My exhaust system

I run my R1 Plus in my basement and will occasionally be running ABS and other fumey materials. Since I didn't want anyone breathing that nastiness, I decided to vent the fumes. My solution is as follows....

I am running Mike Kelly's acrylic enclosure which I purchased from Printed Solid. I wanted a lightweight, reasonably priced, easy to build system. So...I picked up a ball bearing 80mm PC case fan ($8) and a generic power supply (~$23) from ENU, 2" PVC pipe and fittings from Lowe's and some dryer vent ducting components also from Lowe's.

I removed the two plastic flaps that came with the dryer vent because the airflow from the case fan was not enough volume to move the hanging flaps out of the way, so I was concerned that the fumes would not be adequately removed during printing.

The only expensive part of this was having a concrete cutting service come out and core drill holes in my basement walls for the exhaust piping to go through.

I apologize for the disarray of the photos, this is my first post and I'm sure (hopefully) I'll learn ways of improving as I go. The long and short of it is that I had to design and print (using PLA) an adapter that would connect the 4 inch dryer vent hose to the 80mm PC case fan. I didn't want to use fasteners out of simplicity and better load distribution, so I designed my adaptor (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1483816) to simply slide over the case fan (NO fasteners required!). The dryer vent hose is held in place on both ends with a hose clamp. I had to wrap it in ducting tape on the PVC end as well because I accidentally pierced the dryer vent hose with the screwdriver while attaching the hose clamp.

The blue painters tape around the acrylic enclosure is simply to close the gaps that exist there. Long term, I will remove the tape and likely close that gap with an adhesive backed foam strip or something similar.

In the meantime, this works and I can't smell the ABS while I'm literally sitting next to the Robo as it prints!

I know there are cheaper power supplies and other ways I could have improved this, but I was in a bit of a rush and just used what was readily available locally. Please don't hesitate to comment or ask any questions.

Hope this is helpful to someone!

Happy printing!!!

 

Creative solution. Did you just tape the enclosure together with the 3M or did you also glue it? I would just caution you on critters coming in through the vent hole without having the flaps. Could always print a cage to go around/over it I guess.

 

I started out trying to glue the enclosure together. Mostly, it just didn't work for me (possibly too cold when I was trying it), so I ended up just taping all the seams with tin ducting tape. Works beautifully! I don't know if it really shows in any of the photos, but I am also using that tape as my hinge for the front door.

Doh. I forgot to add the "after" pic with the grate...

 

I haven't glued mine together yet. Been on the list of todos. It will be a first for me with acrylic. So I hope it goes well. I have a roll of tape like that just in case. I think Mike and PrintedSolid are redesigning the enclose. Might be part to make an option to be more user friendly for us acrylic noobs.

That cage looks a lot better. Of course, I have to deduct a point since it wasn't 3d printed Just kidding

Not sure what part of the world you live, but do you get pretty cold? Just wondering if cold air will make its way into that pipe without the flaps. Wonder if a damper on the pipe near the opening would be helpful.

 

Ha! I should have printed it just for esteem.

I'm in Portland, Oregon. It was pretty cold (for here) when I was building the enclosure. It certainly didn't help that I was doing it in my garage which has massive air leaks and no heating system. I also hosed myself by only buying one corner clamp, so I didn't use any corner clamps during gluing. If I had, it might have made a huge difference.

I have thought about the damper idea as well. That will likely be an "upgrade" in the near future.