Without any ado, let’s get started with the reasons for setting a 3D printer enclosure.
1. Avoiding Heat Loss
At the very first of printing, we may struggle with tough slicing, long auto-leveling, and hysteric z-offset adjusting to make sure a perfect printing. To reach a perfect first layer, you stand by the machine with a spade in your hand removing the failure and adjusting and waiting as if you are a crepes shoe chef.
After all kinds of trials you have been through, you finally become a famous chef in your garage. But you may find the crepes you make are still a garage item and cannot be served to customers. Your crepes are not flat but warping...
There’s some warping in the house occurring due to material shrinkage, which leads to the corners of the print lifting and detaching from the build plate. When filaments are printed, they firstly expand slightly but contract as they cool down. If material contracts too much, the print would bend up from the build plate. Cooling is one of the main causes of warping.
Material contracts when cooling and thus cause the material to pull on itself. Materials need to be cooled properly before the next layer is added, so heat loss should be avoided to ensure a flat, warp-free print. To make your batter well attached to the plate, please control the heat of your pan.
To take care of your pan or to avoid heat loss, a 3D printer enclosure is handy for your printing. The material of the Kywoo3d printer enclosure is a combination of Oxford cloth and aluminum foil making the product perform at a better temperature control with its heat preservation cover.
Kywoo3d printer enclosure is made of flame-retardant aluminum foil cloth material, high-temperature resistance, fire-retardant, and corrosion-resistant making sure a safer printing. Technically, if in a fire, it will melt and not fire itself of the enclosure, and will not spread. A fire caused by 3D printing? Congratulations, you get burnt crepes!
2. Emissions
If getting a 3D printer equals obtaining numerous items, then emissions are included too. So, many users would redesign their printers with their printed screws and screw sets to fix acrylic panels to form an enclosure-like cap. They aim to make their printers a studio vibe and accidentally avoid emissions produced by their workhorses.
At your garage or anywhere in your workplace, you may enjoy the satisfaction of watching every layer being well piled and the precisely positioned material on your work strike your mental needs to perfection. You would erect your body and take a deep breath, you are inhaling particulate or VOCs produced by your printer.
Then is 3D printing safe? Let’s read the result from a study on 3D printing emissions:
In summary, emissions of particulates and VOCs increased when multiple 3D printers were operating simultaneously. Airborne levels in the adjacent hallway were similar between the two scenarios. Overall, data suggest a low risk of significant and persistent adverse health effects. Nevertheless, the health effects attributed to 3D printing are not fully known and adherence to good hygiene principles is recommended during the use of this technology.
(source: Emissions and health risks from the use of 3D printers in an occupational setting）
In the study, the data shows that all measurements were below their respective occupational exposure limits. Then is a 3d printer enclosure optional? Of course, it is, but due to the not fully known health effects attributed to 3D printing, low risk doesn’t mean any risk.
Back to printing itself, temperature from the nozzle to printing bed, from cooling fan to indoor temperature, the work on the bed is sensitive to the temperature. Then what materials are suitable for setting a 3D printer enclosure?
To avoid warping, what we need to do is try to keep the 3D printed model’s temperature as even as possible. Some influencers have tested that some filaments like TPU, ABS, and PETG can better be printed out with an enclosure.
ABS Filament
When it comes to ABS filament, then you can take LEGO blocks to your mind. ABS material generates less oozing and stringing which gives models a smoother finish. However, the heavy warping and the pungent odor while printing would jeopardize your work, your fancy blocked house would finally turn into a creepy biochemical lab. In this case, a 3D printer enclosure seems to exist for ABS material.
PETG filament
To give yourself a fast understanding of this kind of material, a water bottle is the best example. To ensure the best print quality, the requirement for temperature is not that rigid and sometimes a 3D printer enclosure is not required. But often, on the build surface, a glue stick or a painter’s tape is recommended. Then an acrylic panel enclosure is quite enough.
3.Soundproof
When you receive a standard or basic version 3D printer from different brands, you may receive a mediocre motherboard and cheap linear rods within your machine. Your printing would be torture, the noise would drive you crazy. If you don’t wanna spare your budget on upgrading your motherboard or replacing your linear rods with linear rails, then an easy installation 3D printer enclosure would be fine. Less noise and better printing.
4.Dustproof
No further description. You know it, your workhorse could be just a Venus bust at the shelf in your house sometimes.
Kywoo 3D Printer Enclosure Introduction
Product size: 650*720*730mm
Material: the outer layer of Oxford cloth, the inner layer of aluminum foil
The cat bag liked enclosure for your workhorse is easy to tame:
Here you can check more details about how to assemble it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--sIhkxI-lA&t=3s
Owning a 3D printer enclosure is definitely optional but absolutely not superfluous. For more perfect printing and less unknown health risk, a 3D printer enclosure is always a convenient choice to cult a more enjoyable printing experience.
Screws that are used on the joints to connect the acrylic panels for DIY are provided : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4657530
