Better Blower for Anycubic Kossel

thingiverse

Better Fan for Anycubic Kossel Update: 10.11.18 I was wrong about Cut_Blower_Duct.stl. Replaced with a new version. Update: 7.11.18 I added CM_Blower_Housing_v2 and Cut_Blower_Duct to the design. These are improvements that go along with my Venturi Project thing. -CM_Blower_Housing_v2 is a cleaned up version of the original. The main difference is I removed the Coanda lip to make attachment of Cut_Blower_Duct easier. If you already printed the original CM_Blower, you can easily adapt it. -Cut_Blower_Duct fits on top of the intake for better air flow. It might also fit in the factory blower housing if you want to try. There's another version available in my Venturi Project thing for other printers. I'm happy with my Anycubic Kossel Linear Plus, but the supplied filament cooling fan is a bit weak. I designed this upgrade to be easy to do while keeping clutter at the hot-end assembly to a minimum. The assembled fan is a direct drop-in replacement. Materials: -An Anycubic Kossel Printer -A 12v DC donor fan (see photos for recommended dimensions) -Super Glue -Basic soldering equipment -Care! Build: 1) Print out the CM_Blower.gcode file, or spin your own from the CM_Blower.stl file using the advised printer settings - important! 2) Take the donor fan and disassemble it. You need the fan, PCB, wires, and motor assembly as a complete unit. The rest is for the trash. Be careful not to damage the bits you want and make sure to keep a small ring of the original black plastic housing where it attaches between the motor spindle and PCB to prevent the required parts from falling apart. 3) Push the wires through the central hole in the printed fan housing and carefully press-fit the round fan assembly PCB into the hole. Warning! It's a tight fit and not intended to go all the way in! 4) You want to line things up so the fan fits near-perfectly centrally in the new housing, making sure no part of the fan is touching the housing. If you pushed the PCB in too far (and didn't break it), the base of the fan will touch the base of the housing - not good! 5) When you're happy the fan is properly lined up, turn the assembly over and secure the edges of the PCB to the printed housing with a few dabs of Super Glue. You may also need to use glue to properly attach the remaining ring of plastic around the spindle to the PCB that was left over from the original housing. Warning! If you get Super Glue in the bearing, the fan won't turn. 6) Optional: Print out the CM_Cone.gcode file and attach it to the top of the fan (see pictures). It's very important, if used, that the cone is fixed dead-center. If not, the fan will be unbalanced and be both noisy and not last long. The cone should help improve air flow, along with the Coanda lip on the housing itself. This is at best a marginal improvement - feel free to skip it. 7) Sensible: If printed in PLA, I would suggest covering the back of the assembled fan with a single layer of paper tape (masking tape). Heat transfer from the hot-end doesn't seem to be an issue, but it can't hurt to be careful. This is also added insulation for the otherwise exposed PCB. 8) Unscrew the old fan and reuse the old screws to mount the new one in its place. 9) Wiring is up to you - I cut the wires to the old fan at the hot-end and fitted connectors at that point so the new/old fans could be easily swapped. 10) Switch on the printer and go into the control menu. Set fan speed to 255 (non-zero) and check all is working properly. Done! Optional: If you're feeling brave or simply want more control over the motor and fan, I have also included a printable fan that you can fit your own motor assembly to... You can find more powerful motors with quieter bearings than the advised donor fan if you want.