I know I have been veryyy slow updating over the past few months, but a lot has been going on and I want to discuss that. BUT first I want to get through my large back log of posts (from like last summer), so excuse the brevity as I power through!
Here I cleaned up the cable organization to make everything nice and neat so stages can move freely.
Very Neat, the cables are now in sleeves
Front
Back
I know I have been slow in updating lately, but I have been quite busy in the additive manufacturing world (more on this in the coming weeks). But for now here is the next post from my large backlog of posts (circa last summer) :D
After using the fume extraction system for a while, it became apparent (by the smell of melting ABS plastic) that the old blower fan I was using was not quite powerful enough, though it was a great improvment over using no fume extraction. The origional intent, since the blower fan actually consisted of two fans, was for one side to used with my large machine and the other for my Fab@Home. I decided to double up, with both inputs connected to my machine to basically double the volume of fumes I could extract. So I designed and printed a Y-splitter and couplers.
Duct Hose Coupler
Above are the printed couplers in which the 1″ blue flexible hose will be mounted into. These couplers will then connect into the printed Y-Splitter. This is so I can easily disconnect the hoses if needed instead of permanently sealing them into the Y-splitter.
Duct Hose Y-Splitter right after print completion
The above image is the finished Y-splitter which came out quite nicely. I used a 3.4mm wall thickness which basically gave me a quadruple path wall thickness.
Top view of the Y-Splitter
This top view shows the 1″ hollow tubes on the inside of the splitter.
Y-Splitter assembled with couplers
Here is the fully assembled unit with the couplers attached. The bottom couplers have slots for #4-40 nuts and the splitter has through holes for them. The top coupler has through holes in it and then the top of the Y-splitter is tapped for the screws.
Once all the parts were printed it was time to put it all together.
Mounted Blower Fan with duct hose running to the outside
I bought 50′ [15.25m] of 3″ white marine duct hose online for $40. This was a nice inexpensive way to get the fumes out to my basement window. The hoses are attached to the blower adapters with pipe clamps.
1" flexible hose leading tot he fume extrator nozzle
1″ blue “super” flexible duct hose was run to the extractor nozzle on the extruder. I even designed and printed 3 little parts to clamp the hose to the Z stage.
View of completed fume extration system
The above image is before I wired up the blower fan. This was quite simple because it is an AC motor and can be directly plugged into a standard electrical outlet.
