3D Printer Enclosure

by John

It has been cold here during the current lockdown. And I mean temperatures. Not by American midwest standards by any means, but since we are confined to our homes except for limited predefined purposes, some days and nights are chilly. Down to 5-8ºc here.

I have been spending a lot of lockdown time doing 3D prints. And really struggling to get decent results.

Some of my GSMEE colleagues have been urging me to make an enclosure for my 3D printer. To be honest, Stuart T had urged me originally to buy a printer with an enclosure, but I pressed ahead and purchased an open structure model because I wanted the extra print size it offered. The Creality CR10s can print up to 300x300x400mm which I have fully used for my Ottoman bombard prints.

But in recent weeks, with the onset of the cold weather, I have noticed a distinct deterioration in print quality, particularly with poor layer adhesion when printing overnight, when the house heating is turned down or off.

So I decided to make an enclosure!

But, I did not have the materials on hand, and visiting hardware stores is verbotten with lockdown rules.

So, don’t laugh. This is what I cobbled together……

A couple of cardboard cartons, an artist’s A0 paper case (SWMBO hasn’t noticed it missing yet), and a blanket.

The heated printer bed is the heat source, at 50ºc. And I was surprised at the temperatures reached inside the rickety construction.

The steep temperature rise on the left is inside the enclosure after printing started. As you can see, the temperature rose from about 18ºc (room temp), fairly quickly to over 30ºc. After midnight, when the house heating was turned off there was a slow drop to 25ºc, and then a further drop to 18ºc when the printing finished and the bed self turned off.

The temperatures were measured with this gadget. A temperature/humidity logger.

Inkbird Temperature/humidity logger.

And the printing result??

The printer inside its enclosure, on the dining table.

This is the best quality print which I have had since the onset of winter weather. It is solid, water tight, and a reasonable finish. 0.2mm layer height. It is a molten metal pouring funnel, so I was not trying to get a super smooth finish, just an intact water tight object.

As soon as I can get access to Bunnings, I will make a more purposeful enclosure. Meanwhile, the cartons and blankets can remain in use.

Getting close to the first big bronze pour!