Active chamber heating mod  

RE: Active chamber heating mod

The Nextruder LoveBoard can't handle more than like 70°C (if I remember it correctly). So unless you build some high temp alternative for the Love Board, you can't push the chamber temperature much more than it is now. However if someone has Core One in a cold place where heating the chamber takes a long time, additional heater may be handy. (But in that case it may be cheaper to just insulate the Core One.)

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Posted by: @alexpewpew

Has anyone else wished for some higher temps? I'm starting to print with nylon (I love the stuff, just wished it didn't love water so much) and feel like the heated bed solution for heating the chamber is underwhelming in the colder evenings. I was wondering if anyone has considered trying something like this ( )? It would be nice to have it controllable by the printer automatically. I haven't done much messing with 3d printer firmware since the good ole ramps 1.4 days.

Does any one have resources related to this they can point me towards?
Is this a terrible waste of time?

Something like this integrated in the side covert triggered by a wifi switch is my plan if its unbearable. Heating it up from 8degC during winter times might take ages im afraid due to the steel mass.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

My goals to not have a super high temperature build chamber, but it would be nice to maintain something like 50° c. Right now with the room temperature being 66°f, the printer does not maintain a temperature of 40° c. While I agree that insulation is a good step to take, overcoming the thermal mass of the machine especially starting at a lower temperature is going to be really rough without some additional heating. 

There's no room to insulate on the inside, except perhaps on the door. I really like that prusa reduced the internal volume to make temperature maintenance easier, but that means that the installation will have to be placed on the outside. With the frame being metal any area not insulated will happily radiate heat and transfer heat from insulated areas to uninsulated areas. 

The machine's so pretty, it's a shame to cover it in the insulation : (. I was hoping to put it in a less heated area (55f), but I think that's makes insulation inevitable.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Exactly I'm worried about. I wonder how cleanly I could modify the side panel that doesn't hold the filament to mount the heater and have it blow in at the bottom and and take air from the side. Be nice to make this mod without having to use specialty tools so that others can take advantage of the work.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Posted by: @alexpewpew

My goals to not have a super high temperature build chamber, but it would be nice to maintain something like 50° c. Right now with the room temperature being 66°f, the printer does not maintain a temperature of 40° c. While I agree that insulation is a good step to take, overcoming the thermal mass of the machine especially starting at a lower temperature is going to be really rough without some additional heating. 

Then there must be something wrong. Have you closed the top grill? At room temperature around 20°C I have no issues printing ASA where the temperature rises to above 55°C during the print and maintains the temperature.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Thank you for the reply. I have the top cover closed and some insulation across the top as well. The chamber vent isn't on. The bed has no issue maintaining it's temp. And I've seen it shoot up to 115° while warming the chamber, but by the time it's back down to 50° c for printing the chamber temp has fallen precipitously.

It's still a cool spring here, and I suspect this problem will resolve the self during the summer months. 

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Well, you have a point. I've observed it too. Chamber temperature depending on the bed temperature is a kind of weakness of Core One. For example, I have Nylon, which is printed with a 80° bed. Even in a normal 22° room, this won't heat chamber to more than 40°. Maximum 55° declared by Prusa is at maximum bed temperature. Unfortunately, there are materials that would appreciate 55°, but because of bed temperature, it's an unattainable temperature for them.

So active heater that helps reach 55° (and at higher temperatures printer turns on fans and prevents temperature from rising) might not be a bad idea.

RE:

What would be the downsides to running a bed temperature of 120° with the Nylon filament that calls for 80°?  Genuine question - I know that a cooler bed will cause problems, but what about a hotter bed?

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Posted by: @chris-hill

What would be the downsides to running a bed temperature of 120° with the Nylon filament that calls for 80°?  Genuine question - I know that a cooler bed will cause problems, but what about a hotter bed?

Keeping the bed so far above the glass transition temperature will probably cause the lower layers to squish down as the upper layers are extruded (exerting downward pressure). It’s probably dependent on the geometry of the print, though. Either way, give it a shot and post pics! 🙂

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Ah - I'd always imagined Nylon was a high temperature filament.  I don't have any, and have never looked into it, and I guess I was wrong!  What you say makes sense.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

I didn't think much about it. Manufacturer says: bed temperature "less than" 80°, so I take that as God's word. 🙂

It's PA6CF15S "low warp" from Spectrum, so it's kind of not a typical nylon, but there are some additives. It even prints at 250°, which is quite low for usual nylons.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Temperature near the bed would be higher than for the away from the bed. My nylon suggest printing without a fan, which showed up as a melted chimney on a benchy.

I imagine a very high bed temp would cause inconsistencies in your printing across various z heights.

RE:

There are many very different nylon filaments. Many requires higher bed temperatures than 100°C.

Usually there is correlation between print/bed temperatures and chamber temperature. That low temp Spectrum PA6 CF15 does not need heated chamber at all, so active chamber heating is probably not necessary.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Here's a potential approach I was thinking about:

Mounting: Maybe a magnetic mounting system, similar to how the Buddy Cam is attached, positioning it with magnets in the top corner. Clearance might be an issue, but the advantage is that it would leave this beauty untouched by my cutting skills.

Heating Element: Mains-powered PTC heaters are quite common. This would only require the Hackerboard and a suitable relay for control, avoiding the need for a dedicated PSU. Of course, there is the inherent risk of working with mains voltage.

Implementation: The good news is that the core components are already in place. The existing ventilation system can handle cooling for temperature regulation, and the built-in thermocouple provides the necessary feedback for precise control. This should make the overall implementation relatively straightforward.

Of course, there is the risk of fire hazard. A chunky setup could become really dangerous fast.

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Maybe its easier to just integrate something thats already on the market, like the qidi chamber heater 🙂

https://qidi3d.com/products/plus4-chamber-heater

RE:

I saw a 3D Musketeers video yesterday from RMRRF25 showing off a prototype chonky smart chamber heater from BigTreeTech (or Biqu, not sure since both were represented at the same booth) that might fit a C1 if the non-spool side panel is flipped around so the bump is pointing out instead of in. 

RE: Active chamber heating mod

Run your math and see why it's very hard and inefficient to achieve without some good insulation.

For example: let's assume a box 450x450x550mm and yhat you want to keep a 40K delta inside, but your walls have no inslulation. It will need estimated 140-400W of power depending on who you ask about thermal conductivity,  thermal bridges and circulation losses.

10mm Aerogel mat is only sbout 100EUR/sqm...

RE: Active chamber heating mod

I havent printed the full build volume yet, but i did some temp measurements and the top lid is by far the biggest contributor to leaking heat, some at the smaller plastic windows on the top aswell (mine seem to bulge out at a bit at 58 degrees chamber heat). Insulating the rest of the printer would do almost nothing for most smaller and medium sized prints at least, lets wait for the winter months though for the last word in that 🙂

That chamber heater in the video looked good, it should be able to be integrated with a custom side panel. I wish prusa could do these kind of upgrade packs for more demanding users, and also a 300+ Nozzle temp upgrade.