Filastruder Electronics Case by ksihota

Last crawled date: 3 years, 4 months ago

When I went to assemble my Filastruder kit I discovered that trying to fit the electronic components inside the aluminum chassis was a little difficult for me. The components are a tight fit and the assembly of the case and the components was getting a little frustrating for me. I blame my eyesight and fumbling fingers with this as others seem to have been able to assemble this without issues. However, when viewing other user setups I did notice a lot of pictures that had the extruder in parts and mounted on boards.
I decided to try and come up with an enclosure that made the assembly of the electronic parts a little easier and that could be used connected directly to the Filastruder or as a separate part.
My design has a main case that can be bolted to the back of the Filastruder and holds all the electronics. This keeps all wiring away from the moving drive shaft inside the chassis and makes the assembly of the acrylic casing mush easier.
I wanted to try and limit changes to the machine so I used parts that come with the kit but I did have to add a couple of wire extensions to keep the wiring simple. I tried to use wire connectors so that the unit can be disassembled easily.
I did add a small PCB with 4-2pin fan connectors so that I can just plug in the fans (plus a couple of spares) which I mounted on the back. Its a simple soldering job but is not necessary. Other wire connectors could be used or you can solder the fans directly.
I also added a small plexi window over the voltage/current controller because I had some 2mm plexi pieces lying around.
I was not sure if the electronics required any cooling so I added some vents just in case and also made it possible to add a 50mm fan on the top of the case.
The front and back panels can be removed to make wiring easier. I considered adding a couple of LED lights for the switches but wanted to get the machine up and running. I may look into that at a later date, if I run out of other projects to work on.
The quality of my print job is not great because i wanted to get the print completed quickly so I swapped out my 0.4 nozzle for a 0.8 to print the project faster. I didn't use any supports in the print.
I will probably print a better quality case out of PETG when I get the time.
I inset the power barrel connector and used a zip tie to help hold it in place. I also used a wire wrapped around the stress reducer and fastened to the case to help hold it securely.
I have included a fan grill cover to cover the top hole if you choose not to install a fan and also a blank plate to cover the holes left in the side of the Filastruder case where the switches and temp controller used to reside.
Let me know if you find any issues with the design.