Lowering the noise..

Hi, I have my printer near mi desktop, and I hate the noise coming from the fans, motors and bearings.. so, I looked for some solutions to minimize it.

Fan Noise:
I have a E3D hotend and I also use a fan for cooling the Ramps controller.
I want to start the fans only when they are working.
So, I bought RRD fan extender
and researching a little bit in Marlin's code and I discovered some interesting pins.

In Configuration_adv:

Code:

// Extruder cooling fans
// Configure fan pin outputs to automatically turn on/off when the associated
// extruder temperature is above/below EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_TEMPERATURE.
// Multiple extruders can be assigned to the same pin in which case
// the fan will turn on when any selected extruder is above the threshold.
#define EXTRUDER_0_AUTO_FAN_PIN  6  

Perfect!, it starts/stops the fan when the hotend is working..
There are also some // controller cooling fans pins, but they were made thinking in the steppers drivers.. and I also need the fan when the heated bed is working.. so I found

Code:

TEMP_STAT_LEDS  they have the following interesting behavior:
// Temperature status LEDs that display the hotend and bet temperature.
// If all hotends and bed temperature and temperature setpoint are < 54C then the BLUE led is on. Otherwise the RED led is on

.. I just use the red led pin to drive my Ramps fan:

#define TEMP_STAT_LEDS in configuration.h
and commenting these lines in pins.h:

Code:

 #ifdef TEMP_STAT_LEDS
  //  #if MOTHERBOARD == 67
    #define STAT_LED_RED      5 // Ramps fan pin
    #define STAT_LED_BLUE      4 // unused pin
//  #endif

Now, the E3D and Ramp fans start when they are working.. remaining in silence when the printer is in StandBy.

Bearing Noise:
I am replacing the LM8UU with Igus RJMP-01-08 plastic linear bearings
They are 1mm wider than the LM8uu so I need to print a new x carriage.


Motor Noise:
I found these cork gaskets in ebay.. I will try them.. but I am not very confident..

I also modified the acceleration and Jerk to avoid some bumps when changing directions:

Code:

#define DEFAULT_ACCELERATION          1000    // X, Y, Z and E max acceleration in mm/s^2 for printing moves
#define DEFAULT_RETRACT_ACCELERATION  3000  // X, Y, Z and E max acceleration in mm/s^2 for retracts
// The speed change that does not require acceleration (i.e. the software might assume it can be done instantaneously)
#define DEFAULT_XYJERK                15.0    // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_ZJERK                0.4    // (mm/sec)
#define DEFAULT_EJERK                5.0    // (mm/sec)

I will post the final results later.. any suggestion is appreciated..

Regards from Spain!
-Multimake

 

I believe you can also reduce motor noise by tuning down the amp draw from the stepper drivers.

 

I want to do similar with my cold end fan, have it only turn on when the hotend is above a certain temp. I want to use a temperature value so it will continue cooling the cold end after the print is finished. Thoughts? Will I need and be able to do this with the RRD fan extender?

 

You don't need the RRD fan extender. You only need that if you intend on controlling the fan speed. Otherwise an on/off pin is all that's needed. I've never done it myself but I believe you just use a FET switch to activate the 12v line to the fan when it sees 5v from the ramps.

That said the RRD fan extender is quite nice, and for like $8 worth saving the headache: http://www.amazon.com/RAMPS-Extende...d=1400530934&sr=8-1&keywords=rrd+fan+extender

I see it occasionally pop up with prime shipping. It uses pin 6 and pin 11, so you'd need to enable extruder fan controller in configuration_adv.h for that using pin 11 and/or 6.

 

Mike, would it be possible to mid the firmware so the fan is only on when the hotend is above say 50C ?

 

Yup that's exactly what this code does.

From mine:

Code:

// Extruder cooling fans
// Configure fan pin outputs to automatically turn on/off when the associated
// extruder temperature is above/below EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_TEMPERATURE.
// Multiple extruders can be assigned to the same pin in which case
// the fan will turn on when any selected extruder is above the threshold.
#define EXTRUDER_0_AUTO_FAN_PIN  -1
#define EXTRUDER_1_AUTO_FAN_PIN  11
#define EXTRUDER_2_AUTO_FAN_PIN  -1
#define EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_TEMPERATURE 50
#define EXTRUDER_AUTO_FAN_SPEED  255  // == full speed

Though for yours you'd set Extruder_0_Auto_Fan_Pin to 6 or 11 instead of Extruder_1 for single extruders.

 

Hi, Galaxius, as Mike said, the RRD fan extender is a little board with 2 FETs.
It is a elegant solution.. or.. you can make your own circuit, there are several examples on the net like: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22202

 

Thanks Mike and Multimake

 

Hi

here's a video of the improvement (there are some more on youtube, but this is a really good one)


@Mike, how did they work on the robo?
and by the way how are these igus bearings? (how thight and how much do they cost?)

 

Adressing above Statements about the oversized IGUS Linear Bearings - you get them also in the right size, but then a Little bit more expensive - click me....

RJZM-02-08 (1) - 8x 15
x 24mm

 

How did what work?

 

Too much work time and money.
Just change acceleration to 500 instead of 3500 and everything will go quiet.
Not sure why E3d motor makes noise, mine is quiet.