M3/M2 Enclosure

General discussion topics
Bioluminous
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:03 pm

Re: M3/M2 Enclosure

Post by Bioluminous » Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:03 am

Very old post but I purchased one of these from Partsbuilt recently so I could save time building one myself. I was particularly keen on how it vents the electronics box outside the enclosure, possibly eliminating the need to mount the electronics outside. Well, I was disappointed with it. I tried installing my new M3-ID Rev. 1 inside. So many problems:

• The bottom bolt holes would not line up with the holes on the printer frame
• The filament guide tubes rub on the top of the enclosure and catch on the top window hinges
• The front of the extruder mounting plates rub on the inside of the enclosure (such a tight fit it actually peeled the danger labels off the front as I moved the extruders back and forth)
• The quality of the 3D-printed parts that were included were severely warped
• It does not vent the Raspberry Pi box
• The front main door is not hinged - it just hangs on some printed parts and is supposed to secure with magnets so you have to take it completely off.
• Once the printer is inside, accessing it is extremely difficult as there is only a small front opening

The printer was mounted correctly inside since it actually uses the bolt holes of the filament roll holders to align. It was such an expensive enclosure I was obviously hoping for something a little more well thought out. I can't fathom this enclosure being useful. Perhaps they changed the M3-ID from Rev. 0 to Rev. 1 so much that it caused these problems. In any event, if you are considering purchasing one (I don't even know who sells them any more) then you should make sure they have a good return policy.

jferguson
Posts: 247
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:26 pm
Location: St Petersburg, FL

Re: M3/M2 Enclosure

Post by jferguson » Sat Apr 17, 2021 2:24 pm

Hi Bio....
My shop is very tight which discouraged construction of an enclosure for my M2, so I thought hard about why I needed one.

Things I build can sit in hot cars in the afternoon so PLA isn't a good plastic for my work. I looked very hard at ABS which would require and enclosure. I thought about building one using the Ikea tables, but alas it wouldn't fit in the shop.

So i switched to PETG which seems well able to handle the heat in the life of the parts I make.
I've been printing exclusively with PETG for last 2 years.

Why did you want an enclosure?

Bioluminous
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:03 pm

Re: M3/M2 Enclosure

Post by Bioluminous » Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:10 am

I need the enclosure for printing polycarbonate. I have another printer inside the enclosure I made for PC and it works great. But I wanted to be able to make 2-color parts with the M3-ID.

I do print a lot of PETG but switched to PC on some parts because some of them started to warp badly in very hot conditions. The heat deflection of PETG is better than PLA, but only by a little in my own experience. PC heat deflection temp is much, much higher in my informal oven tests. I can print sort of successfully with PC outside of the enclosure, but only with a large brim and very light infill / 1 or 2 perimeters. Inside of the enclosure, it stays a nice and toasty 55ºC and I can print without the need for a brim or very light infill/perimeter settings.

I just got a roll of Colorfabb HT PET that is supposed to have a heat deflection temp similar to PC. But they only make it in white, black and clear color I think so it wouldn't really solve my problem of wanting to print in multi-colors. I also just started to experiment with ASA, which seems like it might work even better since I can find it in many colors.

airscapes
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:36 pm

Re: M3/M2 Enclosure

Post by airscapes » Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:07 am

An enclosure only needs to be big enough to hold the printer and a small heater if you make 3 sides doors with drop on hinges and the top hinged.. mine sit on a dresser along with a monitor keyboard and pi.. Raising it allows the power supply to be under it.. along with other things.. If the printer fits in the shop it can be enclosed with only a couple more inches than it currently takes up ..

jferguson
Posts: 247
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:26 pm
Location: St Petersburg, FL

Re: M3/M2 Enclosure

Post by jferguson » Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:02 pm

HI Airscapes. I don't have those inches.
I built an enclosure for my Sherline 2000 which has worked out wonderfully well. The bench that holds the M2, also has my Granite Surface plate, and the TinyBoy which amazingly I still use for small PLA things. I continue to assume that if I'm just printing PETG with the M2, I don't need an enclosure.

airscapes
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:36 pm

Re: M3/M2 Enclosure

Post by airscapes » Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:08 pm

You do not need an enclosure with PETG and you should not be using a parts fan with PETG.

Post Reply