Fume vent
Hi,
Having a background in medicine and chemistry, I am kind of paranoid about fumes. For this reason I made a fume ventilation setup for my SL1 and will share what I have found. Please read the whole post before trying any of this.
This is a remix of Prusa's SL1 to 40mm hose adapter for the SL1. This adapter will allow for the mounting of a 120mm fan such as a Noctua, and from there to a 5 inch vent duct using https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:21112 to make https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/3447-120mm-to-5in-adapter
High CFU quiet fan
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C5LRQD3/smid=A1Z5H6ZGWCMTNX
Power supply and switch for MOLEX
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GFSGQTG/smid=A2F13KK758WMXQ
Molex to fan header adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007S3T4O0/smid=AELLOY6K8XB8X
Window vent kit w 5" duct
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072X3QNWL/qid=1558724511
This setup will have its own power switch, which allows for the fumes to be extracted from the enclosure even when the SL1 itself is powered off. With a persistent negative pressure in the build chamber you have practically no fumes with Prusa Orange Tough, even when you leave some resin in the tank.
Prusa support can give you a Sl1 fume vent to 40mm hose adapter .stl on request. I remixed this to convert form SL1 to 120mm fan, then attached the above setup. Prusa support asked me not to release this file until they officially publish their file, but you should be able to request it and remix it yourself easily using the customizable 'thing' from Thingiverse listed at the top of this post.
To install, remove the 2 hex screws from the fume vent and the 8 hex screws on the sides of the base. The base will slide forward but remain attached by the power switch; no need to mess with that. The fume vent will need to be tilted to be removed. The fume fan appears to be glued to the original fume vent, but we will need neither. You will want to unscrew the two hex screws holding the plate that encloses the carbon filter so that can be used in the new setup (the carbon filter is good for safety and seems to subjectively cut the smell down by half from the exhaust). The power cables for the fume fan are held by a plastic piece (intended to block fumes from entering the base of the unit?) that is easily removed by pulling the plastic. Follow the fan wires through to the base of the unit and you will see two black plastic ties holding the fain wires to another set of wires; cut the plastic ties (carefully!) to free the wires. Unplug the fan wires from the standard fan connector on the circuit board and you can free the fume fan and its assembly from the SL1 completely.
The bottom 8 screws and the cover of the base of the unit can be replaced now; you do not need to work with the bottom of the unit anymore. Hot glue (or use your glue of choice) to hold the carbon filter to the printed SL1 to 120mm adapter. Let it cool, then attach the 120mm fan and the 120mm to 5inch adapter. I used hot glue to seal the edges of the fan so no fumes leak, then duct taped the whole thing. Insert this fume assembly into the SL1 and use the two remaining hex screws to hold it in place. I placed some duct tape over this as well to prevent trace leakage.
Assemble the window vent kit and position the ventilation duct before trying to attach the duct to your new SL1 setup. The ducting is rather stiff and can be difficult to position they way you want otherwise. The window kit will require duct tape around the edges as it has no gasket due to it's variable length. Duct tape the end of the duct to your adapter assembly and you are good to go!
If you used the parts I listed you will have a separate power switch you can turn on and feel for any obvious leaks, then try putting some resin in the tank and closing the lid with the Noctua on. If you have the fan on before you close the orange lid, you will hear the suction when you close the lid and the fume smell should immediately go away almost completely (assuming you did not leave your bottle open). I was surprised by this myself; I thought the smell would linger more.
Noise-wise, the Noctua enclosed in duct tape is basically silent. You can easily let that run as long as you need to have resin in the tank. The motors for the tilt are not too bad either; the main sound you hear is the fans for the ventilation of the base of the unit for circuitry/LED. I can imagine some will want to replace those with mini Noctua fans, but I did not look into how easily that would be accomplished physically. The firmware might also take issue to such a replacement, as it apparently tests these fans on startup. I would chat with support before messing with those. Note that removing the fume fan does not cause a problem with the current firmware. I did not attempt to connect it to the fan header on the SL1 so I do not know if that will work.
Bottom line: This setup looks a little bit ghetto with the duct tape, but works great. The only fume smell is when you open the bottle (duh) or the orange lid. The CW1 has no equivalent vent, so I have no mod for it.
RE: Fume vent
I like that someone did this, still waiting for mine, i was kind of planning on trying something like that, except i was going to try to make a enclosure for the whole printer, this way i could keep any smelly smells contained when i turned off the secondary fan (i didn't plan on having my fan on all the time, l think i like your idea better, mines a lot bigger and a lot noisier) and i could control the temperature in my enclosure without having to mess with the printer too much.
I'm probably going to try your way first, but i think you should amend your post to have alternate options to the 90$ window kit. There are some considerably cheaper alternative kits, like this one ( https://smile.amazon.com/AGPTEK-Portable-Conditioner-Adhesive-Fastener-no/dp/B07RRW9H9V/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=window+kit&qid=1565298786&s=gateway&sr=8-8 ) which is good for windows that dont slide, or this one ( https://smile.amazon.com/Wulidasheng-Portable-Conditioner-Connector-Adjustable/dp/B07SHM22XV/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=window+kit&qid=1565299051&s=gateway&sr=8-9 ) which can be used for sliding windows.
And if you feel artsy crafts, and have some styrofoam, you can make you own window thing, just need a hose. buying a window kit is probably easier. and i haven't tried either of those, they're just examples. Now since you don't have a enclosure, have you looked at a air loop with something that can warm the air, and a whole bunch of carbon filters in line? This way we wouldn't have to even bother with a window kit, but i'm not sure that stacking carbon filter the way i'm speaking of will work right. I'm asking because i really want a way to control the temp if i need too. not sure if it will be necessary, but still may not be a bad thing to look into.
Oh, and carbon media foam is cheap on amazon, work fairly well for replacement filters.
RE: Fume vent
You are awesome!!
I might do this too.
RE: Fume vent
Starting to look into venting. I've got a crank out angle window that is going to be a pain, but I spent today slicing/dicing the foam that came in the SL1/CW1 box to create a 4" angled 'shim' to allow that window to be opened but still have a reasonable seal (it gets hot here in Austin). I'll cut a 3"x5" rectangular vent through that to get out.
Now I'm on to the rest of it, and trying to see what of the above I can use. Looking at the above, I am trying to piece together what you've built.
You mention "This is a remix of Prusa's SL1 to 40mm hose adapter for the SL1. This adapter will allow for the mounting of a 120mm fan such as a Noctua". I don't see the link to that remix. I see a link to thingiverse::2112 (the adapter-generator), and your 120mm->5" adapter created from that. The rest are Amazon links (useful).
What I could use and would like to avoid designing from scratch is the piece that fits in the back of the printer and mounts a 120mm fan. I've got Prusa's 40mm hose version, and I can mod that in Fusion 360 to do the job, but if you've already done it, can you post it? Or point me to the link above for it, I could just be having an especially dense day.
Thanks!
Paul
RE: Fume vent
I also have a window that's angled when opened. Could you post the stl?
RE: Fume vent
Once I have anything, I’ll post.
For the angled window, it will be pictures, rather than an stl, as it is just the packing foam and gaffers tape.
RE: Fume vent
I think the SL1 is supposed to keep the print area a specific temp, so hooking up a external fan to the back will prevent that system from working (afaik). I'm going about my venting solution by making a fume enclosure around my work area, and venting that. That way the SL1 will regulate its internal temp on its own.
RE: Fume vent
Any type of ventilation suffers from one specific problem, especially when there is very cold outside. If you want to put some air out, you inevitably need to get some very cold air in (well unless the printer works in vacuum chamber 😉 )
After all experiments with venting I ended up with air purifier. For me, this is ultimate solution working in any conditions.
RE: Fume vent
@david-t2
How do you know when the air purifier is saturated or used up and needs to be changed out?
RE: Fume vent
Ask the helpdesk on the eshop page!
Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Fume vent
How do you know when the air purifier is saturated or used up and needs to be changed out?
I don't know. The one I use still works fine after 2 months. I guess I'll have to change filters as soon as there is some smell again.
RE: Fume vent
@david-t2
I bought a FooBot desktop air monitor a while back that claims to measure particulates, CO2 and volatile compounds (probably VOC) and I wondered if you might be using something like that. Unfortunately, my FooBot hasn't worked in a while and I've yet to call them and see what can be done about that.
RE: Fume vent
Most of air purifiers can measure pollution particles in air themselves (either mechanic particles or chemical substances) and react to presence of the pollution by increasing cleaning power. So basically, as long as the purifier eventually calms down after printing has ended, it should be sign of its proper work. This is how my purifier works now. I expect it will struggle cleaning the air as soon as its filters saturate.
RE: Fume vent
Hi All,
I thought I would share the setup I use just as another option for my Prusa in an Ikea Lack enclosure:
It's an Odour Cube, I have the version that simply recirculates and vents but there are modules to also filter the fumes through carbon as well.
RE: Fume vent
Sorry, I forgot to include the link: https://odourcube.com/