18 inch cubo modular storage how to#

And as a bonus, you have a photo tent for your prints 🙂 of 26☌ – that’s a significant improvement. We reached temperatures around 38☌ after 10 minutes of printing inside a room with the ambient temp. A textile enclosure won’t let you reach crazy high temperatures, so you can even keep the PSU inside. It’s made of textile material, which means it’s porous. And all you have to do is place the printer inside the tent. This photo (80×80) tent can be bought on eBay or Aliexpress for about $15-20. 2 simple enclosures Photo studio tent – no work required at allĪn enclosure can often be created from an object originally made for a completely different purpose. You can even place the LCD outside to be able to control the printer without letting the hot air out. Ideally, you’d place the PSU outside the enclosure.

By keeping the PSU in temperatures above 40-50☌ can significantly shorten its lifespan. The PSU is not made to work in extremely hot environments. Even just 35☌ inside the enclosure will make a massive difference, increase layer adhesion and may prevent ABS from warping. The goal is to achieve stable temperatures without any sudden changes from wind or draught. The printer itself produces a lot of heat and all you have to do is to not let it escape. Let’s get something straight, we are not targeting really high temperatures inside the enclosure. How hot should the enclosure be and can the PSU stay inside?

It makes much more sense to build the enclosure yourself from locally sourced materials. Our target was $90 price tag and considering the packing, shipping and material cost, we just couldn’t make it work. We have considered and even developed a Prusa enclosure quite a while ago. For example, Stratasys’s (still active) patent describes an apparatus “That builds up three-dimensional objects in a heated build chamber” (…) “The motion control components of the apparatus are external to and thermally isolated from the build chamber.” That means if you put the stepper motors outside of an enclosure, you can’t sell the product, as it would violate the patent.Īnother obstacle is the price. Even though most of these basic patents have already expired, some of them (most importantly the ones owned by Stratasys) are either still active, or have just recently expired. And cheap, easy-to-build 3D printers quickly started to be developed. It was only after these key patents expired in 2009 (20 years after application) that the RepRap movement started. It’s pretty crazy when you look at the sketches from 1980s-1990s and realize just how much some of the current 3D printers are similar to them.

Companies like Stratasys, Zcorp or 3D Systems have patented nearly every 3D printing technology you can think of. There is no doubt that the rise of consumer 3D printers was delayed by patents. There are two factors here – price and patents. Why aren’t all the printers on the market enclosed by default? If you own the MMU2S, we created a modified version of the enclosure – check it out here. You might actually want to keep the enclosure open with, for example, PLA to ensure there’s enough cool air around the printer for the part cooling fan. However, if you’re not printing with ABS or other high-temperature filaments that suffer from warping, you won’t see much of a difference. Dust collection – The bearings and smooth rods will appreciate the reduced amount of dust that settles on your printer.Noise reduction – As if you needed the MK3 to be any quieter 🙂 But another level of sound isolation can’t hurt, especially if you place the enclosure next to your work desk or in a living room.An enclosure will contain these fumes, and you can quickly vent them outside through an open window when the print finishes. Reduce and contain s mell – Some filaments ( looking at you, ABS!) can release unpleasant fumes during printing.Layer adhesion may also improve with higher ambient temps. Big differences in ambient and printing temperatures can lead to warping and shrinking of the printed object, especially when printing with ABS. An enclosure will keep the temperature stable and high. Stable printing environment – Drafts can negatively impact your print.But first, let’s start with the fundamental question: what is it good for?

18 inch cubo modular storage how to#

To top things off, we will even give you a full guide with information on how to build an enclosure for your own printer. How do they work? And do they work? Today, we will shed some light on this matter! Plus, we are going to dive into patent wars and explain why not all printers come with an enclosure. Maybe you have already seen some of those fancy enclosures people build for their printers.