[Closed] Prusa + Box  

Re: Prusa + Box

bob.b2: regarding box, someone having patent for that 🙁

Not really; stratasys have a patent regarding heated build chamber, but it its for an enclosure that, well, doesnt enclose the entire printer. In fact, that patent is specifically for a heated chamber with an external XYZ gantry, so the build chamber and the moving parts are separated with a deformable thermal insulator. So a box that encloses the entire printer, or even just the mechanical parts including the gantry, doesnt violate their patent. And of course, you could always sell a box thats supposedly intended for whatever other purpose. Like just a display box :).

Ivo: thats a brilliant idea :). I would want a transparent box, but otherwise its a nifty solution for sure.

Re: Prusa + Box

bob.b2: I was also wondering why nobody is selling an kit or something like that. And because I'm not such an advanced craftsman as many here (and because I'm a little bit lazy 😀 ) I was searching the web for "easy-set-up-alternatives". And because I'm a big fan of "misuses" I found this solution you can see on my pics. It's a so called "grow box" you usually use for planting... hm... yes... let's say "green plants" 😉 And I must say... it's perfect (for me). I ordered it online as a complete set with all the ventilation stuff (ok... only active carbon filter but for me fine) for just 110 euros. Just added a 10 euros table from ikea, some concrete blocks against the vibrations, a simple 5 euro led-stripe and that's it. Built up in 10 minutes. Ok... I also put a filament box, but this is another thing. But it's even enough place to put it there. No smell, no air draft because almost perfect airtight and "not sooo ugly". Another "cool" thing is that I always have a constant temperature of 30°C in the box without any heater or fan. The only disadvantage of course is, that you have no glass that you can see it printing. But you just have to open the zipper and that's it. And for me no matter anyway because I put the printer in a separately room and I installed Octoprint with a camera, so I always can see the printer online with my computer/mobile. For me a very handy, easy to build, cheap and functional solution. Of course not as "nice" and advanced as many others here (respect to all those impressive boxes!) but for anybody who wants it just easy... perfect 🙂

Your setup with concrete blocks might give you harm as all the forces are trasferred through the threaded rods of the Y-axis and the longer an elastic member is, the lower the stiffness is and thus the higher the vibrations are. When the printer is sitting flat, the middle part can only move a bit before the zip-ties that holds the wires touches the ground and limits movement. 🙂

Re: Prusa + Box

Your setup with concrete blocks might give you harm ...
Hm... I think I don't understand what you mean by this statement because I have absolutely no problems with this setup and get perfect prints. But maybe I used the wrong word ("vibrations"). The concrete blocks are not really against vibrations. They are more an "absorber" against the noise of this printer, when putting on a normal table. And for this issue it's just perfect (inspired of this video: ). Or do you mean the printer "need" vibrations to be more "elastic"? Is this necessary?

Re: Prusa + Box

hi *

this is my contribution to this topic :-). I tried to develop good looking affordable box. With an experimental filament holder on the photo.

Re: Prusa + Box

Your setup with concrete blocks might give you harm ...
Hm... I think I don't understand what you mean by this statement because I have absolutely no problems with this setup and get perfect prints. But maybe I used the wrong word ("vibrations"). The concrete blocks are not really against vibrations. They are more an "absorber" against the noise of this printer, when putting on a normal table. And for this issue it's just perfect (inspired of this video: ). Or do you mean the printer "need" vibrations to be more "elastic"? Is this necessary?

By any means, i do not encourage more elasticity. The printer does not need this as it will create more amplitude to vibrations that may harm the print quality.

Increasing the mass lessens the vibrations by making the base more inert so less vibrations are transmitted to the table below which being a big flat object makes a lot of noise when it vibrates.
If however you want to dampen also the motions of the printer itself to minimize effect on print quality and risk of skipping steps, you want the printer to be as rigidly attached to the big mass of the concrete block as possible. The Prusa i3 by design is not super rigedly attached to whatever it is sitting on as the Y-axis is untriangulated rods with the support quite far from the loads on the central part caused by acceleration of the extruder assembly and of the X-axis.
Normally, I don't see this as a very big problem as the central part cannot rotate very much before the zip-ties that hold the wires underneath come in contact with the concrete block and limits movement. In your setup however, it is free to rotate as much as it might want, so you use up all the flexibility that the y-axis and the printed cornerpieces has. This will increase oscillations of the printer itself even if it is not audible when the table is not being used as a loudspeaker because the concrete blocks are there.
But if you're satisfied with your setup, then i guess the impact is less than I imagine.

Re: Prusa + Box

hi *

this is my contribution to this topic :-). I tried to develop good looking affordable box. With an experimental filament holder on the photo.

That is a very nice enclosure! I need something as small as possible because I live in a motorhome and don't have a lot of extra space.

It looks like you designed some parts for this enclosure. Is there any chance you could give a quick explanation of how to make this and where to find the STL's. If you're willing to share, of course.
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Jay - AKA NomadMaker

Re: Prusa + Box

Normally, I don't see this as a very big problem as the central part cannot rotate very much before the zip-ties that hold the wires underneath come in contact with the concrete block and limits movement. In your setup however, it is free to rotate as much as it might want, so you use up all the flexibility that the y-axis and the printed cornerpieces has. This will increase oscillations of the printer itself even if it is not audible when the table is not being used as a loudspeaker because the concrete blocks are there.

Ah! Now I think I understand! So you would recommend to use just one big concrete block which the printer has as much contact as possible (just like on a flat surface)? Ok, I'll give it a try. To be honest... I just took these two blocks because I have them left over 😉 Thank you for this annotation!

Re: Prusa + Box

hi *

this is my contribution to this topic :-). I tried to develop good looking affordable box. With an experimental filament holder on the photo.

That is a very nice enclosure! I need something as small as possible because I live in a motorhome and don't have a lot of extra space.

It looks like you designed some parts for this enclosure. Is there any chance you could give a quick explanation of how to make this and where to find the STL's. If you're willing to share, of course.
-
Jay - AKA NomadMaker

Hi Jay,
Sorry for now. I will make one version available soon. It consists of more then 10 different parts, it is still in development and it not easy to put together a consistent set. J.

Re: Prusa + Box

With the heat build up and possible fire hazards I am surprised so many are building enclosures out of wood. I was thinking of using 80/20 extrusion so that I could slide the acrylic panels in the extrusion slots. What would I use to insulate the gabs between the panel in the slots so that smoke and fumes don't escape?

Re: Prusa + Box

hi *

this is my contribution to this topic :-). I tried to develop good looking affordable box. With an experimental filament holder on the photo.

Build Thread?

Re: Prusa + Box

Lexan box.

Re: Prusa + Box

Lexan box.
What a tiny fan for a big box 🙂

Re: Prusa + Box

It doesn't turn on most of the time, I use the dehydrator to pump in heat and after the print it turns on to cool it slowly.