ender 3 frontLeft enclosure

thingiverse

The Ender 3 does come with an electronics enclosure on the front left. I tossed mine out when I moved the motherboard and Raspberry Pi to the back, opting for TT's rear enclosure instead. I could've hung onto it, but it had fittings and holes that didn't need them, and I couldn't modify it. So, I decided against it. The rear enclosure is a nice case that I still enjoy having, but I kept adding things - MOSFETs, relays, sensors, ESP8266 modules, with lots of wires that needed to be connected and all those components stuffed into some corner or on top of each other. I simply needed more space. This design is just an empty box, with a lid that can be pushed in or dragged out, and a front panel as a separate piece so you can modify it later without having to print the entire box again. It doesn't require a fan since there's nothing particularly hot inside, and besides, the rear enclosure has two strong fans and the air stream goes through this box. So, the vents on the sides are useful. You'll need 2 M3x10 (or 12) screws and nuts to secure the front panel in place properly. The lid is thin and flexible enough that you can steer it around the extrusions without any issues. I removed the interior design from the upstream version since it was just taking up space, and I usually print a tiny socket for all the electronics and glue them in. In a later version, I might add openings in the front for tiny voltmeters and a small OLED screen so the printer can directly display its state. As usual, I've included the FreeCAD source code so you can modify it to your liking and have fun!