Question about MK2 enclosures  

Re: Question about MK2 enclosures

Well, i can only tell you about my enclosure. I built a box roughly 55x55x55 using 2020 extrusions and polycarbonate walls. I wanted it mainly to avoid dust, fur & nosy paws, snouts or little fingers of the various species that might run around in my basement.

Therefore, i simply didn't enclose it fully, i have a cut few air ducts in my walls towards the top of the box and around where the power supply is. I did buy longer cables for the LCD display to move it outside the box, because i wanted to be able to operate it from outside. But I left power supply and Rambo inside.

The few ducts in there are enough to keep the temperature stable at roughly +5°C over room temperature when printing PLA. i.e. usually around 25-28°C, bit hotter when printing ABS. But the box still shields the print from any drafts. It is not a heated build chamber, it is not hermetically sealed so it will still stink up the place when printing ABS..

.. but it keeps temperatures stable at a slightly elevated level, keeps away cold air drafts that might cause cracking/splitting when printing ABS and keeps out dust & pets and little kids.

If you're after a heated chamber & air filtration, this won't work for you. If you just want a less accident prone environment, consider providing some air circulation (and if you change you mind later on, you can still print some plugs to cover the ducts again - or make it variable).

I guess it all depends on what you're trying to achieve and what you planning on printing with: a heated chamber with temps much past 50°C could be counter productive for PLA, for ABS it does make more sense. A semi enclosed box with less of a temperature gain works for both and you don't risk overheating the electronics on there.

Just my 2 cents.

Re: Question about MK2 enclosures

Ok so this is how I did it now...

LCD and PSU are outside of the enclosure. Rambo is still attached to the Prusa frame. I added two 120mm fans. One blows air into the enclosure and the other one blows the air out of the enclosure.

I will report some temperature once I start printing ABS.

Re: Question about MK2 enclosures

If you're pushing that much air in/out of the enclosure, I'm curious as to why do you have/want an enclosure at all? As far as I can tell, the three reasons to have an enclosure are to 1. protect from drafts, 2. protect from dust, animals, people, 3. Help with noise, 4. Hold in heat to aid with printing issues.

Blasting air through it like that would only work with goal number 2, minus the dust. Basically if it's a safety enclosure.

I personally plan to build one to hold in heat, noise, and prevent draft issues, but I also intend to move the control board out. I don't know if this is strictly necessary, but I'm a tinkerer, and I think the clean look of getting my Pi, controller, and PSU out of sight is a good thing.

Re: Question about MK2 enclosures

I got a server cabinet (1m tall) and have some space beneath my printer. That's where I'll be mounting the LCD, PSU and Rambo. Hot air rises, cool air drops. The bottom will always be cooler.

Haven't ordered anything yet, but I'm planning on ordering cable extensions or longer cables. I just have to find out the names for each cable and check what cables need to be longer.

Putting the LCD outside the cabinet is also a possibility, but I like the self contained nature of the current setup. Everything is inside and locked.

Re: Question about MK2 enclosures

I got a server cabinet (1m tall) and have some space beneath my printer. That's where I'll be mounting the LCD, PSU and Rambo. Hot air rises, cool air drops. The bottom will always be cooler.

Haven't ordered anything yet, but I'm planning on ordering cable extensions or longer cables. I just have to find out the names for each cable and check what cables need to be longer.

Putting the LCD outside the cabinet is also a possibility, but I like the self contained nature of the current setup. Everything is inside and locked.

Did you figure out the names for the cables? I have also built an enclosure and would like to put PSU and the screen outside.

Re: Question about MK2 enclosures

I have a list of connectors, will that help? Since all important connections are to the mini-RAMBo, I contacted UltiMachine directly for answers. Below is a shopping list for my decapitated MK2 project. Non-relevant spinal connector removed from below.

Connector: 2.54mm 1x2 (no latch) | 24 to 30 gauge

Connector: 2.54mm 1x2 Positive Latch | 24 to 30 gauge

Connector: 2.54mm 1x3 Positive Latch | 24 to 30 gauge

Connector: 2.54mm 1x4 Positive Latch |24 to 30 gauge

Connector: IDC 10 2x5 female to female | 28 gauge

Connector: Pluggable Terminal Block 2 Pin | 12 to 26 gauge (14 recommended as upgrade, 12 too large)

Cheers 😀