LulzBot Taz 4 power supply PC cooling fan adapter

thingiverse

WARNING: Power supplies can contain extremely high voltage, capable of being fatal. Carelessly handling them will result in severe injury or death. Unplug everything before attempting repairs, and familiarize yourself with standard safety procedures for working with high voltage equipment. If you're not comfortable performing this type of work, it's strongly recommended that you seek assistance from a professional. I love my LulzBot Taz 4, but unfortunately the power supply has been acting erratically lately. The noise it produces is extremely loud and suggests that the cooling fan may be malfunctioning. I immediately took action to repair it because of this alarming issue. I cleaned the stock cooling fan thoroughly to see if that would resolve the problem. However, even after cleaning the issue remained and therefore replacement became inevitable. To replace the original Taz fan, I scavenged for a new fan suitable for my needs. This is where I discovered the Cooler Master CM12V CPU fan designed specifically for desktop computers. When connecting it to the system however, issues arose due to wiring differences between this unit and the Taz stock one. Fortunately both fans featured a standard 3-wire configuration so swapping these with splicing the extra wires should not be too complicated. Next, I crafted an adjustable fan mount made from durable cardboard that securely held my new cooler in place. After verifying proper operation of my modified setup, this improvised setup sufficed until installation in the factory mounting slot was a possibility for me to swap the units smoothly. Currently, the upgrade is running just as planned and should reduce replacement cycles for users who put significant demand on their printers over short time periods like myself with 12-hour-a-day heavy usage. It has also allowed for standardisation so owners do not struggle with these types of issues moving forward while having quick solutions at hand whenever a failure occurs down the line. This new cooler's increased accessibility over prior model counterparts is truly refreshing and reassuring for customers whose print loads might result in reduced lifetimes (in my experience approximately one-year). Additionally, users can opt to upgrade their cooling solution without causing long-term damage because unlike some earlier implementations where improper removal procedures rendered devices unserviceable I simply had access once again thanks primarily due changes enabling improved workflow through open design choice which outputs extra heat into ambient space leading towards efficient temperature management via convection thereby turning fans on much less frequently than under previous operating parameters set prior before swapping these units around making things work properly from there onward onwards!