Prusa Mk3 Nozzle Tool Holder

pinshape

I'm in need of a dedicated housing for my regular 3D printing tools that's out of the way and aesthetically pleasing. To meet this requirement, I decided to make a printer nozzle "cup" that hangs off the printers power supply without needing screws. Designing the cup was a straightforward process that involved designing it in Solidworks and slicing it in Simplify3D. This design process for a 3D printed part was relatively easy to execute. The threads were cut with a 45-degree angle, which is easily achievable by most printers. To prevent the filament from "drooping," fillets were added to the overhangs. Additionally, I acknowledged the power supplies ventilation by adding a fin-type spacer to keep the nozzle from covering the slots. The hanging arm was designed to prevent it from being wobbly and moving around. Printing the cup required the following parameters: 0.25mm layer thickness, 15% fill rate, supports, raft, and black PLA material. A raft was used to increase the parts surface contact area. Supports were also used for the hanging arm, while the area around the "fin" spacer was left without support for ease of support removal. After printing, the hanging arm was taped off using blue painters tape to keep it black. The rest of the cup was spray painted with several coats of Rust-Oleum metallic brass. This project turned out great and was very fun! The only real concern was there might be heat buildup between the power supply vents and the nozzle. However, after 10 hour prints, it stays quite cool, with no noticeable difference in temperature. I'm glad to share this project with you all, and I hope you enjoy it too!