76 Reply by fcichock

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Re: Fan installation

Thanks Lawsy.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I was only able to verify that the fan had variable speed control from the manual control panel on Repetier.  Haven't had the chance to verify that variable speed actually occurs when Gcode driven. That said, I'm just happy to know it is working.  Hopefully I won't smoke any components, but if so that may serve as a viable excuse to upgrade to a new board, and maybe stumble along some more and learn something new.  I know I am way out of my depth when it come to the electronics upgrades and mods, but I'm having fun.  Members on this forum have been awesome in terms of their willingness to share knowledge and help, and it has empowered me to attempt mods that I would have otherwise never had the confidence to undertake.  Hoping some day Ill be able to return the favor. Thanks.

77 Reply by lawsy

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Re: Fan installation

Just for your interest, when you press any of the buttons in Repetier-Host, it just sends a g-code snippet to the printer.

If it works now, it will work as part of a print job.

lawsy's Website

78 Reply by fcichock

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Re: Fan installation

Cool.  That's good to know, makes sense come to think of it.

79 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Fan installation

There is variable speed control, but it is by PWM rather than changing the voltage.

80 Reply by neoblood3d

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Re: Fan installation

I printed the parts for the fan mod for my Solidoodle3 and discovered it's not even close to fitting my particular machine version.  It's a very cool design it's a shame it didn't fit.  Besides that I couldn't hardly even get the thing to print.  I had to run it through Kisslicer.  It printed but it was ugly.  Slic3r wouldn't slice the bottom half of the duct properly no matter what settings I used.  I'm going to try modding your design to make it fit.  Just reporting in the possible issues for people attempting this on a solidoodle 3 with new board and stock firmware.

81 Reply by mikefree41

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Re: Fan installation

Would it be wrong to just get a 12V supply, run wires to the fan and reach over and turn it on or off as required? You know KISS as my electronics work is best described as letting the smoke out of the wires.

82 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Fan installation

That's fine if you are going to gang out for the full 5 hour build and hit the switch each time it makes a bridge.    Leaving it on all the time can weaken the layer adhesion if you aren't printing at the higher end of safe temperature.

83 Reply by neoblood3d

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Re: Fan installation

IanJohnson wrote:

That's fine if you are going to gang out for the full 5 hour build and hit the switch each time it makes a bridge.    Leaving it on all the time can weaken the layer adhesion if you aren't printing at the higher end of safe temperature.

This may be a stupid question and I haven't really looked into it yet but do you guys know where to connect a fan into the new solidoodle board yet?  I'll be getting my parts tomorrow from amazon.  Thanks.

84 Reply by adrian

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Re: Fan installation

neoblood3d wrote:

This may be a stupid question and I haven't really looked into it yet but do you guys know where to connect a fan into the new solidoodle board yet?  I'll be getting my parts tomorrow from amazon.  Thanks.

Just posted to http://www.soliforum.com/post/28760/#p28760 the answer to that one smile you need to put some headers on but thats it.. no mosfet required

85 Reply by neoblood3d

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Re: Fan installation

adrian wrote:
neoblood3d wrote:

This may be a stupid question and I haven't really looked into it yet but do you guys know where to connect a fan into the new solidoodle board yet?  I'll be getting my parts tomorrow from amazon.  Thanks.

Just posted to http://www.soliforum.com/post/28760/#p28760 the answer to that one smile you need to put some headers on but thats it.. no mosfet required

Excellent I appreciate the heads up

86 Reply by mohamd

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Re: Fan installation

Can I use lawsy’s method to connect the extruder fan to the stock Sanguinololu controller board that comes with solidoodle 3?

If yes, what changes do I need to apply?

87 Reply by AZERATE

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Re: Fan installation

This may be a stupid question (sorry if it is!), but would it be a bad idea to print and mk5 and fan mount with PLA? I get superior quality from PLA and have had only issues making, well, ANYTHING useful with ABS.
I know PLA has a lower melting point, but I also dont want to tear up the mk5 or fan mount.
I'm a noob, so please bare with me!

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Filawinder and Filastruder #1870.....worth every penny!

88 Reply by ronsii (edited by ronsii 2013-12-24 19:02:04)

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Re: Fan installation

PLA will melt/soften at lower temps than ABS so having it near a hot extruder can sometimes not work... with that said I have seen some people do this and it works... I guess it depends on ambient temps and if you have fans cooling your extruder setup.

also some PLA's have different melt temps by a few degrees.

89 Reply by AZERATE

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Re: Fan installation

That's what I thought...I might pick up some of the High Temp PLA by Proto-Pasta. Has anyone tried that filament yet? Thoughts?

Printit Mason and Printit Horizon printers
Multiple SD2s- Bulldog XL, E3D v5/v6/Lite6, Volcano, Hobb Goblin, Titan, .9 motor, Lawsy carriages, direct Y drive, fishing line...the list goes on
Filawinder and Filastruder #1870.....worth every penny!

90 Reply by RGargus

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Re: Fan installation

coleke wrote:
RGargus wrote:

I doubt that any thing else is using SIO protocol, so the A0 could be released from CE funtion on the SD memory, and CE could be hardwired.  This would free up a fan control bit.  I dont think there would be any loss by making the CE full time.  I have not read the code, but surely those involved in development should be able to tell us the impact.

RGargus, I am not too familiar with CE function- what exactly is this?  Thanks for your input!

I appologize for not seeing this post sooner.  the CE function means chip enable.  Since the sd memory is the only device connected to that perticular bus line, it can be left enabled at all times.  The reason for a CE is to allow multiple devices to use the same communication line each in their turn.  When the chip enable to a particular device is not enabled, generally the are forced to open circuit mode on the comm line so as to not interfere with another device which may be enabled.

91 Reply by BFresh

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Re: Fan installation

I'm struggling to get this to work on Sanguinololu 1.3a board. Have tested the pins on the board with an oscilloscope and nothings changes when I change the manual control - the fan is just always on.

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www.freshdesignworks.co.uk

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92 Reply by BFresh

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Re: Fan installation

I'm struggling to get this to work on Sanguinololu 1.3a board. Have tested the pins on the board with an oscilloscope and nothings changes when I change the manual control - the fan is just always on.

Industrial Designer
Fresh Design Works (UK)
www.freshdesignworks.co.uk

BFresh's Website

93 Reply by aaronstalling

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Re: Fan installation

Hi firmware gurus,
I'm not having much like dealing with arduino.
I have  a Solidoodle 3 with this board: http://www.soliforum.com/post/28760/#p28760
I had a friend solder up the mosfet and headers into the spots on the right side (not "fan" at the top) as described here: http://solidoodletips.wordpress.com/201 … ruder-fan/
I began following these instructions to enable the fan in my firmware and have completed up to step 13: http://www.soliforum.com/post/43170/#p43170
Now, when I went to enable the fan as mentioned here: ( http://solidoodletips.wordpress.com/201 … ruder-fan/ ) I found don't have a "Pins.h" tab on my arduino list as mentioned. I do have "SD2 pin map.h".

Under Configuration_adv.h tab I do have this :

#define EXTRUDER_0_AUTO_FAN_PIN   -1
#define EXTRUDER_1_AUTO_FAN_PIN   -1
#define EXTRUDER_2_AUTO_FAN_PIN   -1
#define EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_TEMPERATURE 50
#define EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_SPEED   255  // == full speed

Should  I change "#define EXTRUDER_0_AUTO_FAN_PIN   -1" to "4"?
Do I have the right firmware?

94 Reply by Boopidoo (edited by Boopidoo 2014-09-04 09:34:56)

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Re: Fan installation

I'm guessing connecting like this should work for me? Aside from the code changes of course.
ftp://ftp.boopidoo.com/boopidoo.com/fajlz/rc/extruder_fan.png


I also designed an extruder fan holder for a 40mm fan since I didn't really like the ones out there.
ftp://ftp.boopidoo.com/boopidoo.com/fajlz/rc/140824-front.jpg

95 Reply by shields1.as

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Re: Fan installation

What psi do these fans attached usually put out? I'm looking to attach one but may use my air compressor and create my own nozzle and attachment with an air hose hooked in. I'll have a regulator on the hose to control the psi and remove all moisture. I'm planning on milling out my air nozzle on my Bridgeport out of aluminum so it can stand the heat and not melt.

IanJohnson wrote:

Even if the temp inside the case is 60c, that is still cool air as far as the plastic is concerned.  You only need to get the plastic down to maybe 140C (at a guess) so air that is hot for you is still freezing to the plastic.

The duct is designed to blow air in a circle around the nozzle, but not onto it.  This way the plastic will be cooled (and hardened) more quickly right after it gets extruded and hopefully before it has a chance to curl up for overhanging perimeters, or droop down for bridges.

It also has a tendency to cool the bed.  Mine only gets up to the mid 70s when the fan is on, and it is a good idea to leave it off for the first couple of layers.  A good companion to the fan would be a ceramic build surface, ie a piece of tile placed on the bed-

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgr … UuS-4SGRQE

It retains heat better than aluminum, letting the bed get hotter.  I expect it would be more resistant to cooling from the fan.

The fan is also good for printing PLA.  PLA tends to be more runny when it melts, so you want to cool it fast for the best results.

96 Reply by eflyguy

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Re: Fan installation

No PSI, they simply move air so that the parts can cool..

Stock SD4 with 3/16" glass attached to stock (kapton-covered) bed with Aquanet.

97 Reply by grob

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Re: Fan installation

eflyguy wrote:

No PSI, they simply move air so that the parts can cool..

Objection - very small PSI. smile

Air velocity right on the plastic will align pretty well with the rate of cooling. So whether you move lots of air at 1 m/s or a tiny little jet at 1 m/s the effect would be similar.

These kind of axial fans are designed to move air over only very small pressure drops, if you put a restriction on them (such as ducting or a nozzle) the flowrate drops significantly. Using a nozzle, as you nominally reduce the nozzle orifice size (from none/infinite nozzle), the jet velocity would go up, until the fan started to choke and it then came back down again. Where that maximum point lay would depend on where you measure, the design of the nozzle and the specific fan you're using. This would be an interesting experiment if you have a hot-wire anemometer handy (I sure wish I did...). smile

Also, there may be such a thing as too much cooling: interlayer adhesion, warping, even pushing the hot plastic around with the jet etc. are likely if you overdo it! I think the maximum point above for the average 40mm axial computer fan will be more than enough.

The advantage of the air compressor would be the ability to target the airflow more with a tight nozzle (needing a much higher pressure drop to achieve), such that the surrounding plastic wasn't cooled unnecessarily. I think your plan is well worth pursuing. smile

SD3. Mk2b + glass, heated enclosure, GT2 belts, direct drive y shaft, linear bearings, bowden-feed E3D v5 w/ 0.9° stepper
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98 Reply by shields1.as

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Re: Fan installation

Well I almost got it together today. I just need to figure out a way to print an attachment. I'm running an extra line from my shops main air compressor into our 3d printing office. When entering the office it runs through an air conditioner, cooling the air. Then comes out into a heat resistant hose (so it won't melt) on the tip of the hose is a needle for a ball pump making an extremely direct jet of cool air. I need to expirament with the psi and the temperature, angle, and connection of course. But I'm getting close.

grob wrote:
eflyguy wrote:

No PSI, they simply move air so that the parts can cool..

Objection - very small PSI. smile

Air velocity right on the plastic will align pretty well with the rate of cooling. So whether you move lots of air at 1 m/s or a tiny little jet at 1 m/s the effect would be similar.

These kind of axial fans are designed to move air over only very small pressure drops, if you put a restriction on them (such as ducting or a nozzle) the flowrate drops significantly. Using a nozzle, as you nominally reduce the nozzle orifice size (from none/infinite nozzle), the jet velocity would go up, until the fan started to choke and it then came back down again. Where that maximum point lay would depend on where you measure, the design of the nozzle and the specific fan you're using. This would be an interesting experiment if you have a hot-wire anemometer handy (I sure wish I did...). smile

Also, there may be such a thing as too much cooling: interlayer adhesion, warping, even pushing the hot plastic around with the jet etc. are likely if you overdo it! I think the maximum point above for the average 40mm axial computer fan will be more than enough.

The advantage of the air compressor would be the ability to target the airflow more with a tight nozzle (needing a much higher pressure drop to achieve), such that the surrounding plastic wasn't cooled unnecessarily. I think your plan is well worth pursuing. smile

99 Reply by jagowilson

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Re: Fan installation

I want to put molex connectors on the fans I bought and installed. For now I'm using butt splices I crimped. Where can I get the 2 pin molex connectors used on the SD3 and SD4? They're pretty standard, but I couldn't seem to find them.

Would like to do the installation properly. Butt splices look so ghetto.

100 Reply by AZERATE

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Re: Fan installation

jagowilson wrote:

I want to put molex connectors on the fans I bought and installed. For now I'm using butt splices I crimped. Where can I get the 2 pin molex connectors used on the SD3 and SD4? They're pretty standard, but I couldn't seem to find them.

Mouser.com
part #:
640440-2
3-640440-2
3-7647002-2
I forget which ones exactly are used, but they are dirt cheap, so even if you can't use a couple, you're only out like 20 cents.

Printit Mason and Printit Horizon printers
Multiple SD2s- Bulldog XL, E3D v5/v6/Lite6, Volcano, Hobb Goblin, Titan, .9 motor, Lawsy carriages, direct Y drive, fishing line...the list goes on
Filawinder and Filastruder #1870.....worth every penny!