I’ve been thinking about upgrading my setup with a proper universal 3D printer enclosure, but I’m still unsure which direction to go.
I mainly print ABS and ASA, so I need something that can actually hold stable temps and keep drafts out. I’m also trying to reduce noise a bit and keep the workspace cleaner.
So… what enclosure setups are you all using?
DIY (like Ikea Lack style)?
Pre-built commercial enclosures?
Any recommendations or things I should avoid?
Would love to hear real experiences before I spend money on the wrong one. Thanks!
ABS and ASA yes you want an enclosure. PLA not so much. Most printer temp get to high for PLA in an enclosure and can cause heat creep or other head problems. You need to take the top off or leave the door open for PLA.
Concur with Loosenut - do not print with enclosure sealed - I’ve got generic large format printer softsided enclosure like the one Hobbymaker pictured. I find it’s great at keeping the printer from becoming another horizontal surface, keeps the amount of dust down, but sealed, your PLA will just become a big ol ball of goo and spaghetti of differing proportions, ask me how I know. In theory, the chamber offers some fire retardant protection, but I’m not willingly going to test that, and I don’t know who’s standards mine were really tested against, and if the certifying lab was really accredited - It was a gift from she who must be obeyed, and you only ask so many questions right?
Even with the door open, the enclosure does cut the noise down, not that the CR10 Smart Pro’s the loudest thing on the planet to begin with. You may still need to regulate the ambient air temp of any enclosure, so thermostatically controlled air venting, with good hepa and carbon filtering would be ideal for ABS, ASA, Nylon etc. Though, as Kitedemon points out elsewhere on this forum, air quality is a concern period, so technically air filtering would be good for PLA and PETG as well but you’ll have a much more active fan running to keep the ambient temp within what PLA tolerates.
I just print in a room that I can shut the door to, and monitor the prints briefly through the night, if overnight, and via camera connected to my RPi/Octoprint setup during the day. It’s better than nothing, esp. given I can’t vent directly out doors.
Is printer fires still a thing now. Most, if not all, printers have some kind of over heat protection, at least they should. It was a problem back in the cave man days of printing 5 or 6 years ago and earlier. I picture a cave painting of UGG trying to put out a fire with a hide or cooking a haunch of meat over it.
Good question tbh. and I don’t know for certain, I do know that the CR10 Smart Pro I have has just enough power supply to do what’s demanded of it, and when you push things that close, you’re asking for trouble - have certainly seen it with lots of mainstream PC’s. Toss that into a house, where power loads are potentially iffy, or into a grid subject to brown outs, and you’ll get all sorts of fun.
Given how often my printer has coated the bloody hot end in massive blobs of plastic, I’d say the risk is still high. Yes, there’s an abnormal temp sensor, but it takes a lot of melted filament to trigger it, and some of that when I peeled it off was … crispy.
Newer models may be much better, but it’s like they say, the odds of being killed by a duck aren’t high, but they’re not zero.
I agree with what has been posted so far. If you know the filaments you are printing are prone to warping and you have been having that issue, its a good investment.
Most of the time with warping its a small breeze can cause the warp. The enclosure will help huge just trying to keep the air still around your printer.
Micro plastics in the air pose a risk it doesn’t need to have toxic fumes. Yes printers are still regularly catching fire. Bambu had a real for a bed cable on the A1 that sparked and caused fire or at least smouldering, Qidi too, K1 and K2 are known for poor electrical issues that also could spark too. Remember some plastics burn well. hot plastics and sparks could ignight the print nothing to do with thermal runaway. There have been more fires in the last 2 years than the previous 5. The severity might be lower maybe.
I suspect in the next few years no open printers will exist and all models will be enclosed and have active filtration.
I don’t run any open printers any more. I bought a Prusa enclosure for my mk3 )by far the best enclosed I have. It now runs ABS mostly as I can’t detect any smells. from it while printing. The XL is in a community designed enclosure. My others are all enclosed. The P2S is enclosed but vents out. It is the worst currently.
