I think I'm going to experiment with a centrifugal fan to see if I can get that last bit of clearance I need and maybe some higher airflow to see if I can find an  max cooling point to really fine tune my prints and eliminate the need for alternative layer cooling methods like the using a prime pillar for small area layers.

pirvan,

Input noted, but I'm going forward with my design. Just because you and a few other people weren't happy with their designs, even if they were similar, doesn't mean I should just drop everything and redesign it. I can build it however I please. Simplicity is not the end all be all. Yes designs shouldn't be over complicated, but that doesn't mean in 5 minutes you could have designed something perfect that can't be refined. Everything can be improved and there is no right answer.

Just because his way works for him doesn't mean it's the best way or anyway better than mine and I hate when people come in imposing their ideas. He can go post his own thread for it instead of trying to derail mine. It's a real prick move.

There are many threads here that are started by someone, only to have others chime in with their ideas.  We don't call it derailing some much as it's variations on a theme input.

Anyway, back to your design.  I did a design nearly identical to yours nearly 2 years ago, and while it does work, it also has a few disadvantages. 

http://www.soliforum.com/post/22336/#p22336

One is noise.  The air rushing through the duct creates a lot of noise, then the other, and probably the biggest, disadvantage is the fact that it hits the front of the frame, before the printhead carriage reaches the maximum forward movement.

So I turned the duct around and had it lay on top of the motor.  Mine was designed to take 30mm fans, and was quite efficient, but eventually got replaced with something simpler. You will (eventually) find that simplicity is the mother of elegance, and you'll be a better designer for it.

BTW, here is my old thread.  The pictures are gone, because the server hosting them went dead, but the STLs are still there.  You might want to take a look.

Thanks Jago. Why is everyone so defensive on this forum any more?....

Just because his way works for him doesn't mean it's the best way or anyway better than mine and I hate when people come in imposing their ideas. He can go post his own thread for it instead of trying to derail mine. It's a real prick move.

Thanks Jago. Why is everyone so defensive on this forum any more? I guess I am one of the few that do not want to lose the 20mm of my build platform. Mine is only 150mm and 20mm is huge comparatively. Your design was exactly what I was looking for.

That was only in regard to the Solidoodle 3. I haven't looked into the dimensions, but you shouldn't lose anything with that smaller plate. You can try it out if you'd like. I'd like to know to if it has any restrictions.

I may just remodel it to use the centrifugal fan like mdrVB6 suggested to possibly gain the rest of the space back.

metaldrgn wrote:

jagowilson wrote:

There is a ton of over engineering in this thread. I whipped up this duct in 5 minutes and I've never had a problem. You're over thinking it. See attached photo. This design also doesn't sacrifice any build space.

I would throw out that acrylic extruder as well and get an Mk5 in place so you can properly mount the e3d with its groove mount.

You may have whipped up a duct in 5 minutes, but there are plenty of shortcomings. I highly doubt it's going to flow nearly as efficiently as mine with that hard turn and mine can accommodate a larger depth fan for increased cooling where yours in limited. Also with a wide exit port like that on your duct you aren't blowing much directly on what's being extruded, but everywhere which is a waste and inefficient. Mine is printable without supports and yours isn't which saves a lot of painstaking time. My duct is also easily detachable if the extra build space is needed. I also see the potential to shave off another 10mm or so in the future. Looking at yours, you could also make it supportless had you put a little more effort into it. Maybe you should take a little more time and make yours better before you come in here thinking you know everything.

In this community posts like mine are considered "constructive criticism." You can take it or leave it. It seems you have chosen to leave it which is fine. Just for clarification my shroud does not require supports if oriented as I suggested in the post above yours.

Additionally, static pressure doesn't matter as much as you think it does here. The maximum efficient velocity really isn't necessary. Thus why I used the phrase "over-engineering." I wasn't trying to insult you but I will defend my design by saying that I made a tradeoff between efficiency and space, and accommodated the lower efficiency by using a higher RPM fan with more kick. If you read about other solutions to this problem on the forums, you will see that others have done similarly.

My post was just as constructive as yours...

End result, I get more with less by only sacrificing 20mm of print space that most people hardly use and less after future changes. You said yours takes a 30mm fan. Is that accurate or a typo?

Designing for airflow isn't negligible. I'm getting a noticeable amount of airflow more with this new design than my first one.

jagowilson wrote:

There is a ton of over engineering in this thread. I whipped up this duct in 5 minutes and I've never had a problem. You're over thinking it. See attached photo. This design also doesn't sacrifice any build space.

I would throw out that acrylic extruder as well and get an Mk5 in place so you can properly mount the e3d with its groove mount.

You may have whipped up a duct in 5 minutes, but there are plenty of shortcomings. I highly doubt it's going to flow nearly as efficiently as mine with that hard turn and mine can accommodate a larger depth fan for increased cooling where yours in limited. Also with a wide exit port like that on your duct you aren't blowing much directly on what's being extruded, but everywhere which is a waste and inefficient. Mine is printable without supports and yours isn't which saves a lot of painstaking time. My duct is also easily detachable if the extra build space is needed. I also see the potential to shave off another 10mm or so in the future. Looking at yours, you could also make it supportless had you put a little more effort into it. Maybe you should take a little more time and make yours better before you come in here thinking you know everything.

In this community posts like mine are considered "constructive criticism." You can take it or leave it. It seems you have chosen to leave it which is fine. Just for clarification my shroud does not require supports if oriented as I suggested in the post above yours.

Additionally, static pressure doesn't matter as much as you think it does here. The maximum efficient velocity really isn't necessary. Thus why I used the phrase "over-engineering." I wasn't trying to insult you but I will defend my design by saying that I made a tradeoff between efficiency and space, and accommodated the lower efficiency by using a higher RPM fan with more kick. If you read about other solutions to this problem on the forums, you will see that others have done similarly.

Nice work.  I've got some airplane time ahead of me this weekend and perhaps I will work on a remix design that works with my carriages and hot end mount.

PS: make sure you print a new extruder and mount pieces now before the acrylic inevitably breaks:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:431363

Thanks. I probably will print it out and keep it on hand along with the lawsy carriages.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:789720

There is a ton of over engineering in this thread. I whipped up this duct in 5 minutes and I've never had a problem. You're over thinking it. See attached photo. This design also doesn't sacrifice any build space.

I would throw out that acrylic extruder as well and get an Mk5 in place so you can properly mount the e3d with its groove mount.

You may have whipped up a duct in 5 minutes, but there are plenty of shortcomings. I highly doubt it's going to flow nearly as efficiently as mine with that hard turn and mine can accommodate a larger depth fan for increased cooling where yours in limited. Also with a wide exit port like that on your duct you aren't blowing much directly on what's being extruded, but everywhere which is a waste and inefficient. Mine is printable without supports and yours isn't which saves a lot of painstaking time. My duct is also easily detachable if the extra build space is needed. I also see the potential to shave off another 10mm or so in the future. Looking at yours, you could also make it supportless had you put a little more effort into it. Maybe you should take a little more time and make yours better before you come in here thinking you know everything.

If you plan on printing PLA with the fan always-on, perform your PID calibration with the fan running, because some air will pass over the nozzle--this is intentional as my design tries to cool the extruded plastic while not blowing significantly on the part. This allows extended fan use on ABS with extreme overhangs without inducing warping. I printed PLA at speeds of 100mm/s with no issues.

Edit: STLs are not in printable orientation. Print the shroud with the opening for the fan on the bottom! If you can't print it, point a desk fan at your build plate. It takes so little time to print that it won't warp.

Any chance of sharing the STL?

I would throw out that acrylic extruder as well and get an Mk5 in place so you can properly mount the e3d with its groove mount.

PS: make sure you print a new extruder and mount pieces now before the acrylic inevitably breaks:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:431363