Ender 3 Motherboard Suction Fan Mount / Fan Cover

prusaprinters

<p>After ordering a set of replacement fans for the extruder on my Creality Ender 3, I was left with an extra blower fan. Because the motherboard fan also needed replacement because of an annoying rattling sound, I decided to create an alternative motherboard fan mount which made use of my spare 4010 Blower fan.</p><p>Instead of cooling the motherboard by blowing air on it, this fan will blow the air away from the motherboard. It also doubles as a prevention from stuff falling into the motherboard compartment or fan.</p><p>Using Autodesk Fusion 360's topology optimization I designed a part which uses a minimum of material and keeps a clean aesthetic, while also being durable and user friendly.</p><p><strong>Incompatible with the Ender 3 pro because of the change in fan placement</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Print Settings</h3><p><strong>Printer Brand:</strong></p><p>Creality</p><p><strong>Printer:</strong></p><p>Ender 3</p><p><strong>Rafts:</strong></p><p>No</p><p><strong>Supports:</strong></p><p>Yes</p><p><strong>Resolution:</strong></p><p>0.2</p><p><strong>Infill:</strong></p><p>10%</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Post-Printing</h3><p>Simply unscrew the motherboard cover so you have access to the motherboard and can replace the old fan with the 4010 Blower fan.</p><p>Tie wrap the excess cables of the blower fan so they fit nicely in the motherboard compartment.</p><p>Put the cover back into pace, while keeping the fan outside the motherboard compartment by putting the wire through the existing hole in the side of the cover plate.</p><p>screw in the motherboard cover, together with the new fan mount, into place.</p><p>Put the fan into position by pressing it into the mount, which should fit tight when printed correctly.</p><p>Enjoy your alternative fan mount!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>How I Designed This</h3><p>This part was designed in Autodesk Fusion 360. First I reverse engineered the Creality Ender 3 motherboard cover and the 4010 Blower fan in order to get the right dimensions.</p><p>Making use of the biggest advantage of 3d printing: rapid prototyping, I created a well fitting holder for the fan.</p><p>The next step was to create some rough geometry holding the fan holder in place using the existing screw holes on the motherboard cover.</p><p>For the optimization I used the Topology Optimization function, making sure to constraint the two screw holes and applying a force.</p><p>The result is an optimized model which tries to balance loss of material with durability, ensuring cost and time saving in the final part.</p><p><strong>Recreation of existing cover and 4010 Blower fan, as well as the new holder</strong></p><p><strong>Part after Topology Optimization</strong></p>