Heated Build Chamber Temperature Control

Having been relegated to the cold garage due to smelly ABS, my prints have developed serious warping/ poor layer adhesion issues.

As a result I am looking at designing a heated build chamber for my Prusa i3.

I am aware that just enclosing the printer and letting the ambient temperature of the heated bed and extruder do the majority of the heating would do the job, but is there an option that would allow more control?

are there any spare outputs or options on a RAMPS 1.4 that would allow me to switch a heater on/ off or activate a cooling fan?

Cheers in advance.

Will

Since the bed and extruder are under temperature control, I've found that chamber (or box) stabilizes at some temperature about 15-20C above ambient temperature. You shouldn't need to worry about overheating in the winter. Perhaps in the summer that would be a concern. Also, if your printer has parts made of PLA, you have to be careful. All my printers have printed ABS parts.

RAMPS 1.4 support 2 extruders. So, if you're only using one, then you should be able to use the other thermistor and the other MOSFET, if you're not using it for a fan, for the chamber.

Ive been thinking about this too. So far ive come up with a fan for cooling and a few large resistors for heating. Other than that the other option is peltier heater / cooler connected to a h-bridge so it can be reversed is my only other option

Thats interesting, thank you very much.

I was going to try and aim for 40 - 50^oC, but would 25-30^oC be sufficient then?

Cheers

I'd get away from ramps and to to a completly separate system. PID controllers are relatively cheap now, and thermocouples arent expensive either. Auber instruments has a decent selection. I assume that youre going to use a common $20 - 30 electric heater? Probably a good idea to segregate the fan and heating element to separate controls so that the fan is constantly on and the heating element is controlled by tbe pid/ssr. Just safer. Also, think about placing your electronics outside the enclosure.

I run at 40C all the time. The hotter the better. I think keuhling and co run at 50C.

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- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

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i bought a 20 dollar 1500watt space heater off amazon prime, it worked great and i was able to keep the chamber temp above 70c during the entire print, and its a 500x500x500 chamber.

why not remove the source of your problem?

put whoever is complaining about your fantastic machine in the shed

I've read so many complaints now of ABS smell, I have to ask... What are you guys talking about? I've been printing ABS for weeks now and haven't smelled a thing. I got it (unlabeled) from the guy who sold me the printer and after reading all these smell complaints I started to wonder if maybe it wasn't ABS. But it welds with acetone like nobody's business, so I figure it's gotta be ABS. When I print with ABS, the only thing I smell is the hairspray fragrance (no it's not PLA "maple syrup" smell).

I'm using white ABS; does that make a difference? Are the other colors more smelly?

Sorry if this is considered "hijacking" on this forum; where I come from, it's perfectly on topic.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2014 07:06PM by strantor.

@strantor, It depends on how much you print, and how small your work area's cubic volume is. A couple hour print here or there isn't a big deal, but run 1+ lbs of abs in under a day in a really small room, and you will smell the ABS. Although, I think hairspray is much more pungent (I still use Kapton /ABS juice with great success).

Your comment reminds me of a junior high school concert I went to back during the 80's "big hair" days. Those Jr high girls had to have pumped a couple of cans each in their hair, because the air was unbreathable due to the smell. I remember passing buy as dozens of cans were going full out at the same time, like graffiti artists. It's a good thing they didn't smoke at the same time, cause that stuff is very flammable.

I am fairly new to 3D printing and have my printer in the living room of my small house and have already determined that it will get an enclosure for a number of reasons:

1. 'noise reduction'. I find the noise, particularly over hours and hours, to be very annoying.

2. The smell of the ABS doesn't seem noticeable but it spreads throughout the house and gives me a headache.

3. I keep my house cool in the winter so an enclosure will give the printer a more stable temperature.

I am considering a very small exhaust fan, just enough to keep the enclosure at a negative pressure by exhausting outside. Maybe a two-speed fan or a second fan to boost the air flow if the enclosure temperature gets too high. I also plan to include a thermostat and small heater for pre-heat or supplemental heat.

Just to be on the safe side I intend to install a smoke detector that will kill the power, the heat and the fans if it detects smoke.