PLA printing: PP3DP Up plus 2 extruder stepper motor cooler

cults3d

After numerous hours of non-stop PLA printing, approximately 7 hours at 27 degrees Celsius / 81 degrees Fahrenheit ambient temperature with my PP3DP Up Plus 2 3D printer, and many failed prints due to clogging caused by PLA overheating in the past (using software v2.11 and v2.12), I am now able to print flawless PLA from third-party manufacturers on this machine without any issues. Following a pretty intense clog that resulted in a boiling extruder stepper motor due to heavy overload, a slightly damaged extruder gear, and melted plastic parts, I decided to design a cooler for the stepper motor. This cooling system works surprisingly well at reducing heat buildup not only for the extruder motor but also enables serious PLA printing with this machine. The outer casing of the cooler is reverse-engineered from the original one, and I would like to thank PP3DP for providing me with the necessary parts through their software. The design features holes for a 40 mm fan, ensuring minimal airflow loss while preventing excessive cooling on the printed part. Please note that you should not glue the outer cover to the inner duct. To view a detailed assembly guide, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFnn_8IrdI4. I am unsure if it is possible to connect this cooler to the same circuit as the existing fan without modifying the main board. A quick examination of the main board did not reveal any obvious fan controller, suggesting that all fans are connected to a single beefy 12V voltage regulator. Additional modifications can be found on http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:253694 and some other designs at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:253687 (please note that you should not use thing:253687 with PLA). UPDATE: I have added a few new features, including http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:413198, heat sinks, and a more powerful fan running at 7000 rpm (13.6 m^3/h or 8 CFM). For further details, please check the pictures attached to this update.