here is what I did to achieve an extremely cheap yet working enclosure that cost me will under $20.

* Trip to hardware store and purchased an 8' X 4' sheet of "dry erase" board that is 1/4" thick
* Purchased a set of M4 (does not really matter) nuts and bolts
* Had the sheet laser cut into 8 pieces and specific sheets cut similar to your design
* 3D printed 8 internal corner pieces that took me less than 5 minutes to whip up in Fusion 360

I also have a piece of clear acrylic that I plan to put as a door however I have not had the chance to model and print the hinges or latch yet.

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

That's looking great.

I have chosen the transparent sides to make the loading of filament easier. Isn't that a problem for you?
The profiles do look expensive, but I can get them for about 10€. What material did you pick for your corner mounts?

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

That's looking great.

I have chosen the transparent sides to make the loading of filament easier. Isn't that a problem for you?
The profiles do look expensive, but I can get them for about 10€. What material did you pick for your corner mounts?
I printed a low rider spool holder and if you notice the printer sits on my desk at eye level so I can easily reach in and load/unload a spool.

Here is the spool holder I printed...
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2175952

I made a small mod to it in Fusion 360 to add the (S) to "MK2S" so if you want that version I can upload the .STL later when I get home from work. As far as material for the corners, I chose ABS as it is rigid and heat resistant as I felt PLA may become slightly weaker when the heat builds up.

As a further note:
Dimensions are 22"x22"x22" leaving just enough clearance with the spool holder I linked.

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

Wilko,

I plan on building an enclosure based on the following 2 enclosures:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2396990
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2012384

I still have to design and draw up all the items but I plan on using the T-Slot frame and plexi glass from the first enclosure and incorporate some of the monitoring from the second design.

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

You are thinking correct, and your design looks great at low cost.

A few things to add to your thinking. 1) When you upgrade to MMU, you may want to print with a water sol support material. They need to be kept very dry. So you may want to consider an enclosure for the filament as well. 2) Also, integral lights and an easy access kill switch will be handy. 3) Using a Raspberry Pi with OctoPi and OctoPrint come in handy to control and monitor it remotely. 4) I put a small fan inside, with a filter, to reduce odors. (Printed the case, used a vacuum HEPA filter, and a computer fan.) 5) Placing the printer on a paving stone really helps with vibration.

I did a stacked set of IKEA Lack tables, with PVC sides and acrylic front doors. It is a three stack, with the printer on the bottom table, table 2 is the cover, and the filament goes on that, with the third table being the enclosure for the filament. I have a feed through from the top to bottom enclosures, as the MK2S was top feed. The LACKs are a bit tight for this printer, and I wish I had a few more inches in each direction, but it looks and works sharp. In the photos you can see the filter fan, a temperature and humidity sensor (in each component). I wish the LACK was a bit taller so I could set the printer on a paving stone. This is a great upgrade, the LACK is too short and I don't want to print new stand offs (yet).

My MMU is due in a few weeks (fingers crossed) and I am worried how to adapt this to that which seems to want a back feed, But I expect I can figure something out.

Some people use tupperware to hold the filament (with desiccant) with small holes to feed out of.

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

aaron,

your first link looks somehow like what I'm planing. I just skrew the profiles directly to the top/bottom plate. I like the idea of the hepa filter very much.

Thanks for that hint

Wilko,

I plan on building an enclosure based on the following 2 enclosures:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2396990
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2012384

I still have to design and draw up all the items but I plan on using the T-Slot frame and plexi glass from the first enclosure and incorporate some of the monitoring from the second design.

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

Jip - I want to use water sol support material. But for those materials I'd like to do something like

Kill switch is integrated in my powersupply. But to have a separte one might be a good idea. I just installed oktopi on a raspberry and I'm happy with it.

The stone is a good idea and on my list. The alu plate is just a startint point and gives my a nice fire protection layer.

Lights, camera, heating element etc. will come... later 😉

Thx for your hints. Things are comming together.

You are thinking correct, and your design looks great at low cost.

A few things to add to your thinking. 1) When you upgrade to MMU, you may want to print with a water sol support material. They need to be kept very dry. So you may want to consider an enclosure for the filament as well. 2) Also, integral lights and an easy access kill switch will be handy. 3) Using a Raspberry Pi with OctoPi and OctoPrint come in handy to control and monitor it remotely. 4) I put a small fan inside, with a filter, to reduce odors. (Printed the case, used a vacuum HEPA filter, and a computer fan.) 5) Placing the printer on a paving stone really helps with vibration.

I did a stacked set of IKEA Lack tables, with PVC sides and acrylic front doors. It is a three stack, with the printer on the bottom table, table 2 is the cover, and the filament goes on that, with the third table being the enclosure for the filament. I have a feed through from the top to bottom enclosures, as the MK2S was top feed. The LACKs are a bit tight for this printer, and I wish I had a few more inches in each direction, but it looks and works sharp. In the photos you can see the filter fan, a temperature and humidity sensor (in each component). I wish the LACK was a bit taller so I could set the printer on a paving stone. This is a great upgrade, the LACK is too short and I don't want to print new stand offs (yet).

IMG_0189.JPG

My MMU is due in a few weeks (fingers crossed) and I am worried how to adapt this to that which seems to want a back feed, But I expect I can figure something out.

Some people use tupperware to hold the filament (with desiccant) with small holes to feed out of.

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

I have chosen the box it was delivered in

Upside down and cut some double doors on one side

Re: Advice needed - my thoughts on printer enclosures

Good call, but that's nothing I would call good looking. I would not call it "not to bad looking" either. Sorry.

I have chosen the box it was delivered in

Upside down and cut some double doors on one side