Making a Taz 4 Quieter

I’d love to make my Taz 4 quieter. I’ve replaced the fans with Noctuas and have a dampener on the Y motor. Any other suggestions? New steppers?

I’d love to get as quiet as the Mini 2.

What, specifically, is noisiest any more? When the printer is idle (implying the cooling fan(s))? Can you move the axis independently, and determine which one is making the most noise (and thus is the next one you’d want to resolve)? What about the fans on the extruder - are they noisy?

I’d say the Z motors are the next most noisy.

There are two big changes on the Mini 2 to reduce noise. The first is the Einsry Retro electronics board which uses the TMC2130 drivers. These drivers have a “Stealthchop” mode which gives the motors much quieter movement.

The second aspect will be the move the belt driven Z axis. This different drive train provide smooth movement without requiring the metal rod to raise the carriage.

If the Z axis is causing the most noise by your ears, some white lithium grease on the Z threaded rod only may help: https://www.lulzbot.com/maintaining-your-3d-printer (Do not put any on the smooth rods.)

Is there a way to incorporate the TMC2130 drivers into the Taz 4?

It is possible, but it will take a bit of work/customization. There are likely different connectors, mounting changes, and custom firmware that will be required. (We have done no experimentation of installing these boards on older machines.) As everything we do is open source, if you are willing to do some tinkering it will be doable!

A quick search of the forum pulls up a few posts that may get you started in the correct direction:

https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/einsy-retro-on-the-taz-6/6424/1
https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/einsy-rambo-1-1-mini-1/5950/1

Good luck and happy printing!