The Drunken Ferret: Success!

SUCCESS! The Drunken Ferret is now printing with very good quality. I may do one or two more things, but I’ve reached the goal.

Last night I repaired my parts fans. I was only able to put on back on the printer because I haven’t yet figured out how to mount the other without interfering with the printer movement. I’ll add it once I figure out an approach. 

I'm about to show two pictures, but it's worth noting: I purposely angled the light to show the details and imperfections. In real life, the lower model looks very clean.

This picture shows the comparative quality: the green model is what the printer put out without any modifications and it’s what made me decide to upgrade it. The white model is the current state of the printer, which is very good. Can it be improved? Possibly, especially with the second fan, but I think after that I’m approach the point of diminishing returns.

The next picture shows, from top to bottom:

• A reference model from another printer
• The starting point for this printer, prior to upgrades
• The first attempt after upgrades but before calibration.
• After a lot of calibration
• Current state, after one of the parts fans is back on.

I just found that someone designed a mount that might allow me to mount both fans, but I'm loathe to dive back in that deep after all this. I think I'll probably figure out a way to mount the second fan, put some improved ducts below the plate (the old ones are warped), then call it good. 

I'm going to get started on the printing projects I have lined up for this printer in the meantime, and fix the fan as time, energy, and motivation permit.

Now to put The Drunken Ferret to work.