I’m 14 and have built this enclosure for my printer and want feedback/ improvement ideas and new things to add.
i’m a 14 year-old boy and I’m really into making and fixing things. I wanted to show people this enclosure made out of cardboard, 3-D printed parts and duct tape and other random stuff. It looks pretty crappy from the outside, but there’s a lot more functionality to it than it looks. I’m gonna break down every component of this enclosure. I’m looking for feedback and new ideas/ improvements. This never gets too hot at all. I make sure.
Exhaust system: I bought a small mini exhaust fan thing off of Amazon and a small flexible duct. I did this because I have my printer in my closet, which is actually pretty decent size and it started to get pretty warm in here and started to smell like burning plastic so I enclosed it in this box but I was thinking that it would overheat pretty quickly so when I bought the exhaust system and put it together, I mounted it in the top left corner of the enclosure so fumes heat rise up, they get sucked up and get pushed outside. I had to build a small window insert so that I could have my window partially closed and still have the exhaust system venting and this helped to prevent excess wind and rain from coming in. It’s outer layer of protect is just duct tape so I take it out the window while I’m not using it.
temperature control: I have two thermostat like things, one is near the door and I have another one closer to the printer the one closer to the printer is just a fish tank temperature strip thing. This allows me to check the temperature and if any of them get above 85° I have a little tiny like ceiling fan thing I can turn on to help cool off the space.
ventilation: I printed a small little vent type of thing to go on the side so that the exhaust system can pull air in also and cannot suffocate
Structure: the structure is made out of box, hot glue and duct tape. I used 2 small Home Depot hinges for the door (it may be overkill, but I like it) I keep the door from opening mid print by using magnetic tape. This also effectively seals most of the door and it stays shut pretty well. I also found some old wooden rulers lying around, so I have one on each side of the enclosure on the inside so that it cannot bow outward. I also have two on the top that are together, they keep the ceiling from collapsing, I’m confident that it can hold about 20 pounds which is why I have put four rolls of filament on top.
Lighting: I got an official like actually nice enclosure for Christmas, but I decided not to use it (until this one dies) because I want to improve this further, so I took out the light and like the little thermostat temperature thing and used the light in this enclosure and put the little like temperature gauge thing on you can see in the photo.
thats about all so far. I’ve had my A1 Mini for about one and a half years and I just got a P1S a couple months ago. This enclosure has been standing strong for about a year and continues on that track. I’m looking for feedback/ improvements and new ideas. If you have really made it this far and read through all of that, I just want to say thank you, that means a lot.