HOT BOX 3DP ENCLOSURE SYSTEM (For Taz)

2-25-2016
***The main file package for this build can be found here:

https://grabcad.com/library/hotbox-diy-enclosure-for-3d-printing-1/details?folder_id=1004116

In here you will find everything you need to build the “Hot Box” enclosure including a 100+ page build guide with HD renderings and clear instructions, a BOM list for all the hardware and all the .stl files required.

Feel free to follow the instructions exactly or change some things to your liking. :smiley:


Just sharing a few photos of what I’m calling the “HOT BOX” enclosure system for my taz4. When I got my taz4 a few months ago, it quickly became clear that printing in ABS with the stock machine was not going to work. I was skeptical about how much an enclosure would help but I tested one out made of some foam board and it was a night and day difference!!! So, not satisfied with an ugly cardboard enclosure covering my beautiful robot, the next step was to design a nice enclosure. I took a month or two testing different idea’s out, testing CAD models and real life prototypes and this is what I settled on and I LOVE IT!!! Looks great and works great also! And all for under around 350$CAD, not bad. I regularly come close to 40 degree’s passive cooling, only the bed heating it!

Some features:

  • removable hood, just undo 4 wing nuts, disconnect the filament and the whole enclosure comes right off for easy access to the printer.

  • Full clear acrylic front door with aluminum handles, magnetic closure, rubber seals and integrated control panel, friction hinges hold it in place when lifted.

  • 2x 140mm fans for printing in PLA, controlled from front panel via PWM switch.

-2 super bright LED strips for adequate lighting, controlled by front panel

  • integrated 60W power supply powering fans, lights and all electronics. Plenty of room to add more electronics later.

  • Exhaust port for RAMBO board.

  • And more…


    I’m in the process of putting together a detailed pdf guide documenting the build, with pictures and full explaination, Along with BOM. My goal is to have different options available for those interested in building their own. I’ve researched the cost for a full metal enclosure from some of my sources in China but I felt it was a little too expensive so I opted for mdf and wood to start with.

1 . A kit just containing the pdf guide, .stl files for the 3D printed parts, and BOM (You have to source the wood, arcrylic, electronics, fans, PWM switch and hardware, and build it yourself, basic power tools required)

  1. A kit containing pdf build guide and BOM along with all the necessary 3D printed parts, electronics, fans, PWM switch and hardware. (you would just need to purchase the wood and acrylic locally and build it yourself, basic power tools required.)

  2. (long term) Full kit including everything needed to build, you would just need to assemble it.


    Let me know what you guys think and if you’re interested and I’ll see what I can do.






Best lookin’ enclosure I’ve seen! Looking forward to your PDF instructions. I would build one!

Should have a little package put together soon for those who want to try to build one. It’s going to be a really detailed, step by step, guide, you’d have to be a moron to screw it up, or not handy with power tools :stuck_out_tongue:

This looks awesome. I’ve been looking to build an enclosure and this seems like a great solution. Looking forward to your plans.

Yep, it is awesome…a good enclosure is a must for your lulzbot taz.

Pushing 40C!

I think there’s a patent on it. But any plans to potentially make this a heated chamber. Could add some sort of heating element and have it control the internal temperature of the box a bit better.

How can someone have a patent for a heated enclosure… :~, I heard about that though, it’s Stratisys I think that has it, but just not sure what it covers, I doubt it’s as general as “having an enclosure that’s heated”. :slight_smile:

Yep, well, I designed this exactly for that, if you notice there’s an extra switch on the front control panel, that’s an aux rocker switch that will take 16amps. I actually researched all about cabinet enclosure heating elements while building this thinig, I was worried it wouldn’t heat up enough or take too long so I was going to use a heater fan from Tempco,

http://www.tempco.com/Enclosure%20Heaters/CbntEnclosrHtrs.htm

BUT, at the end of the day, there really is no need for an extra element. If you cook your bed at 110C, which you should for ABS, the whole enclosure heats up evenly and quite quickly, and holds it in EXTREMELY well(if you build it properly). After a four hour prints I’m often close to 40C, and as far as I’m concerned that’s plenty. Any higher than that and you’re risking over warming the electronics, steppers and parts. And if it works at 40C, without the need for an extra heating element, than why make things more complicated…

I havn’t done HUGE, “bed sized” prints in ABS yet, but I’m sure I could without issue. So far everything I’ve printed in ABS has never warped or cracked once, not even one layer. The Largest part being the actually parts for the enclosure itself! lol. 5x5".

If anything, sometimes you have to turn down the heat a little if you have a small, tightly grouped nest of parts, they’ll burn, especially if they’re down low and close to the bed with high walls around them.


Printing ABS with an enclosure like this basically becomes a non issue. It’s pretty cool. I can print functional parts for my dirt bike all day long now!!!

Best lookin’ enclosure I’ve seen! Looking forward to your PDF instructions. I would build one!

I’ll second that!

The only sweet mods I could see for it are; moving it up against the left wall with cutouts and gaskets–weather striping–to seal the electronic’s cooling vents to the outside of the box, building a heated side box for the spool to sit in so you can dry filament out without having to take the spool off.

It’s obviously 18 and has potential.

I thought about using a piece of weather stripping as an added seal for the Ebox duct but never ended up doing it. The duct presses against the box very well as it is. Love your idea about the enclosed spool holder, it would definitely work to dry out the filament as the humidity drops drastically inside the box when it’s running.

Also, I mounted my spools on the side for space reasons, but I could see a lot of people wanted to put it ontop, it would be really cheap and easy to do with just a small curtain rail out of aluminum.

So just to give you an idea of how well this thing holds in heat, I had forgot to close the two 140mm fan doors and it wouldn’t get past 37.4 degrees. I was wondering why it wasn’t going up, then realized they were open. If you build an enclosure, seal it very well, with cocking, seals etc. if you were to seal it completely, with just the bed heating it, it would probably push 45+ degrees, it’s recommended to vent the ebox though.

Looks cool, can’t wait to see the build instructions!

Im starting to print larger and larger things and the enclosure is becoming more needed. Any update on plans?

No, I’ve been soooo busy lately. The goal is to have a nice .pdf, I have all the renderings done, I just need to add instructions. Couldn’t say when it will be done sorry. But my suggestion would be to wait for it, will save you a lot of trouble.

No, I’ve been soooo busy lately. The goal is to have a nice .pdf, I have all the renderings done, I just need to add instructions. Couldn’t say when it will be done sorry.

No worries dude. Most of us are posting stuff that we can get done on our free time or sneak in on a lunch break. :smiley: Although I’m waiting to see how you bent your door–that makes it look super slick.

Ok, here’s the deal with the door, and yes, it’s all about the door! it’s not a “hotbox” brand enclosure without that sexy plexi… basically it’s just .25" thick acrylic bent at a local sign shop, every city has one. Suprisingly, the door only cost 60$ for material and bend. You gotta make sure you angles and all that are PERFECT though… which… I will supply you in my awesome instructions :slight_smile: if I ever get them made.

I’ve sourced a lot of parts from all over…handles, electronics, power supplies etc. I will have everything outlined in the BOM but I’m just wondering if some people would be interested if I put a kit together for them and took care of all the ordering? just shoot me a PM and let me know. A lot of stuff is coming from china i’d have to order a month in advance.
should have the instructions done by then…

Ok guys, so I’m getting a few PM’s from people interested in the a “kit”… I can definitely order the parts and arrange a nice little kit for a descent price, but it makes it much more worth it the more people I can get… I think my cut off would be ten people, so if I can get at least that many people interested in the kit then I’ll go ahead and source everything and order it in.

So I’m not there yet, but again, if you’re interested in a kit to help build this enclosure, that means I would order in and bundle all the parts such as, handles, hardware, plastic handles, power supply, electronics etc. then send me a PM. Once I have atleast ten people interested, then I can send over a cost estimate and order some things in, wait time will be roughly a month.

BUTTTT, you still will have to do the dirty work of sourcing your wood and actually building the enclosure yourself,
(any local hardware store will have the wood)
BUTTT I will have AMAZING instructions up soon that will walk you through the whole process complete with easy to read dimensions and HD renderings!! You would also have to 3D print some of the parts for the enclosure yourself ORRRR possibly I can print them and include them in the kit.

Sounds like you might need to start up an LLC :smiley:

lol…er. not quite there yet. but eh never know… :wink:

So the DIY wood kits are a great budget saver way to build a hotbox, but I think the real macoy is a full metal enclosure, just a rough metal shell version shown below,…everything would come ready to be assembled, you would just need to basically turn a few screws and snap a few things into place…I’ve also designed it to be easy and less expensive to ship, unfortunately that means the full acrylic panel had to go…but I still think it looks good.

I’ve recieved a few quotes for this unit, just the sheet metal, but I felt the cost was a little too much to make it feasible…so now I ask the community. What would you pay for a full sheet metal enclosure like this, along with the parts kit and everything to make it work?? Would you want the 3D printed parts to go along with it also or would you rather print them up yourselves?



Actually the final design of the front panel would look a little different that this, the front panel might move around a bit, still YTBD.