Replicator 2X Part Cooling Fan Mount

This is a no-duct-included model to enable you to connect a "6028" blower fan to the left side of your Rep2x (or clone/relative with same basic carriage) extruder carriage. You can then choose (or design) a duct that you prefer to attach. I posted the duct over here: https://www.printables.com/model/552475-replicator-2x-part-cooling-fan-duct-for-6028-blowe

I used a 6028 fan (approx 60mm diagonal size, 28mm outlet) because I happened to have a 24V 6028 blower fan from an old humidifer. In theory you can load up the fan model in Solvespace and adjust the size and location, then load the other parts up and the changes should propagate.

If you make it, if you don't post a "make" with pictures, it would be great if you left a comment saying how it worked - I can see that this is getting downloaded a lot and I'm curious how well it's working

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

MakerBot

Printer: 

MakerBot Replicator 2X

Rafts:

No

Supports: 

No

Resolution:

0.28

Infill: 

18%

Filament: AmazonBasics PET-G Black

Notes:

The 3MF file is set up for use in PrusaSlicer, to print in PETG from the right extruder on a Rep2X. Use the STL if you prefer a different slicer or are using a different printer.

No need for supports or anything, just print in the orientation it will be mounted in the printer.

The material for this isn't terribly critical. PLA would be fine too, as would ABS. Nothing in this model gets too warm.

Post-Printing

Screw holes

The current design is set up to take (the cheapest available) M3 heat-set threaded inserts in the two holes that mount the fan, as well as the two holes available for duct mounting (optional to use). At least my fan was actually designed to take M4 screws, but M3 worked fine.

I inserted the threaded inserts from the "back" side (the side going toward the heatsink) in an attempt to slightly increase pullout strength - the vertical panel's thickness is dictated by the insert thickness. (You may modify to suit)

If you don't want to use threaded inserts, you should be able to thread M4 screws directly into the plastic holes without modification. It will just be slightly less tolerant of repeated attachment and removal of the screws.

Attachment

This replaces the spacers between your left extruder's heatsink and fan, like many other Rep2x accessories.

You'll need some kind of duct to direct airflow: you can model one building on these models, or adapt an existing one, or design one from scratch.

Wiring

There is a 24V connector on the Rep2x intended for part cooling fan usage. However, it's binary only - not variable speed - and of course the fan-side connector (25.4mm pin pitch) and cables don't come with the machine.

I was able to hack a piece of female header strip into fitting the connector, then wired that up to the fan itself. The connector pin with the square pad is positive.

As of this moment I've only used that fan connector, but there are clever solutions out there for providing a variable-speed part cooling fan.

Settings

You probably need to modify your "Home Offsets" and/or Start GCode to prevent collisions between the fan and the frame of the printer. You can modify the Home Offsets (in EEPROM) with the printer's controls, replicator-specific software like replicatorG, or with the GPX plugin for OctoPrint.

As an example, for my printer, I had to set:

• X home offset: 123
• Y home offset: 65

(The numbers will change slightly after saving, or won't be exact if using the controls, that's OK.)

I'm using the PrusaSlicer settings and start gcode I uploaded here: https://github.com/rpavlik/Rep2x-GCodeSnippets-PrusaSlicer which are a variation on DrLex's excellent FFCP work https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2367215 https://www.dr-lex.be/software/ffcp-slic3r-profiles.html

If you do experience a collision, you probably want to re-align your gantry, especially if it feels difficult or uneven to move X or Y by hand: https://support.makerbot.com/learn/makerbot-replicator-2x/printer-maintenance/realigning-the-gantry_11622

Modification

You should be able to modify this to suit with SolveSpace, I've included all source files. (You need 3.0 or newer to load the file, the latest is fine) The model is parametric and based on the sizes of real-world things. So...

• To change threaded insert/screw hole size, edit threaded-insert-sketch.slvs
• To modify fan size/shape, edit fan-diagram.slvs (don't delete or re-create entities, just modify them, since other models are referencing this one!)
• To change the thickness of the vertical mount section, edit the first sketch layer in mount2.slvs which sets up the X-Z plane's overall design.

You'll note there is a somewhat-complete, somewhat-accurate model of the Rep2X extruder carriage in SolveSpace format in this item. Hopefully it is useful too :)