Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
I'm curious if there's a solution yet to make the Mini a quiet printer? I've gotten so used to my Ender 3 Pro being near completely silent that I can run it throughout the night with no issues in our bedroom. The Mini is just so loud in comparison. I don't know if anyone who has the bigger Prusa printers have a replacement board or some other tricks to quiet these things down that may provide hope that there's a chance that the Mini's will be able to run much quieter as well. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated. I love my Mini especially since doing the Bondtech upgrades but I'd love to be able to do those long prints without having pause it for the night or deal with trying to sleep with it running.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
Is it the printer itself making noise, or resonating surfaces? The Mini is a lighter printer, so more prone to vibrating. On its own, the vibration may not be bad, but if the printer is sitting on a large, flat surface that can resonate, the sound can be amplified.
Stefan of CNC Kitchen has videos on this topic that are well worth watching:
Key points are:
- The trick to reducing printer mechanical noise is to increase mass.
- Mounting the printer on a heavy surface such as a paver stone adds mass.
- Acoustically coupling the printer to the mass maximizes the vibration dampening effect.Do not isolate the printer from the base. Felt non-isolating feet work well.
- De-couple the printer mass from the resonating surfaces. Isolating foam or Sorbothane feet work well to keep any remaining vibration from being transmitted into the flat supporting surfaces.
You might try placing the Mini on another surface or the floor to see if it's quieter.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
I'll try that as well. I just wasn't sure if it was a stepper driver upgrade that would make a difference like it did with the Ender. It may just be resonance on the stand that it's on. I'll look in to putting it on a different surface and see what that does for me. Hopefully it's as simple and cheap as that. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give that a shot.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
I was going to try this paver stone on foam too after I saw CNC Kitchens solution. Definitely mention what you learn.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
@cendrizzi
Will do. I’m a bit crippled at the moment after foot surgery last Friday so it might take a little time to get to it but I’ll definitely check out different solutions as soon as I can.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
My mini started off quiet but now sounds like a facehugger from the aliens movies when the X axis moves left and right. This is after a few months of owning the thing.
I'm thinking of changing the bearings to drylin bearings... Anything so I can watch Aliens in peace.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
My mini started off quiet but now sounds like a facehugger from the aliens movies when the X axis moves left and right. This is after a few months of owning the thing.
I'm thinking of changing the bearings to drylin bearings... Anything so I can watch Aliens in peace.
Probably an unnecessary comment but have you lubricated all your axis using the included lubrication?
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
@stutakicc2
The Drylin bearings have the disadvantage that they are very sensitive to pressure and temperature. You have to take care not to tighten the screws too much, otherwise the bearings will jam. The bearings are also designed so that they have the correct clearance when pressed into a housing. I would rather recommend bearings made of sintered bronze or brass.
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
I ended up putting it on a neoprene laptop sleeve I had laying around it’s much quieter now. Being I don’t have the laptop it was used for anymore I may just cut it up and make it a more permanent solution since it’s working so well. So yes, these things definitely need to be isolated from the surfaces they’re on. They’re quiet after all. You just need to have them on the right surface.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
In have mine on a floor tile placed on a stack of three neoprene mouse mats.
This isolates the vibrations of the printer from the table, stopping it becoming a sounding board.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
My mini started off quiet but now sounds like a facehugger from the aliens movies when the X axis moves left and right. This is after a few months of owning the thing.
I'm thinking of changing the bearings to drylin bearings... Anything so I can watch Aliens in peace.
Probably an unnecessary comment but have you lubricated all your axis using the included lubrication?
I did. In my case it was the y axis idle pulley. I used a mechanics stethoscope to narrow down where the noise was coming from. I actually swapped it out for a toothed pulley I had lying around. It's back to being quiet again.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
i have mine in a server rack that i dampened with foam on all surfaces. the printer sits on a glass plate on a thick slab of concrete residing on 5cm thick foam. i can barely hear anything anymore. you have to stand right next to it.
i pull the air out with two pc vents and a duct and there's no odor while printing.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
@strandedbandit
Would you add some photos?
Thanks!
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
@strandedbandit
Seconded, I would love to see them too.
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
wilco, has to wait till next week though, because I'm not at home. 🙂
RE: Is There Such Thing As A Quiet Mini
Sorbothane feet and pavement slab did the trick for me. I've also placed my Mini inside Ikea Platsa made enclosure.