Damper Feet for EMT8

thingiverse

Having recently built a EMT8 frame for my Anet A8, I wanted something to quiet it down a bit since the table it was sitting on resonates like a drum. I'd seen many reports that sitting a printer on blocks of closed cell foam does wonders to dampen the sound a bit, so I decided to give it a try. The result was a huge reduction in the sound levels from my printer, making it nearly silent now. I was impressed by how well this simple solution worked. So, I wanted an even "cleaner" solution and made up these simple feet that snap onto the metal tubing. I designed them in two parts for several reasons. Firstly, they're super easy to print - just print the two parts and screw them together. This way, you can quickly get your printer running with minimal fuss. Secondly, the cups are actually from a fellow member "aeropic" and only slightly modified to fit onto the clips. They were originally intended to squash balls, which should work perfectly well too - I just used foam because I had it handy and it worked fine. This way, you can easily repurpose the clips for other designs, adapting them to mount whatever you want to clip onto your frame. Lastly, this design allows for easy modification of the screw holes, making them compatible with M3 screws that are 10mm long. I used some self-threading screws I had on hand that were similar in size and worked well. It's not crucial what type of screws you use as long as they hold the parts together securely. I'm happy to report that these feet do a great job of quieting down my printer, just as much as sitting it on simple blocks of foam did. I used four of them, one at each corner of the frame, and the rigid design provides plenty of support for it. The rear ones are compressed slightly more than the front due to the added weight at the back of the frame - you might consider adding one or two more in the rear if needed. If you try these feet, please let me know how they work out for you! I'm particularly curious to hear about using squash balls and where to buy them cheaply. Print the clips flat on the bed and the cups with the flat side down. If you need the files rotated and ready to print, just let me know - I didn't think of that initially.