I just noticed the (electronics) fan on my lulzbot mini has stopped spinning. The mini seems to print fine but I’m sure that the service life of the circuit board will diminish greatly unless I fix this issue. Is it safe to assume that I need to just simply replace the fan? After poking around this forum and the internet, it seems like this is not a common issue. On a side note I pulled the enclosure off to observe the other side of the fan, but my computer could not connect to the lulzbot mini which I found odd. All thoughts and ideas are welcome! Thanks!
Which fan? There are two.
One fan is meant to cool the “cold end” of your extruder. This fan is blowing air onto the aluminum heat-sink on the cold-end of the extruder.
The other fan is the “part cooling fan” and is meant to blow air on the filament after it exits the extruder to help it set up on the part as the filament is being laid down. That fan is blowing air into the air-duct which directs the air at the nozzle.
The fan on the extruder (that cools the cold end) should run continuously while the printer is operating.
The part cooling fan only operates based on the settings you used in your slicer software (e.g. Cura, etc.)
Typically layer 0 leaves that fan off so the material will get a better bond to the print-bed. As soon as it gets above layer 0, that fan might turn on (possibly at a slower speed) and might increase speeds at higher layers. But this is completely controlled by slicer settings (some materials call for leaving the fan off at all times.)
Make sure you know which fan is not working and, if it is the part cooling fan, you want to make sure the reason it isn’t operating is simply because the slicer settings told it remain off.
Thanks for responding. The fans on the extruder / head tool are fine. I’m talking about the fan next to the power supply.
According to the BOM in the build docs, it looks like it’s a Pelonis high flow fan 80x80x15mm with Pelonis part number C8015H24BLP1b-7.
Thanks!
Looks like my journey will start here:
I’m going to take a leap of faith and order one and swap it out. Hopefully, this will restore the airflow capability
Ordering seems to be a challenge. Any idea who carries them?
I got a replacement. Turns out the fan is fine and the printed circuit board is not delivering 24 volts. I could wire the fan directly into the power supply. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
The power supply fan toggles on and off. It usually is off then turns on after a print. I don’t know the settings or if it’s temperature dependent, but it’s not on all the time.
Thank you Iggy for solving the last part of the mystery. I just did a test print and everything worked. The old fan sounded awful and then it wouldn’t work. Everything is back to 100% Thanks again.
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For future reference (to benefit anyone else who has a similar problem), those fans have a standardized form factor and are available from a variety of manufacturers. AC and DC operation in a variety of voltages and current ratings. Simply measure the mounting hole distances and overall fan thickness, read the voltage requirements off the existing fan, and buy a replacement with those specs. It’s likely you can find a direct replacement on eBay, but distributors like DigiKey and Mouser also carry wide selections of such fans.
I have my Mini Ver 1 in an enclosure/cupboard to keep the noise down. Should I worry about overheating the electronics?
It depends on how much air flows through your enclosure. Stick a thermometer inside near the electronics and see what the temperature is. IMO, anything over 80F for the air around the electronics is to hot. Over 100F and the risk is much higher.
Hmm I just checked mine and it was heading for 90 F when I opened the door. It would appear that almost any enclosure will include the electronics since that is all built in. I wonder what others do?
There should be vent holes and a vent fan on the printer’s electronics compartment. You can duct those outside your enclosure on add vent holes or fans to your enclosure to circulate air to the electronics.
I have an enclosure for my TAZ 6 not for noise reduction but to retain heat and avoid drafts when printing with ABS or other filaments that require the higher temperatures and reduced drafts. My enclosure does not include the electronics.
I just swapped the electronics enclosure cooling fan on my lulzbot mini2, and for reference I used this part from mouser.com CFM-8015V-230-347 it is the same 80x80x15mm / 24V as the original fan but like 10mA less current draw. Pretty quiet, no problems. Old fan was starting to make clicking noises but the noise would go away for 5 minutes after I tapped on the side of the enclosure. Nice to replace before it’s dead…