Silicon Boot for Wanhao Duplicator 6

thingiverse

Update 6-1-2017: Added instructions for making the silicon boot. Also added how to "season" the silicon boot after it's made. Update 10-11-2016: After using the mold a couple of times, I found that if you don't apply enough mold release (Vaseline) to the base of the mold, it makes it nearly impossible to remove the silicon part in one piece. So, I decided to modify the design to allow the base to be removed if necessary. I also went ahead and added some sprues/vents to the top of the mold and a lip to help align the mold insert with the mold. This is a silicon "boot" for your Duplicator 6 (and Zortrax M200) heater block. Its main purpose is to help stabilize the temperature of your hot-end. It has two secondary benefits: first, it helps prevent burns from touching the hot-end when clearing the nozzle or other tasks; second, it helps keep your heater block clean as most plastic won't stick to silicon. It's a 5-sided "boot" that slips on from the front. The top part is split to allow it to cover the cold break. The boot is about 2mm thick on all sides - plenty of room for heat expansion and contraction. It should not burn and plastic will not stick to it once cured. Obviously, the thick part of the boot with the split goes over the heat-break (top tube) while the bottom thick part goes over the nozzle. The nozzle should protrude through and, if necessary, a little bit of flashing of silicon may need to be torn away to expose the nozzle - but not much of the nozzle needs to be exposed. Do not cut or tear the thick part of the boot near the nozzle area. Instructions for after you have made them: While these boots are silicon and they are flexible, they don't have a lot of stretch. If you pull them or squish them too much, they will crack because of the added corn starch. Once installed, they are designed to stay in place - you will more than likely destroy/tear your boot if you try to remove it. Clean your Heater Block: If there is plastic adhered to the heater block, I recommend cleaning the heater block before installing the boot. While it won't hurt the boot or the heater block, it can cause tearing of the boot if there is a thick or sharp bit of plastic stuck to the heater block (the boot is a tight fit) and the trapped plastic will permanently stain the heater block. Burn-out: Remove the filament from the hot-end and set the temp to 190'C with the boot on - install the boot while the heater block is cool. Let it "cook" for about 2 hours (longer is better) at this temp. You want to run the cooling fan at 100% as it will smoke and smell of burn bread for the first few minutes. This is any corn starch and Vaseline burning off. Now, the smell may turn acrid with any last bits of acetic acid that will cook off over the next hour or so. After this, there should be no more smell from the boot as they heat up. The silicon I use is high temperature automotive type. It's good to 371'c. It will get slightly darker with heat and might even stick to the heater block after it has cooked on - mine did, making it almost impossible to remove without destroying/tearing it. PID Auto-tune: I didn't need to do an auto-tune of the PID. My machine was already pretty good holding a stable temperature. Your machine may be different, so up to you if you want/need to do a PID auto-tune. How I Designed This 123D Design