A Real Cool Upgrade to Improve your 3D Printing...

[The Hat]

Over the past couple weeks both my printers have rarely stopped printing and they are preforming remarkably well, I’ve had little or no trouble with them both, and the latest print runs are all over 24 hours plus.

I am putting this down to the new Petsfang I fitted to them both, they just don’t look great, but they provide solid support for the hot-ends and an extra strong directional air flow over the filament.

The white Fang uses the standard fan and the yellow one has a bigger turbo fan fitted, but I can’t find any great difference in either of the fan types, if I had to choose I prefer the white model with the centre mounted smaller fan.
Ender 2.... CR-10.... click to enlarge..

Curiously, I can run the PETG filament on the Ender 2 no problem, but for the life of me I can’t get it to work successfully on the CR-10, that printer is more at home using the PLA filament, and so am I..

 

[stratman]

Fans are not all alike in their air moving characteristics. Some, the higher static pressure fans, are better at pushing air past barriers such as a radiator or a hard drive. The Fang may represent a "barrier" to air flow as air travels through/past and a higher static pressure fan may give better cooling performance.

 

[The Hat]

@stratman, That’s what I would have taught too...

 

[stratman]

What do you attribute the difficulty using PETG filament with the CR-10? Is the equipment or software significantly different than that with the Ender 2?

 

[The Hat]

Is the equipment or software significantly different than that with the Ender 2?

That’s just it, nothing is different, in fact I would have taught the CR-10 would handle the PETG better, and you guess is as good as mine, I reckon it’s a bit outside my paygrade..

 

[Nifty]

Awesome stuff!

I'm feeling like my current fang on my CR-10 is doing a sufficient job, but I'm tempted to swap it out for the Petsfang.

Regarding fans: I've purchased 2 new hot-end fans that a lot of "experts" said are great same-size replacements and much more quiet. Well, they are definitely more quiet, but don't move 1/2 the same amount of air... which is why they are more quiet.

I think a lot of these "experts" aren't really doing any direct air-movement comparisons on the fans. "It fits the same size and blows air... I'm good!"

I think the only way to get the SAME air movement of the stock fan AND have it be more quiet is to move from a 40x10 fan to a 40x20 fan.

 

[stratman]

I think the only way to get the SAME air movement of the stock fan AND have it be more quiet is to move from a 40x10 fan to a 40x20 fan.

Generally, yes, you need a bigger fan to push the same amount of air and be quieter. You can improve the noise factor using things like rubber or silicone fasteners instead of metal screws to attach the fan. Enclosing the fan, or the printer itself, will dampen perceived noise.

The static pressure of the air pushed is a different dynamic than fan noise, or, CFM (Cubic Foot per Minute) air pushed. The higher the pressure (static pressure) of the moving air the better that air can move around or through obstacles like over hard drives in from of the fan or through the radiator of a water cooled CPU system of through a filter. High CFM fans can move a lo of air but not through or around obstacles as well as high static pressure fans.

I don't know the air flow route of the Fang, but it may be advantageous to use a high static pressure fan with the Fang, rather than a high CFM fan, if the Fang requires air to move through or around an obstacle, including twists and turns along the route.

Because @The Hat loves videos, here you go.

 

[The Hat]

I reckon @stratman has lost the plot about fans for a 3D hot end, the whole idea of the Petsfang is for better directional control and not air flow, the speed of the fan is controlled at the outset and by the printers control panel while printing, it’s manual and not automatic..

The Petsfang can use two different types of fan and as I said above in post #1, I couldn’t see any significant difference in either, and yet one is more powerful than the other, and both are controllable for your own personal settings.
standard Turbo click to enlarge.

Why don’t you dive in and get yourself a little 3D printer and then we could have a right get-together about some of these very issues, because your great at sorting out inkjet printer problems.

Because @The Hat loves videos, here you go.

Sorry didn’t need your educational video this time..
P.S. Noise is never a problem for me because I don’t be around the printer when its operational..

 

[stratman]

the whole idea of the Petsfang is for better directional control and not air flow

Better directional control of air flow, if you had watched the video, is kind of the reason for high static pressure fans use.

The Petsfang can use two different types of fan

Sure, like the Ford motor company saying today what the Old Man allegedly said 100 years ago that you can have any color car as long as it is black. It's a wee bit more involved than that.

Regular vs Turbo means what? Higher RPM's to create greater CFM's? Modulating voltage in order to control RPM's, and therefore noise, is secondary to what fan type will push air more efficiently for the purpose at hand. At face value your examples may be the exact same fan technology, ie one type of fan with or without whistles and bells added.

This may all be minutiae in the pursuit of optimization, but that is what this forum delves into. You enjoy minutiae of optimizing your 3D printer with modifications. I enjoy reading your discoveries and exploits. I'd probably do the same. Maybe the fan type does not matter with Fangs, maybe it does. But the fan type is an optimizing consideration even if it is not in your consideration.

Would have taken less time for you to have watched the video than write your post and then read mine. Just saying.

 

[The Hat]

Would have taken less time for you to have watched the video than write your post and then read mine.

Video killed the Radio star...