Cooling Back of Prints

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steve220
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:32 pm

Cooling Back of Prints

Post by steve220 » Wed May 31, 2017 1:52 pm

Looking for an elegant solution to getting more cooling on the back side of prints. In the photo below, the front of the printer is on the left. The back side of the print (on the right) gets much less cooling and as a result, is much less smooth. I've seen posts where some suggest putting a desk fan blowing in from the back, but am looking for a more integrated solution. I do use a fan shroud that directs more airflow from the front, but it doesn't do anything for the back.
nozzleproblem.jpg

ajmadison
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:13 am

Re: Cooling Back of Prints

Post by ajmadison » Wed May 31, 2017 4:19 pm

Had a similar but different issue with large-ish prints and realized that the extruder fan was blowing on the front of print for the duration of the print, causing uneven cooling and warping the part on side away from fan. So I printed and put one of those shrouds that ducts the extruder cooling air evenly around the point of filament deposition. My sample size is small, but I have had less warping on my prints. I printed two different shrouds. One shroud stressed the fan wires less, as that to only install the shroud and not extend the motor wires, you end up stretching them to their limit, so I went with that shroud though the forum recommended another duct. Pretty sure both shrouds I printed came from thingiverse. Check the modifications forum for more details.

steve220
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:32 pm

Re: Cooling Back of Prints

Post by steve220 » Fri Jun 02, 2017 12:33 pm

In an attempt to address this problem, I mounted a fan behind the printer facing the nozzle. It improved the back of the print markedly, but it also degraded the front. It seems the competing air pressures reduced the amount of fan blowing from the front. I've reviewed the modification section and there are some promising shroud designs, but they are for a different hotend. I also searched Thingiverse, but I'm already using one of the more popular M2 shrouds.

Does anyone of something like the pic below for the V4 Hotend?
AAFanpiece.jpg

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