Compact and Silent E3D v6 Fan Box

thingiverse

I designed a custom fan mount for my E3Dv6 hotend because I couldn't find one that fit my specific setup. The new mount uses three 40mm silent fans to cool both the hotend and extruded filament at a very low sound level. It's worth noting that there is a significant difference in sound level between standard and silent 40mm fans, with silent fans producing much less noise. I've had success with Fractal Design 40mm fans, which provide exactly the right amount of airflow for this fan mount. Since the air is precisely directed to where it's needed, the increased airflow from standard fans isn't necessary. The compact design of my fan mount allows me to maintain as much visibility as possible while printing. Many existing fan mounts obstruct the view of the extrusion result, but I've tried to make mine more compact to keep that visibility intact. By placing the hotend cooling fan behind the hotend, I can see more of the model during print. The fan box is divided into two parts: an upper plate with a standard 6mm hotend mounting and a hotend fan mount, which can be used on its own if you don't need filament cooling. The lower part consists of two fan mounts for silent 40mm fans, connected by a common cooling channel. The two filament cooling fans blow air downwards and slightly towards the center, not directly at the heat block like in many other cooling solutions. I designed the fan box using FreeCAD and made the design file available for download along with the printable STL files.