MPMD Effector Part Cooling Vents and Casing

Last crawled date: 4 years, 3 months ago

Notes:
I have not done a comparison of this version vs the stock design. It was really just an exercise in design. If I had been on the ball I would have had some 'Before' prints so I could make a comparison of print quality.
After having the effector apart as many times as I did over the last week, I really don't feel like reassembling the stock effector just to do this. Please feel free to do your own tests to see if the new design has any impact (good or bad) on print quality.
I have been printing with the new design and I haven't run into any issues so far.
If you do print out the parts I would strongly suggest that you fit all pieces carefully before assembly. It is much easier to ensure that parts are well fitted while the pieces are off the machine rather than trying to do it while on the effector.
Summary
I have made several different effectors and heat sink casings for the MPMD. This is a new one that incorporates a couple of different part cooling vents for the stock effector.
The different parts can be combined in a variety of ways although the main idea was to provide rear part cooling vents with air supplied using an air pump.
In this case the design uses an air pump that supplies air to the vents through 6x8mm silicone tubing. I have only included the effector parts for this model as the air pump can be anything that supplies adequate air flow and can attach to 6x8 tubing.
The parts that are included are:1. Heat Sink Casing that replaces the existing black one. This one fastens to the effector using 2 - M3 machine screws. It has a collar that cradles the bowden connector to alleviate any excess stresses on the connection to the heatsink. Extra support for the bowden connector can also be gained by utilizing the holes in the collar for tightening bolts.
This casing also has no ears to hold the fan clips. I was getting quite frustrated trying to clip and unclip the spring clips so I decided to eliminate them. That means that the existing fan vent will no longer fit on the effector.
2. Front Fan Shrouds (3)i.) one "Standard" design that just utilizes the front fan and can be used without any base vents or with the double vent base.ii.) one that allows excess air from the heatsink fan to be channelled as part of the part cooling vent and is used with the triple vent baseiii.) one that directs the excess air away from the nozzle in cases where you may not want any part cooling. It can be used with either or none of the vent bases.
3. Part Cooling base vents (3)i.) a double vent that supplies air to the back area of the nozzle and are fed air using an air pump and the 6x8 silicone tubing.ii.) a triple vent that supplies air to the back and front of the nozzle and can be used with 3 air pump hoses, or 2 for the back and the front can be fed using the 2nd front fan shroud design.iii.) an updated version of the triple vent. This may provide better part cooling but I have not tested these for effectiveness. This version sits very close to the heat block and actually touches my silicone sock. I have been printing with it and it has been holding up.
All my parts have only been printed in PLA.
4. Rear Manifolds (3)
These are holders for small side duct fans (3010) if you decide not to use an air pump.i.) a single fan unit that can be used in conjunction with a 30x10 side duct fan.
I have not tested the air flow for this unit, but I have tested the fit. Basically mount a 30x10 side duct fan to this units and splice it to the existing fan wire (or run your own power.) The fan will then vent air through the back two nozzles of either the double or triple vent.ii.) a double fan unit that can be used in conjunction with 2 - 30x10 side duct fans. This one mounts along the back and sides and provides air for each side duct from individual fans. Like the single fan unit, the two fans will need to be spliced into the existing fan wires or you need to run their own lines.iii.) another double fan unit.
This is a combination of the two previous rear manifolds. It uses 2 fans but they are mounted at the back at angles. The wiring will be the same as the other double fan manifold.
The triple or double vent bolt to the bottom of the effector, and will require you to ensure that you have positioned the nozzle so that it will protrude about 1 or 2mm beyond the base (lowest point) of the vents. Positioning the nozzle height is important as the vents can interfere with levelling, if the nozzle is too high. If the nozzle is too low the sock (if used) or block may interfere with the airflow.
Printing
I print all items with their bottoms to the bed except the Heat Sink Casing which I lie on its back. I set supports to touching bed only and in most cases I only use a skirt.
On the "Standard" style front vent, since the surface touching the bed is so small I use a large brim to ensure it does not get knocked as it prints closer to the top.
You may be able to get away with no supports but there are a few overhangs which need them and the supports I used were easy to remove and not very large.
Warning
Due to the tight tolerances be sure to test fit and scale when necessary (depending on the dimensional accuracy of your printer.)
For all parts, especially the Front Cooling Vent and the Rear Manifold, test fit before assembling on the effector. I also place all bolts and fit nuts prior to assembly as well to ensure that everything fits well.