1 (edited by paeltz 2013-03-05 18:11:32)

Topic: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

I have seen a few really nice enclosures but I wanted to create a case that anyone could create, was cheap, and highly functional.  I really liked the thought of doors but hinges drove the cost up, created more work, and I kinda like the idea of taking everything completely off for maximum room to work.  The doors can come off or on in a flash including the top.  This design also solves the problem of filament not getting tangled up on the spool, allows a nice overhead view, and takes into consideration larger prints in case you forget to have your bed not go home when finished. 

I will probably make more changes to this design down the road but I believe this to be an very good and an easy start for anyone with a SD3.  In the future I'm considering putting a heat duct like Ian's and doing some laser etching at some point down the road so I will keep this thread updated.

I'm going to reprint some of these parts to make the colors match as I initially printed them on whatever was loaded at the time. 

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6574815/3D%20printing/20130304_213933.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6574815/3D%20printing/20130304_211444.jpg

     

My list of materials is slightly more than some other cheaper ones that I have seen but it's mainly due to the size of the SD3 being larger than the SD2.

Total Cost = $28.38 plus tax

If you buy the materials at either of the big box stores (blue or Orange) they will cut your pieces for you so you do not have to do this yourself.  With a 30x36' sheet you can get all the pieces you need.  *See attached cut sheet*

  • 13 3/4 x 17 (*2)

  • 13 1/4 x 17 (*1)

  • 13 1/4 x 13 3/4 (*1)

  • 6 1/8 x 3 3/4 (*2)

You will need to print these parts

  • back brackets *2

  • large back bracket *1

  • long bottom bracket *4

  • short bottom bracket *2

  • magnet holders *6

  • top bracket *4

Hopefully this saves someone some time!

Post's attachments

Enclosure parts.zip 41.91 kb, 451 downloads since 2013-03-05 

SD3 Cut Sheet.JPG
SD3 Cut Sheet.JPG 68.17 kb, 82 downloads since 2013-03-05 

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2

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Nice, but be careful that you don't place those magnets anywhere near the circuit board in the back, the field cab eventually ruin your board.

No trees were harmed in the creation of this email, though some electrons were horribly inconvenienced.

3

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

iowajames wrote:

Nice, but be careful that you don't place those magnets anywhere near the circuit board in the back, the field cab eventually ruin your board.


That's good to know but the magnets aren't close at all to the board.  The board is towards the bottom on the back where my magnets are installed towards the top in the parts that I printed.

4

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

iowajames wrote:

Nice, but be careful that you don't place those magnets anywhere near the circuit board in the back, the field cab eventually ruin your board.

Which distance between board and magnet is ok?

5 (edited by digiprint 2013-03-05 21:10:14)

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

iowajames wrote:

Nice, but be careful that you don't place those magnets anywhere near the circuit board in the back, the field cab eventually ruin your board.

Which distance between board and magnet is ok?
Can the stepper motor be influenced by the magnets?
Currently working on a custom case with magnet-snap-on

6

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

I have magnets on the corner of my left side near the board.  Neodyns 3/8".  They haven't messed up my board or steppers yet.  However, my magnets are a couple of inches away with the steel frame in the way, so they probably dissipate the magnetic influence a little.

7

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

cckens wrote:

I have magnets on the corner of my left side near the board.  Neodyns 3/8".  They haven't messed up my board or steppers yet.  However, my magnets are a couple of inches away with the steel frame in the way, so they probably dissipate the magnetic influence a little.

My case will use magnets that are very close to the stepper motor and are connected directly to the frame.

8

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Best bet is place the mags on the spot they will be mounted and try a small print, calibration cube or such.  Don't think these magnets are strong enough to disrupt the flow permanently.

9 (edited by paeltz 2013-03-05 21:59:27)

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

I'm not a magnet expert but if you take a look at this calculator and enter in your magnet information you can see that after you get a small distance away from these magnets the magnetic field is very weak.  Mine are above the motor and directly on the other side of it so there shouldn't' be any problems.  With this design you can put the magnets anywhere along the side of the plexiglass.

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/fieldcalculator.asp

10 (edited by iowajames 2013-03-12 04:02:57)

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Although the case is safe I am sure, rare earth (Neodynium) magnets are VERY strong and produce a pretty good field. Even a weak field, over the course of time can affect the polarity of other magnets & magnetically polarize ferrous (iron based) objects that are nearby, especially ones moving in & out of a field.
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about cheap "run of the mill" ceramic (black, breakable) magnets as long as they aren't within a couple of inches of circuitry, it should be fine. They shouldn't have any effect on the stepper motors themselves, I don't even think they would if they were stuck TO the motors, but don't go proving me wrong.
Small (1/4" thick, 1" long, 1" wide) neo's are strong enough to disrupt the radio-frequency field used in stop light trigger circuits from the bottom of a standard motorcycle. (These are used because there isn't enough ferrous metal on a standard bike/motorcycle to trigger stoplights like with a car.)
The average motorcycle sits at least 6" above the ground, so it stands to reason that a smaller neo within mere inches with only sheet metal, or a poor insulator like acrylic, as a barrier could pose a threat to powered electronics like an arduino board.

(Magnets like these: http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.a … =DX04B-N52 used on motorcycle frames)

Edit: Grammar, missed mitsakes & speeling.

No trees were harmed in the creation of this email, though some electrons were horribly inconvenienced.

11

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

I'm working on building one of these and was wondering why it needs 20 magnets when there are only 6 magnet holders?  Does it need two magnets per holder?

12

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

I found a 12" x 12" beveled clear plastic tray on Amazon for $3.60 which seems to have enough clearance to serve as a top.  When the forum lets me post links, I'll show you a picture.

13

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Hunter Green wrote:

I found a 12" x 12" beveled clear plastic tray on Amazon for $3.60 which seems to have enough clearance to serve as a top.  When the forum lets me post links, I'll show you a picture.

That would be great! we all like pictures... that reminds me I need to get a new camera or fix mine as I have finally replaced my y-axis bearings with linears and should post up how easy it was smile

14

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

This is a 12" tray available on Amazon for $3.60 that seems to fit pretty well, though I haven't tested or mounted it yet:
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb55/LendrenStarfall/3D-Printer/759616b2d66ab930a5e5645535ad7685_zpsd9fb1654.jpg

15

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Arcadenut wrote:

I'm working on building one of these and was wondering why it needs 20 magnets when there are only 6 magnet holders?  Does it need two magnets per holder?


Yes, I used 3 of the small magnets per holder to make them properly.

16 (edited by paeltz 2013-04-07 16:20:04)

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Hunter,

How well does that work with the filament going in that way?

17

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

I replaced the front door with a 12" x 12" beveled clear plastic tray for extruder fan clearance.

18

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

paeltz wrote:

How well does that work with the filament going in that way?

As I've only just barely gotten to where I can successfully print simple things some of the time, I haven't really experimented with that.  I take the top off during printing to make sure the filament doesn't bind, so the bevelled lid isn't really doing anything more for me than a flat one at this point.  I was thinking of maybe cutting a notch into it to let the filament through at some point, but not sure if I can make it leave enough room for the filament to move freely.  Maybe what I should have gotten was a 12"x16" so it could hang off the back of the printer instead.

19

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Could you please upload the design files?  I'd like to make a slight mod.  Thanks.

20

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

I built my enclosure today.  It took a lot of time, 3 trips to Lowes, a trip to every party supply and hobby store in town, and a lot of cussing.  The walls are made of .22" thick acrylic, cut to size for free by Lowes.  I used some simple hinges with machine screws, nuts, and washers to secure them to the SD and Acrylic.  I then used rare earth magnets, epoxied to the acrylic, to latch the doors.  The top is a 13.5" square tray found at Hobby Lobby.  That thing took me forever to find.  I just drilled a 1/2" hole in the back center of the tray for the filament.  I need to design some sort of filament guide to make sure it doesn't bind there.

21

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Here are some pics of my SD3 with the enclosure.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o4mTgoxR_9o/UXvchIFpVeI/AAAAAAAAGEw/ATBBmeOHiws/w640-h480/IMG_0001.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ljiWj5dATdo/UXvciP5YrOI/AAAAAAAAGE0/G53XgPTXOJw/w640-h480/IMG_0002.JPG

22

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Riddick wrote:

Could you please upload the design files?  I'd like to make a slight mod.  Thanks.

These parts are all at the top in the zip file.

23

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Thanks for the awesome enclosure! (I made one)  It works very well!

24 (edited by Riddick 2013-05-12 08:57:58)

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Here is our modification. 

We wanted to make a more stable top and also one that could be lifted up easily.  Also, we were worried about making a top that was flat as the filament may not be able to move freely.  Buying the Amazon tray was a bit more expensive in Australia.  So, we have printed some corner pieces and screwed on the sides and top.  The pieces have a little knob on the bottom that holds the top in place so it does not slide off.

We have used some existing magnets.  The magnets did not need a holder, we simply glued them on with silicon.

We also modified the bottom brackets, so they extend to the very bottom of the case, hence the the doors cover the whole side.

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=1905&download=0

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=1904&download=0

Post's attachments

1-P1080306.JPG
1-P1080306.JPG 124.59 kb, 3 downloads since 2013-05-05 

1-P1080307.JPG 129.85 kb, 3 downloads since 2013-05-05 

Case Parts Design Files.zip 27.17 kb, 57 downloads since 2013-05-05 

Case Parts STL Files.zip 6.2 kb, 57 downloads since 2013-05-05 

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25

Re: My EASY and relativley cheap SD3 enclosure

Thanks for the great enclosure and instructions.

Just got my solidoodle 3 and I finally got the bed level and the Z axis tuned.  I still have to tinker with Slic3r, get some hairspray, etc.  so I can print out some parts.  But I think the enclosure will help keep the heat "in" when printing with ABS.  Currently I can get about 7 layers and it starts to curl.  : (

I am probably going to switch to PLA in the near future when I start building things with my kids and others in the neighborhood.

: )