HOT BOX 3DP ENCLOSURE SYSTEM (For Taz)

Development Hardware
41

@jb
I know I didn’t PM you but you can count me in on ordering a kit. I’m just wondering if you bent your own acrylic panel or had it done by someone else. If you had it sourced out what did it cost? I feel like this would be the biggest hurdle for people to overcome. Could it be possible to make it from two pieces with a couple of hinges? I feel that would be a very viable option for some.
@vitormhenrique
I would think no one would buy it after they saw what it costs to ship the kit with the, bulky and heavy, wood parts.
@mkainovi
I’m not as graceful as jb–wish I was. Don’t drop turds on someone else’s thread. Just saying, especially if you haven’t laied down any gems yet. It’s just good forum etiquette. That said I do like the 2 piece acrylic door option, I think it is a good alternative to bending a solid piece.

Is there any thought on having the incoming air filtered? So that if someone is in a dusty environment it won’t affect their printers environment. I’ll look into it tomorrow at work.

42

Eh Brew, lol…ya well, I gotta keep it clean on the public forum, especially since I’m trying to build a reputation here so as you can see, I kept my response pretty sterile. I’m pretty sure he get’s the point. If anyone downloads his link, please understand that I don’t endorse it at all, the CAD model looks WAYYYY off and out of proportion.

It took a month or two for me to really tweak the dimensions and parts for this “HOTBOX” design so there’s a lot more involved than just slapping together a few panels in CAD. *Sigh. :wink:

I’ll leave it at that.


Ok awesome! if you can hold off for about a month or so, we’re looking to source in all the parts into a nice tidy package, all for around 200-230$US, +S&H. You’ll get the .stl files and build instructions also. I’ll be there to help you with any questions, but it’s pretty straight forward stuff, my instructions walk you through with tons of HD pictures and there’s plenty of room to put your own flavor into it also if you don’t want to follow the plans to the T.

so ya, basically for the acrylic panel, go to your local sign or plastic shop and ask them to cut you a 1/4" acrylic panel and bend it to the dimensions as per the instructions. Whole thing should cost you no more than about 50$.

Honestly, the look of the bent acrylic panel REALLY set’s it apart and gives it a quality look, all for little money so I’d really recommend sticking with the bent acrylic, but ofcourse, other options are possible. We’re casually looking into getting an aluminum version made that can be shipped as a full kit, unfortunately we’ll probably have to swap the bent acrylic for two flat pieces so it can be shipped as a flat pack to keep the shipping costs down. Dems are the breaks. We’ll see how it pans out though.

SEE, this is why these forums are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome. Love the idea about the air filter. For now we’ll probably keep things pretty low key and basic and just offer a standardized kits, just to keep the costs down and make things simplier on ourselves, but by all means, hack away and throw idea’s on here! We’re gonna build this thing together and make it the best it can be! Let us know what you find out!

43

Jonathan,

Thanks for the heads up, I zipped up the wrong file, the attachment has been updated. The dimensions work just fine by the way

44

mkainovi,

lol.

I think you’re missing the point, WE will release the official CAD files, with all the exact dimensions at a later date. I don’t have time to go over your the dimensions of the model you uploaded to make sure it is accurate, so for now, I can’t endorse it. I’d appreciate if you removed it from THIS particular thread for now, so people don’t get confused. You are more than welcomed to post it up in a new thread of your own :wink: but also more than welcomed to continue posting in this thread, providing it’s HOTBOX related.

45

Do you have a recommendation for wood to use? The standard 1/4" Birch or should it be made out of 1/2"?

46

Oh, I finished the .dxf files by the way, just the plain cut, not the notched corners, still have to figure out how that will work. I sent them off for a quote to a local makerspace. I’ll throw in the .dxf files in the kit for you. If you’re having it laser cut, go with birch wood, 1/4".


The DIY build plans call for 1/4" MDF!!! not wood, plywood is way too warpy. I built mine with mdf and it works and looks great, plus, it will take paint really well if you wanted to paint it.

@ Mkainovi

I just want to address something here. talking to you, you keep mentioning the spirit of open source and seem to have something against us selling these kits…well, not sure what planet you live on but things cost money in life, don’t confuse “open source” with “FREE”… the materials for these kits cost money and I’ve put a lot of time and effort into this design, it’s not like I’m going to give them away for free. BUT even then, we will eventually release all the files publicly, we’re just getting started here so things aren’t finalized yet.

This thread serves as a launching board and development thread for this enclosure design, sure, we’re trying to raise some money through sales of these kits, but that money goes right back into improving the design and further developments. Using the input from people in this thread, we will try to improve the enclosure and incorporate your ideas into future designs. Thanks.

47

You can source the wood from your local hardware store (50$), the acrylic panel can be cut and bent at a local sign shop or plastic distributor (50$US). And the 3D printed parts you can print yourself or have them printed. You also get the 108 page build instruction guide in .doc format, which will walk you through the entire process from start to finish with easy to read instructions and detailed, high quality HD renderings, the wiring schematics are included also. You’ll also get the .DXF files and a file package with all the .stl files for the 3D printed parts…eventually will release the native CAD files for EVERYTHING!

48

All I need to do now is save up $200 extra! :smiley: Congrats dude and good luck!

49

N/A

keep checking back for updates.

50

-N/a-

51

Thanks much for your inspreing design. I made an enclosure similar to yours, but a bit wider since I wanted to keep the spool of filament in the enclosure. The most expensive part was the plexiglass. The hardest part was bending the plexy. I didn’t think to ask a sign shop to bend it, so I made a temporary bender with ideas I got from YouTube instructions. I overheated the plastic, so it bubbled a bit.

For venting the electronics, I just made a matching hole in the side and used window/door weather stripping.

It’s not museum quality, but it looks ok and it works well.

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Uptime!

Good for you! So did you build this based off of the HOTBOX design or was this something you had built a while ago…if so, then it’s amazing how similar it is! :wink: All you have to do now is add some cooling fans!

53

I just finished it yesterday. The idea comes from your design and the dimensions from the cat guard project.

I’m wondering if the fan is necessary since opening the door will dump the heat.

Thanks again.

54

Well you can definitely get away without the fans and just keep the door open but it’s nice to be able to regulate the heat in the chamber without have the door wide open. Also, PLA likes a draft flowing over it so they’re good for that also. I usually put them on just a tad when printing PLA. Also, if you ever do a missprint and want to start over but don’t want to wait for the bed to cool down before you can pull the print off, you put the fans on high, crack the door a bit and things will cool down a lot quicker. I’ve done this a bunch of times. I think you could probably experiment with trying to cool a good ABS print, when it’s finished. But I haven’t experimented with this though.

Eventually, we’ll probably design in carbon and dust filters, and I’m sure some of you will experiment with this, that way you don’t have to worry so much about the environment that the printer operates in, ie dirty, dusty wood working shop or machine shop. And the carbon filter would filter the ABS fumes so you could operate it in a closed environment with safety.

55

Here is an example of the kind of stuff you can do when you have a good quality enclosure like the hotbox… tall thin prints in ABS, not a problem. This was a 10.5 hour print done at 100mm/s! 20% infill, by the end of the print, it was up to 40C. This will have zero cracks and superior adhesion, good for use as a canopy for my custom made quad! How cool is that!

the light strips need a few dabs of hot glue :slight_smile: a good FYI for would be kit owners…
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56

This is all really impressive. My only problem is that I live in a 1 bedroom condo, and I just cant make my printer any larger. I personally find the sheet metal version more appealing and professional looking, but that is just my taste. My KitTAZ is housed in my bedroom and I would love an enclosure like this one, i just think my wife will probably think it looks too bulky/ugly (she also doesnt have a fondness for wood). Good call on MDF though, that is one of my favorite wood materials.

I will continue to follow this thread and project and if I change my mind I will contact JonathanB directly.

Keep up the good work!

57

Hey Kosmi

Lol… I laughed reading that one…thanks for you input though. Yes, personally I’d like to eventually go towards the lightweight aluminum version, everything shipped in a flat box, just screw in a few screws and you’re up and running. BUT ofcourse, that’s going to end up costing a lot more, so we’re starting with this DIY kit style just to make it accessible to everyone. But we’re looking into it.

Super rough estimation would put the metal kit at close to 700$US…before shipping. But again, that’s a very rough estimate. We’re still getting quotes. But that would be a FULL kit, so it would include everything, you wouldn’t need to build or source anything, just possibly the 3D printed parts.

I here you about size though, but this box actually hugs the printer about as tight as you could go so it’s more like the printer is just large to begin with. Ugly I’d disagree with but eh, everyone’s taste is different, but it’s definately more at home in a workshop than a livingroom per se. Just tell you wife there’s plenty of space to put her indoor plants on the top ledge, they’ll drape down the side and provide for a beautiful decor centerpiece :smiley: If it’s close enough to the kitchen, you could also keep your food warm on the heated bed :smiley:

58

***OFFICIAL LINK TO HOTBOX FILES

https://grabcad.com/library/hotbox-diy-enclosure-for-3d-printing-1



So I had a few people ask me the specifics of what was involved with the building process and I thought it just made sense to distribute all the files for free to give everyone a better idea of what is involved. The link above is to be considered the official link to all files related to the HOTBOX design, any updates will be posted there. Beware of blatant copy cats, but respect remixers!

I’m distributing these files under the GNU GPLv3 license
please find more information at
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html


Thank You.
Jon-

59

The license you’ve used is closed. You’re using a free software and open source hardware forum to distribute and sell proprietary hardware.

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

Thanks for your consideration,

-Jeff

60

Jeff,

I thought making all the files available for free would be ok no? Isn’t that more in the spirit of open source? I don’t mind if people remix some of the cad files, I just don’t want them distributing them commercially, that’s all. i.e using all my work for someone elses gain. We’re making a few dollars off the kits yes, but not much, people are freely able to source the parts themselves… that’s sort of the whole point. We will eventually switch the license over to a fully free license, just not right now.

Sorry I’m just not too sure how all this open source stuff works, I’m not a copywright or patent laywer…all I know is that I can’t give away hardware, ie, kits, for free :slight_smile:. I don’t think anyone would do that. If you feel this thread is too much on the side of product sales, just let me know. I can remove some items. Wish you guys would have said something sooner. I’d rather we continue this through PM please.

Thanks.
Jon-