Aquila/Ender Fang & Duct combo, with light

Minimal hotend and nozzle fan ducts for Voxelab Aquila, Ender 3, CR-10, and similar (though only tested on Aquila.) Uses 4020 or 4010 hotend fan, 5015 blower nozzle fan.

I needed two things: a fan system that didn't interfere with the direct-drive motor above, and the ability to see the nozzle, something that isn't supported terribly well for some reason. I liked vortexpc's minimal main duct that is sandwiched behind the hotend, but it was a little flimsy for my ABS layer adhesion and kept failing, so I reworked it a little thicker and sturdier, but all credit to him for the design idea. Cacti's side-mounted nozzle fang was what I was looking for, but I didn't want dual fans, so it was reworked into a single fan unit - again, main credit to Cacti.

And then, the addition of a bar underneath to mount an LED light strip so I could easily see if there were any issues during print - every printer needs this, as far as I'm concerned. But there's a version of the fang without the light bar if you like.

The two parts are an easy print, but support is necessary at least for the fang unit - I'd suggest both. [The STL of the duct differs from the one shown in the photo, since I upgraded the wire-tiedown on the side.] They should mount together easily with a pair of 3mm bolts, 8-12mm in length - they protrude into the duct intake area and thus length isn't too much of an issue.

The lighting is just a flexible strip of 24v LEDs, a single section of which was 50mm so that's how long the light bar is - I connected them into the same wiring as the hotend fan which is always on. I don't trust the adhesive backing of those so they're affixed with contact cement (E6000.) I also used a glob of hot glue to anchor the solder joints firmly and insulate them against accidental contacts.

The grey velocity stacks (intake bells) are not included, and I don't even recall where I got them from - season to taste.

Print Settings

Printer:

Voxelab aquila

Rafts:

No

Supports:

Yes

Resolution:

0.2, 0.3, doesn't matter much

Infill:

15-40%

Filament:

Black

Notes:

I'd recommend ABS for the heat resistance, but nothing less than PETG. I did extensive acetone 'painting' to strengthen the layer bonds, especially around stress areas like the mounting tabs. I used an Xacto knife to flare the out rims of the bolt holes to help the threading start. Other than that, should be fine.