Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
I was randomly gifted a Large (with LED) Yoopai soft enclosure for xmas and, although the XL is not listed as a compatible printer, it turns out to fit, with caveats.
As can be seen in the pics below, there is:
- A couple of inches of clearance on the Y axis. I chose to move the printer fully forward and keep all the clearance for the rear of the printer.
- No clearance on the Z axis. The top of the wire harnesses brushes the top of the enclosure when the heads are parked. I think that's ok as the top of the wire harness gets lower as soon as the tools are picked up.
- Some space on the X axis, but not a lot. On my 2T XL, with the printer moved all the way to the right, there is enough space to add/remove standard size filament spools. Large spools may require some more acrobatics (but there is an opening on the left, for at least one of the spools). I think a 3T XL would fit (3 spools on the left), but I don't think it would work for a 4T or 5T XL.
Build quality of the enclosure is quite good. The frame is ok, but the connectors are pretty fragile given the amount of tension necessary. The little LED bar is surprisingly useful given the sub-par lighting of the XL.
Overall, I am pretty pleased with the result. The fit is tight, but given the gargantuan size of the XL, it is not a bad thing (except if you have a 4T or 5T XL).
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
That's big!
RE:
It is not small, but then, that's the footprint of the printer...
It's also decently priced (< $60) and Prusa-colored.
That's big!
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
what about the XL PSU and mother boards can they handle the heat of being fully enclosed ?
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
I have a Creality soft enclosure which I repurposed for my 5T XL. Very similar experience, I can fit the XL and five 1k spools inside but no way would a 2kg spool fit. Actually now that I think about it I probably could fit 2kg rolls but I'd have to remove the spool holders on the right hand side thus limiting it to a 3T machine. Anyway it's a tight fit in all directions but works great.
If you're worried about the z clearance you can always add some cross members across the top of the enclosure and put them into compression, make them bow upwards, that's what I did. I printed some "C clamp brackets" to attach to the enclosure frame and bought some Balsa wood strips (easy to bend) from Michael's to use as the cross members. Now I have a nice small domed top and the wire harnesses don't come anywhere near touching the top of the enclosure.
I was randomly gifted a Large (with LED) Yoopai soft enclosure for xmas and, although the XL is not listed as a compatible printer, it turns out to fit, with caveats.
As can be seen in the pics below, there is:
- A couple of inches of clearance on the Y axis. I chose to move the printer fully forward and keep all the clearance for the rear of the printer.
- No clearance on the Z axis. The top of the wire harnesses brushes the top of the enclosure when the heads are parked. I think that's ok as the top of the wire harness gets lower as soon as the tools are picked up.
- Some space on the X axis, but not a lot. On my 2T XL, with the printer moved all the way to the right, there is enough space to add/remove standard size filament spools. Large spools may require some more acrobatics (but there is an opening on the left, for at least one of the spools). I think a 3T XL would fit (3 spools on the left), but I don't think it would work for a 4T or 5T XL.
Build quality of the enclosure is quite good. The frame is ok, but the connectors are pretty fragile given the amount of tension necessary. The little LED bar is surprisingly useful given the sub-par lighting of the XL.
Overall, I am pretty pleased with the result. The fit is tight, but given the gargantuan size of the XL, it is not a bad thing (except if you have a 4T or 5T XL).
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
I like it. It looks like it would be hard to get to both filament sensors on a 5XL. Perhaps if the bottom fabric piece was cut and then fabric wrapped around the bottom frame pieces, you could then just lift it off the printer like a box when not needed. Do you think that would work or is it too flimsy? Thanks.
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
I have a Creality soft enclosure which I repurposed for my 5T XL. Very similar experience, I can fit the XL and five 1k spools inside but no way would a 2kg spool fit. Actually now that I think about it I probably could fit 2kg rolls but I'd have to remove the spool holders on the right hand side thus limiting it to a 3T machine. Anyway it's a tight fit in all directions but works great.
If you're worried about the z clearance you can always add some cross members across the top of the enclosure and put them into compression, make them bow upwards, that's what I did. I printed some "C clamp brackets" to attach to the enclosure frame and bought some Balsa wood strips (easy to bend) from Michael's to use as the cross members. Now I have a nice small domed top and the wire harnesses don't come anywhere near touching the top of the enclosure.
I was randomly gifted a Large (with LED) Yoopai soft enclosure for xmas and, although the XL is not listed as a compatible printer, it turns out to fit, with caveats.
As can be seen in the pics below, there is:
- A couple of inches of clearance on the Y axis. I chose to move the printer fully forward and keep all the clearance for the rear of the printer.
- No clearance on the Z axis. The top of the wire harnesses brushes the top of the enclosure when the heads are parked. I think that's ok as the top of the wire harness gets lower as soon as the tools are picked up.
- Some space on the X axis, but not a lot. On my 2T XL, with the printer moved all the way to the right, there is enough space to add/remove standard size filament spools. Large spools may require some more acrobatics (but there is an opening on the left, for at least one of the spools). I think a 3T XL would fit (3 spools on the left), but I don't think it would work for a 4T or 5T XL.
Build quality of the enclosure is quite good. The frame is ok, but the connectors are pretty fragile given the amount of tension necessary. The little LED bar is surprisingly useful given the sub-par lighting of the XL.
Overall, I am pretty pleased with the result. The fit is tight, but given the gargantuan size of the XL, it is not a bad thing (except if you have a 4T or 5T XL).
Could you post some pictures how you have done this? I'm looking for a way to "cover" the printer when it's not being used. We go away for extended periods of time and this big boy doesn't lend itself to just throwing a sheet over it like the MK3 did.
Thanks,
LinDave
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
My enclosure is definitely sturdy enough to make a liftoff version but there is really no need to do so. It's easy to access pretty much everything with minimal effort. I just unzip the main panel, pull the corners off the frame, and unfold the fabric part of the enclosure down around the frame, it takes less than 2 minutes. I can access both sides... spool holders, filament sensors, etc... Even the back of the XL is accessible as long as it's not right up against a wall.
I can swap rolls of filament without unfolding the enclosure but it is pretty tight. There's an exhaust port built into the lower right hand corner and I run the electrical cords for the XL and LED lighting right out the back, no need to modify.
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
Thanks for the info. BTW, what temperatures are you hitting inside the enclosure using what filament?
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
There's a velcro flap on the left side and another on top and of course the main opening which unzips. You can play around with them to get various airflows through the enclosure. I'm still messing around with it but my plan was to keep the temperature around 85F. I keep the house between 72-74 and before my Humidity Temperature gauge battery went dead the inside temp was holding around 82 during prints, that was with the top flap open a bit and the side flap 1/2 open. All heat coming from the extruders and heated bed. Oh I also keep the LCD screen outside the enclosure with the main panel zipped as tightly against the LCD screen as I can get it. So far I'm only printing PLA and PETG. I want to try a flexible like TPU but won't go any more exotic than that until I have some kind of exhaust system setup to vent fumes to the outside.
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
Hey, did you kept this setup? Works well? I'm getting an XL and I already have an enclosure like this that fits the printer. Wondering if I need the enclosure.. I want to print ASA and PA. Thanks!
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
I'd highly recommend not using an enclosure like this. There is absolutely no venting and your very likely to get the enclosure too hot and damage the plastic parts on your XL. There's are a few threads on this forum showing the damage that can happen.
Not the cheapest, but there are a few enclosures on printables, or the Prusa enclosure. I've personally got the Sumo enclosure and have been very happy with it, although there were some challenges in printing the parts of you make it from anything other than PLA.
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
the XL comes now with heat resistant plastic parts, for the buddyboard i'd use an airduck to supply fresh air to it
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
the XL comes now with heat resistant plastic parts, for the buddyboard i'd use an airduck to supply fresh air to it
Yes many of the parts are now PCCF, however that type of enclosure is still a bad idea as they retain much more heat than a "standard" enclosure, and unless your going to actively control the temperature your asking for issues. Many have also noted issues with the electronics when printing above 45° C.
I think your best bet is to steer clear.
RE: Yoopai Soft enclosure for XL
So printing ASA an PA will be a problem? I'm currently printing PA at 40° ambient because the enclosure won't go any higher, (the same as in this post) , and only warms up with bed and extruder temps. I doubt that the same enclosure will go over 40 with the XL if printing with the same settings unless using active heating? Im not able to print large parts on PA12 because it warps at 40°.
RE:
So printing ASA an PA will be a problem? I'm currently printing PA at 40° ambient because the enclosure won't go any higher, (the same as in this post) , and only warms up with bed and extruder temps. I doubt that the same enclosure will go over 40 with the XL if printing with the same settings unless using active heating? Im not able to print large parts on PA12 because it warps at 40°.
You will not be able to completely eliminate warping with either. For little to no warping with ASA you need chamber temps of 65° minimum. Our industrial machine at work we have the chamber at 90°C for ASA.
That doesn't mean you'll be unable to print with ASA, I do all the time, you'll just need to tailor your design to help minimize warping, and I'm not going to go into that because the post would be 10 pages long, but in a nutshell your trying to minimize the differences in cooling that happens at different heights on the part. The warping happens because the layers further from the bed cool much faster than those closer to the bed. These cooler layers contract and shrink causing uneven stress in the part, thus leading to warping. The geometry of the part can drastically affect this. The larger the part the greater the effect of this will be.
The same goes for PA, but it's worse. In general the higher the printing temperature, the more it warps.
Our hobby printers are not really optimized for printing this high temperature stuff as many of the parts of the printer are plastic, and use an air cooled heatbreak.
If your absolutely set on printing PA, PA-CF is a better option for our printers as it warps less than PA.