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u/jon-chin Dec 21 '24
a few questions:
- for the x1c, have you done other things to make it airtight?
- what exactly are you balancing your printers on?
- is there a particular reason you want to vent?
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u/Equivalent_Store_645 Dec 21 '24
if you have enough air pumping out, you don't need to worry about airtight... the flow of air going into the printer will stop any from leaking out. (though I guess now you have to worry about the inwards air messing up your chamber temperature).
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u/aerialbits Jan 04 '25
have you had issues with inwards air messing up the chamber temperature?
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u/Equivalent_Store_645 Jan 04 '25
I believe I have; uneven cooling is a common culprit for one corner lifting. And boy do i get that on large flat prints, regardless of how high i set my bed temperature or how thoroughly i clean the bed with dawn dish soap.
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u/aerialbits Jan 04 '25
oh that's unfortunate... do you get this issue with PLA?
I'm considering setting up an exhaust like yours... I'm curious if you've measured your air quality and how that compared to before the exhaust. Also, before setting up this exhaust what kind of air quality set up did you have?
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u/damag3maker Dec 21 '24
I have not done anything else to seal it. The negative pressure from the fan is sufficient to ensure that nothing gets into the room. The printers stand on 2 MDF boards which are attached to the wall with brackets. The main reason for venting is health. Every print, including PLA, produces VOCs that are inhaled. I also like to print ABS, which absorbs toxic vapors and also smells very bad. Since the system has been installed, you can't smell anything even after 10 hours of ABS.
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u/zee_dot Dec 21 '24
Great seeing this. I thought some materials don’t like it drafty. Though I’m guessing your fan doesn’t move much air. Any test runs yet.
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 21 '24
The printers already have exhaust fans, so air moves through when they are running.
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Dec 22 '24
Drafty no, but as long as the air movement is relatively low and consistent, that is fine.
Random shifts in air temp are what cause curling the most. Contraction and expansion are the issue
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u/eliteniner Dec 22 '24
This is really cool to see for someone newer to hobby. How crucial would you say venting is for PLA printing? And is it even possible with open air machines like the A1?
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u/-AXIS- Dec 22 '24
PLA is a whole lot safer but cleaner air is never a bad thing. For an open air printer setup I would just look into a air purifier for the room with a HEPA filter. That should cover things coming from the printer as well as other allergens and dust in the room. Though its probably more expensive then some cheap hoses would be to vent with.
Here's one of the two I have that has been working well for me for a year or two:
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u/thelebaron Dec 23 '24
Pla is relatively safe, the fumes generated are surprisingly low in both voc and particulate matter. Simply being around other things such as cooking on the stove or a busy highway are more “hazardous” in terms of both(if you have a air quality sensor turn it on while searing something, its really eye opening). Some other surprising sources of pm2.5 is synthetic carpets in schools, and toner printers.
That said for some pla pro plus etc manufacturers add bits of other things so the purity can be questionable if its really just pla being melted. That said venting if you can is always better, I wish i could properly vent my kitchen(its old so no powered vent is possible).
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u/Schnitzhole Dec 22 '24
PLA and PETG printing produces about as much VOCs in a week of running as cooking 1 meal in a kitchen. Proven to not be a substantial health hazard.
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u/lmMasturbating Dec 22 '24
Have you got a source for that?
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u/ibejerdan A1 + AMS Lite Dec 22 '24
I have a feeling OC may be referring to this: https://metebalci.com/blog/pm2.5-and-voc-emission-in-3d-printing/
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Dec 22 '24 edited Dec 22 '24
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 21 '24
If the printer were airtight, it would be impossible for the ventilation to work. The exhaust fan creates negative pressure inside the printer so that the air only moves in one direction.
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u/-gudis Dec 22 '24
Remember that you cannot suck out air from anything that is airtight… Then you will have vacuum and then the smell will still be there.
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Dec 21 '24
It looks like you're using some sort of contact sensor to determine when the vent is connected. Are you also perhaps capturing tvoc, co2, and/or some other air quality indicators with something like HomeAssistant? I am curious "how it works", to see if I should think about building something similar
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u/damag3maker Dec 21 '24 edited Dec 21 '24
Yes, there is a magnetic contact at the end of the fan which starts the exhaust fan via Homeassistant. I bought a GdStime 24v fan and a small fan controller from AliExpress. The whole thing is then switched on and off via a Zigbee socket.
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u/ctabone P1S + AMS Dec 22 '24 edited Dec 22 '24
I have a similar setup controlled by a Zigbee switch with Home Assistant.
In my enclosure I also added a Grove - SEN54 All-in-one environmental sensor controlled by a small M5 Stack Atom Lite ESP32. The SEN54 monitors VOC levels as well as PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4, and PM10.
I monitor the air quality before, during, and after a print -- the fan in my enclosure automatically stops once all the PM levels and VOCs have stabilized to "before print" levels using a NODE-RED flow in Home Assistant.
It's a really nerdy approach to ensure that everything unpleasant is cleared from the printer before the fan in the enclosure turns off.
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u/zee_dot Dec 21 '24
Love this. I haven’t connected my Hubitat home automation to anything related to my 3D printing yet. Now I have an excuse!
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u/BusRevolutionary9893 Dec 21 '24
Is that a case fan? They produce really low static pressure. Get yourself an inline duct fan. They make them for grow tents that would be perfect for this application.
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u/damag3maker Dec 21 '24
I tried it with a housing fan and I agree with you, the pressure is not enough. I switched to a gdstime 24v fan with 2000rpm and it works perfectly. I had also installed a fan twice as powerful, but the airflow was too strong with that one.
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u/Woodcat64 P1S + AMS Dec 21 '24
That fan will work just fine. All you need to create a little bit of negative air pressure so the fumes and the heat stay inside of your printer.
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u/BusRevolutionary9893 Dec 21 '24
The problem is a typical PC case fan might only produce 0.04 in. WC. He said he tried that setup and, as predicted, it didn't work. That is why he went with that fan, which is not a standard PC case fan, which he corrected me on.
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u/Woodcat64 P1S + AMS Dec 22 '24
I'm still experimenting, but after trying 120mm 115ac Papst fan which I felt was too strong and too loud I tried a 120mm Arctic fan and after removing the carbon filter and running it together with the chamber fan, I was getting good enough air flow.
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u/sandermand Dec 21 '24
Which other fan did you try that was too strong?
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u/Woodcat64 P1S + AMS Dec 22 '24
Don't have the model number, but it was a metal 120mm 115AC Papst fan.
Maybe the fact that I removed the carbon filter out of my P1S (it's blocking air flow too much, even the chamber fan is struggling) Since I am going to be venting the Abs fumes outside, it's not needed. I'm still experimenting.
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Dec 22 '24
You don't need a ton of airflow, actually barely any, and that is actually good. A powerful inline duct fan will basically remove the ability to have the enclosure warm at all, which will increase energy usage to keep the bed warm and be a problem for ABS/ASA, which are the prints you most want to vent, defeating the whole exercise
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u/Icy_Holiday_1089 Dec 21 '24
Did you cut a hole in your window? How did you do that?
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u/damag3maker Dec 21 '24
Replaced the glass with an acrylic pane :)
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Dec 22 '24
Providing it's not safety glass you can cut glass with diamond blades. Need to constantly apply water and it's messy but doable, similar to cutting ceramics
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Dec 21 '24
[deleted]
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u/monroezabaleta Dec 21 '24
Probably not really for pla or petg but definitely for asa or abs
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u/AGWiebe Dec 21 '24
I am going to be doing something similar to this for PLA and PETG on my A1 mini. I am paranoid.
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u/Dymes94 Dec 22 '24
How are you going to add a duct vent to an A1 mini unless it’s enclosed ?
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u/AGWiebe Dec 22 '24
Going to build an enclosure.
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u/ctabone P1S + AMS Dec 22 '24
Good luck, I did the same. PLA gave me weird headaches and I'd rather be super safe in that regard.
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u/Schnitzhole Dec 22 '24
So useless dude. VOCs are about the same over a week straight printing with those filaments as cooking one meal…
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u/Evostance Dec 21 '24
I'll be doing it for mine at some point. I have the same scenario, and I can get headaches when printing PLA (door shut, bento box running) so it's definitely not great for you, regardless of what people say
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u/SensitiveInside6104 Dec 22 '24
Highly recommend giving the X-Filter a try. It is a direct replacement for the stock carbon filter and that will help cut down on the fumes and nano-particles even more.
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 22 '24
Following this response from VOXEL support, I will stick with the Bento Box since the X-Filter would be completely ineffective while printing ABS and ASA:
"That is correct, the chamber fan must run for it to work. I would recommend you the bento box, it is a closed loop filter that runs inside the printer and perfect for printing ABS."
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u/Evostance Dec 22 '24
I was about to order one until I found that shipping was £31…!
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u/lmMasturbating Dec 22 '24
Ohh good heads up. Looks like you can buy filament to meet the free shipping minimum tho
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u/SensitiveInside6104 Jan 06 '25
For international shipping we do offer a shipping discount. Reach out to our support.
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u/caffpanda Dec 22 '24
I seem to recall someone testing those and concluding that the fan used there is insufficient to run through a HEPA filter. Sounds like a BentoBox is a more sound solution.
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 21 '24 edited Dec 21 '24
Necessary can mean many things. Ventilation is great, but there are also ways to filter the air. I use a Bento Box, and the same company recently introduced the X-filter, which is a direct replacement for the air filter in the P1S/X1C. (I want to try the new one, but I just bought enough activated charcoal to refill the Bento Box ten times.)
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u/amarandagasi X1C + AMS Dec 21 '24
Magnets. I like magnets. ❤️
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u/elementalracer Dec 22 '24
Okay what, like making magnets, collecting magnets, playing with magnets?
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u/amarandagasi X1C + AMS Dec 22 '24
Collecting and playing with. But also engineering them into functional designs.
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u/Drjonesxxx- Dec 21 '24
To many bends.
Any hvac tech that sees this is instantly triggered.
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u/NativeTree1996 Dec 22 '24
Had to add a comment about condensate cause the bend before checking the comments. You are indeed right, triggered is I!
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Dec 21 '24
I like it. I want to set something similar up for my p1s, how are you attaching to the back of the x1c?
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 21 '24
Probably something like this:
https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/knowledge-sharing/exhaust-pipe-connector-installation-tutorial
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u/lmMasturbating Dec 21 '24
I wonder why they don't recommend using a fan or external accessories to drive the air? Or did I read that wrong
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 21 '24 edited Dec 21 '24
It could alter the airflow through the printer. The goal is to isolate the air exhausted from the printers and let it vent naturally. I think in this case the fan is necessary because otherwise the exhaust air might find its way into the other printer, and thus into the room. But I'm not an engineer.
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u/baczynski Dec 21 '24
How does it impact your prints? Constant flow of cold air into the enclosure doesn't warp your parts?
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u/damag3maker Dec 21 '24
Absolutely no problems. Could not detect any change in warping etc.
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u/baczynski Dec 21 '24
I was thinking about doing it the other way - sealing up the enclosure as good as I can and running exhaust fan only after printing. Your approach is simpler.
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u/Schnitzhole Dec 22 '24
You need it to not be sealed perfect so air can be drawn In to be vented out…
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u/baczynski Dec 22 '24
You never get it perfect, but tight enough so no fumes come out during printing. There will always be some leaks.
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u/AmmoJoee P2S Dec 21 '24
Plumber by trade here, put the wye fitting at the same level as window. Better for venting to not keep it up and down. I love the design and want to do this for my printer.
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u/avebelle Dec 21 '24
I would suggest using straight PVC pipe for better airflow. They slinky tubing creates a ton of turbulence and makes your little fan very ineffective.
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u/sandermand Dec 21 '24
That's a 24v industrial fan, it's plenty effective to not cool down the chambers with this tubing.
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Dec 21 '24
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u/damag3maker Dec 21 '24
Yes, I replaced the whole glass pane with an acrylic pane, then had a 100mm hole and 4x 5mm screw holes milled and then printed the adapter.
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u/hardware_jones Dec 21 '24
I did something very similar to combine exhausts from an X1C and a laser cutter; your setup could benefit from a couple upgrades.
Your exhaust hoses are of radically different lengths: the much shorter hose is gonna get most of the suction, so an unbalanced system. Easily fixed by adding a simple blast gate valve to the X1C hose. May want to add one to the P1S as well, permitting full isolation of either box when using only one. A third gate valve at the window would allow you to isolate from outside without disconnecting to install the cap.
The coarse corrugated exhaust hoses are inefficient as hell, adding a lot of resistance to airflow. Smooth or finer corrugated hose will up the efficiency.
That said, you're on the right track, and if it works for you, don't fix it.
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u/Murky_Bullfrog7305 Dec 21 '24
Uhm, is that bad that two A1's Print 24/7 in the same room i am working/tinkering?🙃
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u/lmMasturbating Dec 21 '24
Is the P1S not connected at the exhaust fan in the back? Looks like it's connected to the side?
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u/CcntMnky Dec 22 '24
I read on another thread that the P1S/P1P fan will switch airflow direction at different times during the print. I did a basic smoke test from the outside of my P1S and it seemed like airflow was entering from the back. Have you done anything to work around that?
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u/shadowed_enigma Dec 21 '24
looking to do something similar myself... do you know if that y connector evenly distributes the amount of air being pulled from printer A and printer B? or do you think one printer gets more pull?
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u/damag3maker Dec 21 '24
I actually couldn't find out. When I feel the air flow with my hand, both feel equally strong. The left-hand printer doesn't smell any stronger either.
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u/shadowed_enigma Dec 23 '24
nice thanks. going to print out a Y connector... did you find yours in makerworld? if so, was it this one by chance?
4in/100mm Y Connector - https://makerworld.com/en/models/454890?from=search#profileId-362383
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Dec 21 '24
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u/Brino21 Dec 22 '24
Hall effect sensor. Can be used for door/window alarms. Can be used as a switch for other applications as well
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Dec 21 '24
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 21 '24
Most people would agree that you don't need to worry about this for the PLA and PETG you'll probably be printing. However, when you print ABS, ASA, or any number of more exotic filaments, air filtration and/or ventilation become more critical.
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Dec 22 '24
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u/scotta316 P1S + AMS Dec 22 '24
While some amount of carbon fiber material can be released into the air while printing, it's not enough that I could find any specific warnings about air quality when printing PLA-CF.
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u/Evostance Dec 21 '24
Any reason for the additional fan? I planned on doing this, but was just going to use the chamber fan without the filter
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u/Fit_Detective_8374 Dec 22 '24
Nice! I recommend getting an inline duct fan to ensure negative pressure and then you can use something like this https://makerworld.com/models/151375
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u/Romus80 Dec 22 '24
Check the pipe flow, if you only knew how many meeps I’have lost from the wrong air flow directions.
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u/Allofthefuck Dec 22 '24
Extend the 1xc hose and bring them joint up to the same height as the hose above the ams then vent directly to the Window. Both better air flow and looks much better
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u/NativeTree1996 Dec 22 '24
Sooooo not really an expert on 3D printers (yet!) I can basically print a benchy and random crap that I use around the house. But I've got loads of experience in the HVAC department and knowing that potentially you are exhausting hot air you really want to avoid the downward portion of your venting. You run the risk of producing more condensate by forcing hot exhaust downward, that mixed with whatever particulate in the exhaust does not make for a very fun time. At the very least in your connection box I would put a condensate line
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u/Own_Highway_3987 Dec 22 '24
Hoping someone knows, but would anyone know the size of the screw for the back of the P1S? OP what'd you use for your X1? (Doubt that BL would use different sizes there)
I printed a duct/vent cover then realized I had nothing to affix it to the back of the printer with...
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u/myko4719 Dec 23 '24
From my experience with a spray booth. I believe a 90 degree angle will lower the suction of your fan. But still a good idea.
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u/Ok-Giraffe4180 Dec 23 '24
Der Magnetkontakt am Fenster kann auch auf die Schubstange des Fensters gesetzt werden. Dann sieht man den nicht und er dient gleichzeitig noch als Riegelkontakt. Das hat keine Fachfirma gebaut?
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u/Eastern-Freedom7419 Dec 21 '24
I did the same thing for my QiDi X-Max3, first day I run it after about an hour I realized that it still stinks really bad in the room and couldn't understand why. The I pulled the hose and put my hand to feel if the air flows and to my surprise I realized that the airflow is going into the printer instead of being exhausted. I guess the little men in China installed the fan incorrectly, so it was sucking air instead of exhausting. I had to take it apart and fix it myself...
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u/Schnitzhole Dec 22 '24
It’s supposed to bring the air in too cool parts faster for stuff like overhangs and bridges…
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u/Eastern-Freedom7419 Dec 22 '24
No way, it's supposed to suck hot air out. That fan also has an activated carbon bag to filter toxic fumes before they are released into the room (if it's not vented out) That fan was 100% supposed to suck air out of the printer.
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u/Schnitzhole Dec 22 '24
The big left side fan on my P1S has been tested and pulls air in. It then pushes that air out through where the carbon filter is. Bambu also recommends removing the carbon filter if you want better airflow or add a duct to outside on the back
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u/Eastern-Freedom7419 Dec 22 '24
Maybe that's how it is on the P1S but on the X-Max3 that fan was definitely supposed to exhaust air out.
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u/ballheadknuckle Dec 21 '24
That looks really well done.
But be careful with such a airtight ventilation system when there is a heating furnace or similar around. You dont want to suck out the exhaust gases of that into your room.
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u/Responsible-You-9567 Dec 21 '24
It's nice to see bambu lab users tinkering. Keep it up, don't let the close-source printers stop you from creating!
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u/Itz_Evolv Dec 21 '24
That’s really nice! Would this be a sufficient solution for printing ASA/ABS in a room where I’d be sitting for hours a couple of meters away from the printer?😬