Heated enclosure corner

cults3d

I created these corner reinforcers to complement 1/2" thick foil backed foam insulation in making a heated enclosure for my Prusa i3 MK2. You can easily obtain 4x8 sheets of this foam at most hardware stores. Reinforcing the corners makes a significant difference, and they are designed to be attached by pushing a zip tie through the outer piece, through the foam, through the inner corner piece, and back out through the second set of holes, then zipping it tight. I utilized PLA which might get slightly soft in the upper corners but doesn't exert a huge amount of force on it so I haven't noticed any distortion. The insulating foam performs well in retaining the heat produced by the printer and I've printed up to 65 deg C with this setup, although I start to worry about the electronics at these temperatures. Additionally, preheating the chamber can affect the PINDA (if you're using a Prusa) or bed sensor otherwise), so be prepared to adjust the live Z height adjustment to get it back down to the bed. I reinforced the edges with foil tape and installed a lexan window in the front. I initially planned on making a set of doors for the enclosure, but it's easy to just lift off the printer, so I never bothered. One final warning: Any PLA parts inside the chamber will become soft if the temperature gets too high. I had a roll of filament on the bed after my spool holder got soft and gave up.