CTC Printer - Spring based anti-vibration feet by lukeazadee

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Should also work on the replicator, makerbot etc.
Needed to drastically quieten my CTC Dual Replicator 3D printer. I had used systems in the past that silenced the printer via foam or a 3D print itself acting as a spring. I saw Simonwlchan's shock absorbers for his printer (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:916254) and decided to make one compatible with the CTC printer. I took Superwoodle's design for CTC feet (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:958125) and recreated Simonwlchan's design to work with the CTC feet.
The spring holders are designed for the large packs of springs from eBay marked as 'Extruder Springs for Ultimaker/Makerbot'. The ebay page I bought them from described the measurements as the following: Wire diameter: 1.2mm, Inner diameter: 5mm, Outside diameter 7.5mm, Height 20mm.
I'm unsure what size the nuts/bolts are, as they are unmarked. But are roughly M4/M5. It screws through rather than into, so the size of the bolts isn't too important. As long as they are not too long or too wide.
I also realise now that the part that attaches to the printer and the lid of the base could of been 1 single object eliminating the need for nuts and bolts. It's pointless me making this change now though as I have already printed these and they work flawlessly.
It can be quite tricky to actually attach to the 3D printer as there's nothing holding the feet together, you have to hold it together while you install them. You'll need 4 bases, 4 lids and 4 feet attachments printed. The single design works on all 4 corners
Once installed, 99% of the vibration noise is gone, all the vibrations are kept within the printer itself. I find most of the noise/vibration being passed down now is more the weight of the printer constantly shifting. They also raise the printer enough to make the makerboard fan have enough air clearance (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1297824).