Seems to me that the FANS (3? 1 in controller and two in print head) are the majority of the noise.
Anyone looked for quieter fans yet? Maybe there is only one or two of them that are noisy.
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Yes they are. Especially the one in the controller.
As far as I know, powerful small fans are all that noisy. So maybe it’ll be necessary not only change the fan, but also add some heat sinks, so that we can use slow speed, big size fans which are quitter.
I don’t know the structure inside that controller, but this may require a lot of modification.
I hope the coming enclosure will help reduce the noise.
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Yes, the fan in the controller is the noisiest especially on start up. I’m afraid to spray some WD40 in there because of the electronics.
Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. It probably wouldn’t quiet much anyway.
The noise is really because the size of the fan. To get a reasonable airflow on such a small fan, they have to crank the RPMs way up.
Only thing I can think of would be to remove the module housing, and make your own with a larger, brushless fan. Of course,I’m sure this would void the warranty though. With everything so tight in that module though, you can probably only push this concept so far, because you would wind up channelling the air down to the same volume to get sufficient airflow… too little, and you could fry your module.
I cannot help but wonder if, instead of modifying the fan, if one were to make a large box with foam acoustic tiles in it, that still allowed for relatively unimpeded airflow, that might help. It would increase the workspace by quite a bit, but I think that dampening might be the better strategy to reduce noise… Since the pitch is above 60Hz, acoustic tiles (like in a recording studio or something similar) should work. Maybe even put in a couple 120mm noctua fans on the accoustic enclosure to ensure good airflow… A little kludgey, I know… but I think it has potential, if you can sacrifice the space…
I don’t notice excessive noise from the fans. My work area is in an upstairs room with drywall on all four walls, so I suspect the drywall is absorbing most of the sound. If you’re running the machine in a basement, I could see where reflected sound might be a problem.
I’ve got access to a DB meter, I’ll get a reading on it.
Looks like someone else had the same idea of an acoustical enclosure…