FlashForge Creator 3 Covers

thingiverse

<h2><b> Summary </b></h2> I like the side chambers for the filament spools, but they would be better if they weren't so leaky... After taping over all the smaller gaps where air can pass between the filament chambers and the main chamber of the printer, I decided to make printable covers for the two bigger holes for a few reasons. The larger rectangular hole is, I think, necessary for some printer maintenance considering that when homed, the printer carriage lines up nicely with the hole and some of the screws are accessible. So a removable cover would likely be better. This one is just a simple piece of rectangular plastic held in by two plastic hooks. The curved gaps on the other hand, are for I assume the user to be able to see the filament without opening up the filament chamber. Thus, for this I made the cover more like a window frame where it has a slot where a thin piece of plastic can be inserted. You can see the images of this cover above. If you are able to print transparent plastic though, you could try the solid version. The rectangular piece should fit in snugly, and the curved one should snap right in. <h2><b> With regards to humidity: </b></h2> In my own experience, without the covers and the tape over the smaller holes, my spool of PETG become too wet to use within a few days whilst sitting in the chamber. (I live in a country where the relative humidity is >84% - PVA becomes useless in less than a day without protection). With the covers, and a container of desiccant in the filament chamber, I've been able to print with PETG that's been in the chamber for about a month or two. <h2><b> With regards to heat: </b></h2> Since taping the small holes and using the covers, I've also felt a noticeable increase in the temperature and in heat retention of the printing chamber when printing, though I didn't really measure this, so your results may vary. These covers should also help if you're feeding filament from an external spool, as doing so requires you to leave the filament chamber doors open. So these covers should help the main chamber retain heat with the filament chamber doors open. <h2><b> Closing </b></h2> These covers aren't perfect though, if you really wanted to make the chambers air-tight, you'd also have to somehow seal the chamber doors which I haven't gotten around to trying yet. I hope this helps you, if you're facing the same considerations as I. If you have any comments, especially on ideas regarding the rectangular cover, I'd be interested.