Wanhao Duplicator 6 blower fan upgrade for extruder and part cooling

thingiverse

This set of parts allows you to significantly enhance the cold end cooling as well as the part cooling capabilities of your printer. The blower fans move a substantial amount more air than the stock axial fans, particularly for cold end cooling. One of the key features of this design is that there is no loss of travel. Both Nozzle and ExtruderCooler mount re-use the stock screws. Wire management clips are also included in the design. Note that the Nozzle is not fully optimized for air flow as I don't have simulation tools to achieve this. However, it has been found to work quite well in my testing and performs much better than the stock cooler. Update A user named dromlada pointed out that there is a 24V fan available which can be used and eliminates the need for any wiring changes. This fan is from a Creality Ender 3 and can be obtained from the following link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Brushless-Blower-Cooling-Fan-24V-DC-for-CR-8S-Ender-3-3D-Printer-Hotend-Extruder/273643700922?hash=item3fb66f82ba:g:jrAAAOSwtutcMxxc The fans used are the Delta BFB0412HHA and can be purchased from Digikey: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/delta-electronics/BFB0412HHA-A/603-1363-ND/ These fans are secured to the printed parts using #2 wood screws. Since they operate at 12V, modification to the power supply is necessary. Fortunately, the Wanhao D6 uses a low-side switch to drive the fans, which means that the negative terminal of the fan connector on the print head can be used as-is. A 12V supply is required to power the fans. The clips have a mounting point for 22ga wire to run from the electronics enclosure to the print head. The power lead provides power to both fans. The cable clips are based on: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1590264 and were edited to increase the grip on the tubing. I removed the connectors from both of the stock fans. The negative (black) wire from the stock connector is soldered to the negative wire on the blower fans. The positive (red) wires from both fans are soldered together and to the power lead that is routed from the electronics enclosure in the bottom of the printer. To generate the 12V supply, I used a LM7812 linear regulator in the datasheet standard configuration. The TO220 package was used and mounted on an old 486 heatsink I had lying around. Input to the 12V regulator connected to the 24V header on the control board in the D6. Maximum current for both fans is 0.16A, so the power dissipation in the regulator is ~1.92W, which is why a fairly good heatsink is needed. You might be able to bolt the regulator to the case, but I have not tested this. Printer Settings: * Printer: Wanhao D6 * Rafts: Doesn't Matter * Supports: Yes * Resolution: 0.2mm layer 0.4mm width * Infill: 20% * Notes: Supports are necessary. Extend from bed only, internal supports will be impossible to remove. Print the Nozzle part with the top towards the bed. The Nozzle and ExtruderCooler parts also need to be printed in ABS or other high-temperature plastic. I printed the Nozzle and ExtruderCooler in FormFutura ApolloX which is an ASA-based plastic. PLA WILL melt if used for either of these parts. The TubeHolder and Wire Holder parts should be printed in PETG or equivalent plastic. While PLA won't melt in this application, the snap fit of the teflon tube holder and wire holder requires quite a bit of spring back.