Building the C-Bot 3d Printer : Part 32 : New Cooling Fan shroud, and bulldog clips
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New Cooling Fan Shroud:
Running PLA out of a volcano nozzle means you need a lot of cooling. I’ve tried a number of solutions in the past, all of which were mainly just “point a really big fan at the hotend”. I don’t think this is the best technique (although better than nothing) : You want airflow directed at the filament immediately after it is extruded.
So I buckled down and designed a new cooling fan shroud in Autodesk Maya, specifically designed for the C-Bot, and the E3d-V6 Volcano nozzle I have attached to it. You can download this file for print from Thingiverse here. The most recent update allows you to adjust its mount location, hopefully allowing it to work with a greater variety of extruders on the C-Bot:
Screenshot from Maya of B03
Here’s the previous version (B02) on my C-Bot:
Low Profile Bulldog Clips
After installing the new shroud, it sits so close to the build platform, that it hits the side and rear bulldog clips I am using to secure the glass plate. I looked all over the web for any sort of ‘low profile’ versions of these clips, but couldn’t find anything.
After a bit of thinking, I realized I could modify my existing clips instead: Presuming you have two pairs of needle-nose pliers, a hammer, and a vice, you can do this too:
New in front, old in back.
- To get the clips out, jam one needle-nose into the hole of the clip, slightly opening it. Use the other one to pull out each of the tabs.
- Put the tabs together in a vice (with the lips of the tab in the vice), and pound it with the hammer over until they’re both 45 deg or more.
- Slide one tab back into the clip. Holding the clip with a needle-nose, work the other one in. That’s it.
Next up, install on your removable bed.
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