Part Cooling Fan - Does it have one?

Snapmaker 2.0
1

Total noob question - does the Snapmaker extruder module have a part cooling fan integrated?

I noticed there are two openings in the black plastic on the bottom directed towards the nozzle. I took the cover off the side of the extruder and looked at the fan, but for the life of me can’t tell where it moves the air to/from, or if it’s for electronics cooling, part cooling, or both.

Thanks.

2

Yep, part cooling fan is in place. Can be controlled via standard G-Codes - try it and hold your finger below - you’ll feel the air flow:

M106: Sets Fan on full speed --> Air flow clearly present

M107: Fan off --> Air flow gone

M106 Sxxx: xxx anything between 0-255 - 0 = off, 255 full blow. Try 255 and then 200, you can feel the difference.

1 Like
3

Thanks, @Hauke.

Anyone have any thoughts on whether adding more cooling is helpful for PLA and PETG?

Reason I’m asking is because my prints are still coming out a little ragged. I’ve calibrated the extruder and run temp and retraction towers. I’ve also experimented with the layer height and speed settings.

I’m new to 3D printing, so maybe what I’m getting is typical, but so many of the prints shown on Thingiverse (the real pics, not the renderings) look SO much better than what I’m getting.

So, do you think more part cooling is a good idea, or is the integrated SM2 fan good enough?

Separately, any other tips?

Thanks.

4

Cooling is mainly helpful when doing overhangs - you’ll fail without cooling there, unless you use a lot of support structures.

Can you send a few pictures to understand what you mean with “ragged”? I usually print PLA with 100% fan on.

Perhaps this here helps you: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/print-quality-troubleshooting/

5

@Hauke - Thanks for the link to the troubleshooting guide. That’s a great resource!

I’ll take some pics and get them uploaded tomorrow.

In the meantime, I tested the fan. At full speed, you can feel air, but it’s not what I’d call a lot of air.

Would more air be better to reduce stringing, or does it have to be a fairly precise amount air?

Thanks.

6

The cooling fan IMHO is mainly for overhangs, where the plastic needs to cool down as fast as possible not to be pulled down by gravity. And for the few prints I did with Snapmaker overhangs were a pleasant thing - just worked across several centimeters. So I’d deem the fan good enough. Stand to be corrected…

7

Thanks!

For the heck of it, I might make an auxiliary cooling fan. Will let you know how it goes.

8

Please keep us posted! And look around on Thingiverse and/or Facebook - I seem to remember that other users already created auxiliary fan mounts for SM2.

9

I also have the feeling that the part cooling fan is very weak.
Just FYI:

  • the Hot-End cooling fan is the radial-fan on the PrintingHeadSide.
  • the PartCoolingFan is the axial-fan on the Bottom of the PrintHead housing.

Has anybody replaced the part cooling fan with a device with more air flow?

1 Like
10

FYI: 3DP Part Cooling Fan 5015 Replacement

11

Thanks a lot, exactly what I needed. Will try over the holidays.

12

no but im bout to see if i can fit a noctua in there now … i didnt even know this damn thing had a cooling fan. this machine could be so much better if they would include all the settings we actually need in luban.

13

Hi,
reading through the forum, it seems that the part cooling fan is rather weak. But on my SM 2.0 it is so incredibly weak that I fear it is actually broken. I took a video where you can both hear and see some strange behaviour of the fan when sending the M106 P0 S255 to the device. Is this really the expected behaviour or should I contact the support?

Thanks in advance
Frederik