Silent fans

Hi,

I am using Duet3D wifi in x256 interpolation mode and the TMC drivers make the motors virtually silent. However there is another source of noise which is due to various cooling fans. I am trying to minimize that, so I am looking for suggestions on which brands to use. In practice there are 4 different fans on my setup:

1) Cooling fan for cooling Duet3D. While Duet3D has a stable thermal design and a fan is not a must, I use a 80 mm fan which is silent, so I don’t need to replace it.

2) The PSU’s cooling fan. The PSU is a 350Watt chinese generic PSU and has its fan always on. It makes a lot of noise.I am wondering if replacing the PSU with a brand name like Meanwell would reduce the noise.

3) Cooling fan for the hotend. Due to space restriction I use an always on 30 mm fan for the hotend and it is very noisy. Do you know a 30 mm fan which is silent? Is there even such a thing as a silent 30 mm fan as they get noisier as they get smaller.

4) 2 PWM fans for part cooling. Again, due to space restrictions I have to use 30 mm square shaped turbo fans. They are moderately noisy, but they are not always on, so the noise isn’t permanent. It was really difficult to source 12 volts 30 mm turbo fans, so I am not holding my breath on finding a more silent version, however it doesn’ hurt to ask.

Thanks...

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2018 01:04AM by drmaestro.

The PSU fan could be replaced with a tempcontrolled fan. They have an inbuild NTC to measure temp of the airflow.
The hotend fan would run quiet with a resistor in series, but the cooling capabilities would be alot lower. You'd have to dial it in with a temporary thermistor placed on the heatsink.
The partcooling fans are often controlled by PWM, so you can experiment with your slicer settings to cut the fans off at 80% or thereabouts.

see this for PS fan mod..
[www.youtube.com]

While this may be a stupid/snarky answer, and enclosure is a simple and low tech way to reduce noise... Also has the added bonus of keeping your chamber temp more constant and opens up the possibility of a heated chamber too.

I've just failed to suppress "get airplugs" which is also a simple and cost efficient answer

failing that look into noctua fans, expensive but designed to be quiet

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2018 08:04AM by Dust.

So get noctua fans + do the temperature control mod = silence

(+/- earplugs and enclosure for total bilss )

Hi

I replaced my "generic 350Watt chinese PSU" with its fan always on by an ATX PSU taken from an old PC and what a difference: my printer is now extremely silent.

The PSU was the main source of noise, this ATX PSU I got for free and it is so much better, powerful enough, does not heat up, more compact and the adaptation was straightforward.

I strongly encourage you to try.

J3d

You can make any DC powered fan run quieter by operating it at lower than rated voltage. If you look at Noctua fans, their CFM rating is low compared to similar sized "normal" fans. I know they have some special bearing design but I suspect most of the noise reduction they achieve is through running it slow. Try running a 24V fan at 18V or even 15V, easily achieved with a resistor. It'll run slower and much quieter.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
the_digital_dentist
You can make any DC powered fan run quieter by operating it at lower than rated voltage. If you look at Noctua fans, their CFM rating is low compared to similar sized "normal" fans. I know they have some special bearing design but I suspect most of the noise reduction they achieve is through running it slow. Try running a 24V fan at 18V or even 15V, easily achieved with a resistor. It'll run slower and much quieter.

I wanted to mention the same thing but was a bit hesitant since it was just something I'd heard. I've heard noctua fans are basically just regular fans run slower/at a lower voltage.

I have bought one yesterday. Noctua fans have some additional wires included in the box that you can add to the connector to decrease fan loudness. I suppose they have some resistors inside. It is clearly marked that the CFM value also decreases with noise level. They also supposedly have some design elements that reduce noise, but that could all be fake science....