Ender 3 5015 Cooling Duct for Stock Mount

thingiverse

This Ender 3 5015 fan system delivers exactly what it promises - efficiency and effectiveness. Don't be fooled by its compact size, this part cooling duct truly lives up to its name. Although still a work in progress, the design currently in place works flawlessly. I've been using this fan exclusively for three months now, swapping out both the Hero Me and Petsfang/Bullseye fan systems. To give you a better idea of its performance, I'll be uploading a short video to YouTube showcasing the fan ducts in action. In the meantime, take a look at the screen grab pictures attached to this upload. The other fan systems like the Hero me and Petsfang are indeed good options. However, they're just too bulky for my taste, and that's because they're designed primarily to cool down prints effectively. This 5015 fan system takes a different approach by creating a tight grouping of air directly below the print nozzle. This results in improved print quality on certain materials and increased bridging distance. The notched slot beneath the 5015 ensures balanced airflow distribution between both ducts, eliminating back pressure that would otherwise leak out around the seat of the fan. The 5015 fan is simply inserted into the opening and held in place by the tight tolerance of the print itself, along with two stabilizers that clip into the hole on top of the fans. As a result, no hardware is necessary to secure the fan in place. The print utilizes the stock fan screws to hold onto the Ender 3's stock hotend fan shroud, and this fan duct makes use of both the stock screws and the hot end shroud on the Ender 3. Therefore, major upgrades aren't required; you just need to swap out the stock fan for the 5015. I recommend printing the model out of a higher temperature-resistant material such as PETG or ABS. I chose to print it in PETG, which has held up well over the past three months. The two small ducts are too close to the hotend to use materials like PLA, and they'll eventually melt when hot filament gets pushed into them. PETG manages to withstand higher temperatures without sustaining damage before runaway filament can cause any harm. For optimal print quality, I suggest using a .4mm nozzle with a .2mm draft quality. This will give you a very solid print with no need for supports or complicated print layouts. The overall print time is relatively short due to the model's small size - approximately 1 hour total print time depending on the desired print quality. Simply drop it into your slicing software, set your preferences, and print. No special orientation is required. As I mentioned earlier, this duct system is still a work in progress. I'm currently expanding its design to include a dual 5015 fan system and a custom cooling fan shroud. The new design will utilize both BLtouch and EZABL auto bed leveling sensors. I've completed the design but need to improve the fan shroud to fit properly on the Ender 3 hot end mount. I'll update this text with revision 2 when that's done. I hope you enjoy this print as much as I have. My print quality has significantly improved since I installed it on my printer, and I believe others can benefit from a simple design like this one. You don't always need complicated prints to achieve the results you want. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know below.