I’m getting into 3D printing, and due to the nature of my living constraints, I find myself with a large 12 ft x 20 ft non-climate controlled but clean shed from which to print. I bought one of these small microenvironment enclosures for my ender 3 pro, but temperatures here in the winter can reach the teens, and summers over 100 Fahrenheit. I guess my question is how much temperature can those micro enclosures account for when it’s extremely cold on the outside?

  • themoonisacheese@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    14·
    2 years ago

    Depends on both the inside and outside temps, the amount of energy heating the inside, and the area exposed to the lower temp.

    Assuming a square box of plexiglass (0.17 W/mK thermal conductivity) with sides 25cm, to maintain a temperature of 25K (read:celsius) over ambient (so, if it’s 0°C outside, it’s 25°C inside. If it’s 25°C outside, it’s 50°C inside), the inside of the chamber must be heated with a power of:

    0.17 * (0.25^2 *6 (surface area of our cube, in meters squared)) * 25 (the temp delta we want, in kelvin) / 0.0016(thickness of the plexiglass, in meters. Here I took the common 1.6 mm ~= 1/16")

    Dimensional analysis: W/mK * m^2 * K /m = W

    The result is 996W which mean that for the inside of the chamber to be 25K (again, read that as celsius) over the ambient temperature, so 23°C when it’s -2°C etc, the total power your printer must use has to be about a kilowatt. Much of that power is already being dumped by your hotend and your heated bed, as well as your motors if they’re inside the enclosure. I suggest hooking your printer to a kill-a-watt or similar to be able to see how much it’s already using, and deduce how much you would need.

    Once you know, you can tell the temperature delta (again, in Celsius) using the following formula adapted from the one above:

    ∆t= (power you measured) * (thickness of the plexiglass in meters) / ( (side length in meters of your enclosure)^2 *6 * 0.17)

    (Be careful about the parenthesises)

    The result is the number of degrees Celsius above the ambient temperature your enclosure will be at all times (actually not, since some components inside will dump less power if the inside gets hot, for example the heated bed, but it’s a useful approximation). If you get a result of 30, and it’s 15°C outside the enclosure, it will be 45°C inside.

    • Sir_Fridge@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      That’s a lot of calculations but that’s roughly what my thermometer says in my enclosure yeah.

  • Square Singer@feddit.deEnglish
    5·
    2 years ago

    To add to the great answers of the others:

    The enclosure will only help you to keep heat in, not to keep the contents of the enclosure cool.

    If it gets really hot and you print parts that need a lot of cooling, consider opening or removing the enclosure (if possible).

    • Toribor@corndog.socialEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      I always print PETG and ASA with the enclosure doors closed, but I print PLA with the doors open unless the ambient temperature in my basement is very low.

      PETG can be printed without an enclosure but it behaves a lot better when using one. Great material but it loves to curl.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    3·
    2 years ago

    I guess my question is how much temperature can those micro enclosures account for when it’s extremely cold on the outside?

    You can add a heater to them. Aside from any airflow internal to the enclosure, if you’re willing to put sufficient energy into climate controlling the enclosure, I expect that you could get it as close as you want to some idealized fixed temperature.

  • morbidcactus@lemmy.caEnglish
    3·
    2 years ago

    I print mainly in abs and petg, my enclosed mk3s+ is more sensitive than my voron in the cold as it has a lower wattage heated bed and the panels are thinish plexi vs the aluminum composite on the voron (still would be better if I insulated). I’m in southern Ontario so it’s not crazy cold but it’s usually sub -10c for a good chunk of the winter, a small space heater is enough to bring my garage to 10-15c if I’m going to be working out there, but it’s often enough to just use the space heater to boost the enclosure to that temp, both of them can keep the enclosures above 30-40c in the winter, I’ve never had issue with warping due to enclosure temps, usually adhesion due to residual oils on the build plate.

    With a proper environment control, probably have even less issues, temp stability in my experience matters the most, longer soaks are my normal practice in the winter just to ensure I hit a good equilibrium and try to get around and thermal expansion issues.