Tiko Air Hose Clip

thingiverse

Clip for holding multiple air hoses near the nozzle of a Tiko 3D printer. It cools the PLA as it exits the nozzle, which can improve print quality. More information and comparison pictures are available at http://thrinter.com/tiko-part-5-part-cooling/. This part is designed to be printed with a 0.5mm extrusion width. It holds up well in ABS, but earlier PLA versions warped after a few prints. I haven't tried PETG. Installation: 1 - First, wrap the nozzle heater with some self-fusing silicone tape*. It's much easier to access before installing the cooling tubes. 2 - Run the tubes through the holes in the hotend mounting piece, then attach them to the air hose clip. Snap the clip to the hotend. You don't have to run all three; use one or two if you prefer. 3 - Trim the ends of the tubes however you like, just make sure they're higher than the tip of the nozzle (I cut mine at a 45-degree angle facing the nozzle). 4 - Ziptie the hose and any adapters to the main bowden cable. 5 - Find somewhere to run the air tubes. I've been running them through a hole in the build plate or under the printer by using clip-on feet, but I plan to drill holes in the case and run the air tubes from the top. Parts: 6mm Air Tubing: The blue air tubing in the pictures is not suitable for use with the hotend. If it comes into contact with the hotend, it will melt (and produce a lot of smoke in the process). I have some silicone air tubing on order that should be less of a fire hazard. Hotend Insulation: I used self-fusing silicone tape* to wrap the hotend, which insulates it from the cooling air. Without it, I'm not sure the Tiko can maintain a high enough temperature at the hotend. A very short section of 6mm inner diameter silicone tubing* may work too, but I haven't tried it. Air Pump: I originally designed this to work with a 4-outlet ActiveAqua air pump*. However, after spending some time looking for it, I discovered my brother had donated it. So, I repurposed a single outlet Tetra Whisper AP150* pump with a 3-way splitter instead. The ActiveAqua puts out more air and has a dial to control the amount of airflow, but it is also significantly larger and louder. If I were going to get a replacement pump, I'd look for one with at least 2-3 outlets and airflow control (ideally with an off switch too, but I haven't seen any with one). Another option might be an airbrush compressor*, but I haven't really explored that option. I don't really want to buy another air pump though, so I plan to just build the Tetra pump into the Tiko spool area and use an external spool holder. Printer: -- Eustathios Filaments: -- Atomic Filament Carbon Fiber Black ABS