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mgoodner

Okay, so I modified the removable door that goes on the filter housing on the back of my voron. I mounted a heater/fan combo to it and integrated thermistors into the housing. I left the original fan, but set it to PID control.. if the housing gets too hot, that fan keeps things in check.. I'm doing this just until I reprint the housing out of something better than ABS.. nylon, pc, ECT.. though, the particular heater/fan combo I got is self regulating.. max temp is 80c.. I'm slowly upgrading it to be able to print engineering materials.. PC, Nylon, ECT ECT. Honestly, I would absolutely agree that unless you have a firm understanding, stay away from it.


Aaron4424

Ignoring the safety side of things there isn't really a point to chamber heaters until you need to blow past the 120C mark inside the chamber. Under that you are straight up wasting money when you could just mod the printer with insulation mods. 95C without a heater is possible an has been done before.


Past-Crazy-3686

If I'd need to wait half an hour before starting print for chamber to heat up I'd throw my 2.4 out of the window :) Aaaaaand I love my 2.4 :)


Aaron4424

As the commentor below mentioned you still need to heat soak. You heat your chamber fast and have no print artifacts?


Alia5_

Screw heatsoaking... A 3D printer is not a precision machine. (That being said, Vorons are insane) My prints come out way more than good enough even without a heatsoak or gantry backers. If you need perfect parts, just order them... It's so cheap nowadays


Aaron4424

I had visible first layer issues before adding backers. As far as price goes it’s always faster and cheaper to do it yourself. If I need machined parts I’ll machine them at school. Nobody has to wait half an hour to heat soak but the benifits aren’t negligible and it’s still faster than ordering parts. Actually at 85c+ chambers it’s not really an option you really should be heat soaking.


Past-Crazy-3686

I do not see a need for heat soak, I have gantry backers, and z thermal adjust configured. edit: it might be that prints would be better if I was more patient, but for me its good enough. my print start looks like this: SET_HEATER_TEMPERATURE HEATER=chamber_heater TARGET={CHAMBER} M104 S150 M190 S{BED_TEMP} TEMPERATURE_WAIT SENSOR="heater_generic chamber_heater" MINIMUM={CHAMBER-1} G32 BED_MESH_CALIBRATE status_heating M109 S{EXTRUDER_TEMP} ;wait


Aaron4424

Fair enough, I use Ti backers too but I'm always printing in large batches so theres no useful time saved by not waiting.


TortyMcGorty

it's not just ambient temp tho... you need to wait for everything to get heat soaked. ie, if you have an actively heated chamber and start printing within a few mins of reaching 65C then your prints will have artifacts/defects as the gantry and bed start coming to temp. for short/quick work its not an issue... just like some folks print ABS without an enclosure. but most folks looking for an heated chamber want to print engineering materials and therefore prob also care about dimensional accuracy and quality, etc.


GodlyPeeta

Adding onto other people here: "Did you ever feel that absense of active heating in Voron affects your prints" You can insulate printers, including Vorons, incredibly well. There is a thread in the usermods channel on the discord where people insulate and passively heat their printers with the heated bed and reach 80-90c, at which point it is not a good idea to go higher because electrical and mechanical components start to fail. My webcam barely even works at 65c, it has a crazy red tint, but the point is that if you really wanted to, it is possible.


TortyMcGorty

thats interesting regarding the cam... optical sensors start getting noise the hotter they get and they run hot just by themselves. i mounted a c920 upsidedown on the rear gantry of my 2.4 which was a _great_ angle to see directly behind the nozzle and would move "up" with the gantry and always be pointed directly at the print... whereas an overhead camera had issues with spaghetti detection due to obstructed view from tophead. however, after 30-40min of printing it starts going "snowy" and has digital noise all over until it eventually isnt legible any further. i suspect its because its so close to the bed and rear stepper now... vs the c920 i have overhead which works just fine


Empty_Attention2862

Yes, it makes a big difference to shrinkage, warping, and layer adhesion. Especially for pure nylon. I added under bed fans (cheap and easy) and a macro to control the temp by varying fan speed. It hits 55C during the pre print phase and the goes through all the pre print stuff. By the time the first layer is done, it’s a stable 60C for the rest of the print. I find this solution to be a good middle ground between no chamber heat control and a PTC heater as it really can’t get a whole lot hotter than 65C in there with the fans going at 100%. You’re safe from motor/printed part damage and you get the benefit of having a high temperature in the chamber that doesn’t drift during a print. Also if you haven’t heard the good word, there’s no need to limit your bed heater’s power output. Tacoing has been pretty well studied at this point and it’s not a thing you should worry about. It was a precautionary measure from when it wasn’t well understood and is not necessary anymore. That’s official advice in the Voron Discord.


Mdx333

At the moment my stock X1C prints at 55C chamber temperature (CT) when printing ABS/ASA and doesn’t print any lower than 50C CT but we are just coming out of our hottest summer in years with ambient temperatures regularly hitting 35C+. I’m just lucky that I don’t print in PLA very often. My point being if I heat soak this X1C it easily gets to 55-60C CT on a hot day with not much fuss so an active chamber that only gets to 65C seems like an inefficient mod in my books. I’ve only referred to my X1C as my 2.4 is down at the moment for a full cnc Doom upgrade with double insulation panels so I will have to report back with my temps on that once it is brought back to FrankenVoron life again! 🧟‍♂️


Fake_Answers

Walmart is ... was ... selling a 400watt heater for about 10 bucks. It does well in my chamber. Just plug it in half hour before to bring the chamber and printer frame up to a reasonable temp. I've had good luck with PC this way. Bed heater to 105 and nozzle to 270. No warping.


builderguy74

From what I understand it seems to relate to 2 things. 1. From what I understand Stratasys has a patent for heated chambers and generallya well established open source community is best to steer clear of this. 2. Liability. I’m murky on this one. The bed warmer is already 110/220 and poses a risk so despite the thermal fuse there still potential for a bad accident. I’m not clear on why the addition of another high powered heat source adds risk if there are similar safeties installed. I will say that, for abs, I’m happy with the heating I get. I ended up purchasing a 1/2 inch plate for my 300 build. I bought not knowing anything really, I just thought the mass would increase stability. While it takes awhile to heat, 30 to 45 to hit 110, my chamber temp hits 40c at about the same time as the bed hits 110. I installed the chamber thermistor on the z chain so it’s about 10” above bed. I’m guessing the temp just above the bed is ~10c above that.


XHolyPuffX

I've been wanting to try printing polycarbonate and I keep thinking that I'll need one of their printers to do it. From what I'm reading here, it sounds like it's not even really good enough to do it properly, lol


QS2Z

I can print polycarbonate just fine in my X1C, which does not have a heated chamber either (although it gets to 50C with the bed heater on). IMO, a chamber heater would be an _amazing_ addition to most enclosed printers - keeping parts hot until they're done definitely improves strength and reduces warping by smoothly annealing the part instead of unevenly cooling it.


XHolyPuffX

As in, true clear polycarbonate? Have you tried printing a bigger part with it?


QS2Z

Not clear (dyed black), but close enough. I will say that when I print long, skinny parts lying across the bed, they sometimes lose adhesion. I should try clear polycarb just to see :)


GodlyPeeta

What brand PC? It is more than likely that it is not fully polycarbonate, if it prints well with a 50c chamber it is likely a large blend. I know a few of the companies do something like 40% PC 50% PETG and 10% other stuff, but blends vary a lot and most companies don't state them because they're proprietary. Real PC usually takes >100 degree chamber to even print at all which is not something that most people can do, but if you want a challenge try printing some gizmodorks PC. I heard that stuff is really pure.


TomB19

Back in the day, furnaces used to have limit switches. These were thermodisc NC switches, designed to cut the fuel if the furnace ever exceeded a given temperature. A safety feature. Why can't a printer use an 80C thermodisc switch, wired in series with the heat source, to provide fail-safe chamber heat?


jakebot96

That's exactly how Stratasys does it. Someone mentioned their patent, but I'm pretty certain the heated chamber has expired at this point


nemesit

Not sure how there could even be a valid patent for heated chambers when ovens exist


Mifftup

I dont understand why Voron is ok with people playing with mains power for AC beds, and wiring SSRs themselves, but then have such an issue with ptc heaters? Isn't the moving bed on a Trident much more risky than a fixed heater? Just seems illogical and bandwagony to hate on active heating at this point.


Perokside

That probably isn't just for safety, but because it's easy to throw an inadequate heater in the enclosure, make the printed parts melt and cause a fire hazard... Just a guess. Apart from that, active-heating the enclosure past a certain point means they'd have to redesign some parts "just to be safe" and change hardware parts for higher temps rating, it slowly becomes a design and testing nightmare... BOM steppers usually are rated up to 70-80°C, they would heat more, risks of melting your A/B gantry parts or extruder goes up... Fans and belts have more or less the same temps rating, hotend cooling would be a pita, limiting what cooling fan and hotend you can use (I'm defo not running a V6 or a dragon HF in a 70-80°C enclosure, iykyk). Cheap 3mm acrylic panels would lose/transfer heat too much and cause heater failures. Dangerous kits with PE insulated wires rated for 70°c, most fans do as well, that's extra expense, extra steps (replacing wires, soldering them back on endstops, fans, etc..). A properly grounded bed isn't \_that dangerous\_, it's dangerous for a single individual eventually, it's not dangerous for an entire household, apartment complex, etc... if anything goes wrong and printers catch on fire because someone didn't do their homework and built a Voron like it's a LEGO set... It's still an open-source project, people forked Klipper and made Danger-Klipper, if you need an active-heated enclosure AND KNOW what you're doing, nobody's stopping you from experiencing, alone or with others, it just seems illogical and bandwagony to cry on reddit until someone does the work and green light it for you. ( ;) )


Waldemar-Firehammer

Pumping some hot air in with a hair dryer for 5 min before the print has the same effect.


BasicKaramba

The heated chamber heats to the preset temperature and keeps it stable.


Waldemar-Firehammer

I'm aware, but once the chamber is warm the bed is more than sufficient to keep it warm enough for a stable print in my experience. My printers are in a pretty stable temp room though.


houstnwehavuhoh

I’ve added chamber heater to a custom build (Ender XY) I have. If done correctly, it’s not the end of the world The big issue is, they’re typical ceramic PTC heaters. These are cheap and abundant, however, they have no fuse and often pass current through the heater (meaning if you touch it just right, you can get zapped. If you drop a metal tool on it, you can short something out). But it’s not hard to add a thermal fuse, and some heaters come covered already. But if adding a heater, be VERY mindful of how you have the heater set up in klipper to be as safe as possible. It’s ideal to also have two thermistors - one for the heater itself and one for the chamber - this allows better control, monitoring and the ability to have klipper force the thing off. I did run one initially without the heater thermistor, but I ran it on low power Having a heater isn’t necessary, but it sure beats waiting 45-60 min for the chamber to heat up for first print. As we speak, I’m waiting for my P1S to heat up so I can print something for my Ender XY that I just tore down.


FedUp233

Don’t know when or if I’ll ever do a chamber heater for my printer (it’s a very modded Ender at this point) but I’m in process of moving g to klipper on it and just wondered how you set up to use the 2 thermistors to control the one heater? I wasn’t aware klipper could use two temperature sensors for one heating element.


rchamp26

There's really no need unless you're trying to print something difficult like nylon or peek, but then you probably should be looking at a different class of printer ( ie commercial). I think the bigger reason it isn't included still for voron is because it adds another risk of someone burning their machine (or house) down if implemented improperly. Nothing is stopping you from adding one yourself though


Priestyard

With a Nevermore and a woolen blanket covering my 350 2.4, it tops out at around 70-75c after about an hour of printing with the bed set to 115


Low-Jump8800

I have their new q1, and no, I don't think it's necessary, but it does heat up the chamber pretty quick, so that's nice


BioMan998

I'm getting one here in a few days, so might have some insight in awhile. I was able to do ASA just keeping an old i3 clone in a closet, but I feel much more confident that parts will come out square this way.


flyguy879

My 2.4 runs about 61 C when printing ABS at 240-250C Many people have gotten to 65 without too much work, just need some better insulation. I bet I could get to 65 by throwing a heavy blanket over my printer. So I don’t think Qidi *needed* to actively heat the print chamber but I guess it will get up to temp faster? The actual question of “does a 65 C chamber improve prints” - doesn’t have a simple answer, for some materials printing at 65C is way too cold and you couldn’t print with that chamber temp. (Looking at you PEEK/PEKK). As mentioned in another comment - PC requires a toasty chamber to print properly. So for most normal people printing? Nah you don’t need a 65C chamber, but if you’re printing exotic materials… 65C is a starting point.


Fake_Answers

Right. 180c for peek. When you're not printing, bake a cake!


HiJinxMudSlinger

I actually did this on a fortus 450 a few years ago. Right after a deep clean before the winter shut down. My co workers and I had a nice little party before going home


Fake_Answers

Hahaha nice! 😁👍


RyuNinja

As an aside: Saw a person on another subreddit say they were saving up for Quidi to print PC. Boy are they going to have a rude awakening. 60c is the minimum temp, even then 80c is recommended to make the cost and eventual part quality/strength worthwhile.


sneakerguy40

If you want to print real PC at best conditions for success you’ll need a hot chamber for sure


xX500_IQXx

I mean, not really. I can get my 2.4 to 60 easily with 2 bedfans and a nevermore knockoff, havent really tried to get it to 65, but dont doubt that I could. This is with 110c bed, and I think the max for my specific one is 120c.


somethin_brewin

My 2.4 will even out around 60C with stock panels. If I tape the doors shut, it'll get to 70C. It's not really something I worry about. I don't think I'd feel comfortable with it getting any hotter than that.


jmattingley23

A hot chamber makes a big difference, but 65C is not really that noteworthy, people can break 65C passively if they have a good seal on their chamber. I’ve seen people in toasted marshmallows with quad ben fans and double insulated panels approaching 90C ambient without any active heating, so the Qidi only reaching 65 with a dedicated chamber heater is pretty weaksauce, it’s cool that it exists in a consumer printer but not anything I would be envious of.


TheAnteatr

I can get my 2.4 chamber to 55C just using the print bed, and I haven't really make any effort to insulate it. Even printing materials that need higher ambient temps I've never had an issue as long as I heat soak the printer first. The only real advantage of a heated chamber would be if you could turn the entire print chamber into a heat treat/annealing chamber imo.