Print Cooling Fan (The Badger)

thingiverse

If you've seen any of my other weird stuff, you\'ll have noticed my stupid camera crank ( http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3930 ) and the issues I've had getting it to print cleanly. I'm happy to report after a number of little issues ironed out, I\'ve got a pretty usable part and a fairly clean print with a few minor nitpicks. The catch with this part is that it stays so hot printing the stem, it warps a little, stays mooshy longer than it should, and kind of gobs up a little bit. One evening I sat here as it printed and I blow onto the the print as it layers up. The most recent 3 layers stayed a little soft, but the problem was reduced exponentially. So I thought, why can\'t I make a tiny fan, kind of like the direction bothacker investigated ( http://bothacker.com/2010/06/22/keep-it-cool/ ). Because RepG0018 doesn\'t really utilize the COOL function with aplomb, I figured, fans are worth a shot, so I built one, but I directed the air to a finite point, since I don\'t want to perturb the HBP or the nozzle temp as it prints. Instructions So this is the solution. I call it the Badger because with white plastic sheeting and black stripes, it kinda looks like one. You make a small kind of directional nozzle for the air to pass to, and position it just underneath the print head. You don\'t want it too far away or it won\'t work effectively, and you don\'t want it too close because it will either melt, or get in the way of the print and bunk the whole deal. As instructed in other locations various Makerbot/Reprap forums, connect your wiring to the Mk4 Extruder controller in C+/- at the top of the board. You can drop in your M106(on) and M107(off) gcodes wherever you see fit, and if you have the cone in the right place, it should help just the tiniest bit to cool the most recent layers. You don\'t want to turn it on too early, or it will warp the bejesus out of the print at the platform level (hence the whole point of the HBP). In this case, I evaluated which layers start the column using SIMULATE, and dropped the ON code there. OFF I set at the very very end, especially since the shape I print is narrow and finite. In use, the whole thing is somewhat inefficient. It\'s downright wasteful, actually, since the air compresses into the cone and can\'t escape through the nozzle, but instead pushes right back out the rear of the fan unit. Since this can be helpful someplace, I positioned the fan hanging under the extruder motor, which I hope will convince it to stay cool and happy (not an issue so far, but everything loves air). HOW TO BUILD IT ALREADY Go to your local hobby store, or look around the house for some very thin plastic or cardboard. Cut it to the pattern similar to your needs/space, and tape it to the fan housing. I know these are the most vague instructions in the world, but you are clever, and can figure this out; I believe in you. It\'s not for every application, the Badger / Cooling Fan. But for skinny, tall, weird things, I believe it will be helpful. If it is not, I will come back and tell you so.