Hi all.
For the X1C, is it possible to connect a 24v 300w heater to the board and activate it using the software?
If not, what’s the best way to mod for active heated chamber?
I was thinking to use this heater:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_oEGloKq
I would be very surprised if the 24V power supply can provide an extra 300W. I think that amount of power can only be taken from mains as does the bed heating. But you should really be familiar with working on mains voltage for that.
The other question is, if really 300W are necessary. I can’t answer that.
What temperature are you aiming for? You might be able to arrive at it just by insulating and turning the bed temperature to maximum, and… waiting. It may not be elegant, but it wouldn’t require much effort.
FWIW, there is at least one thread (and maybe more) where this topic has already been discussed extensively. .
I’m looking for 65°.
I could go for a 150w heater
I can reduce it to 150w heater. I’m aiming for 65° in chamber temp
It’s a worthwhile goal, and not that difficult. The people in that thread I referred to were doing it with just 50 watts, which I would concur seems rather anemic. On the other hand, I can get my chamber to 50C just by heating the bed to 120C, even without insulation, so it doesn’t take a lot more.
There was some discussion that the steppers may overheat if the temperature goes above 60C and the heatbreak may suffer from heat creep, leading to jams. Possible risks of the electronics overheating as well. Just fyi; I’ll let you be the judge of that.
How can you get the bed to 120? isn’t the X1C capped at 110?
As for heat creep, I will only use it with ABS/ASA/PC so I don’t worry about heat creep. I won’t use it with PETG/PLA variants.
As you mentioned, the MC board with its steppers should be insulated, which is my follow up question.
I can configure the heater with my HomeAssistant automation via MQTT to only operate if ABS/ASA/PC are present and to stop the heater when chamber temps have been reached.
But the big questions for me are:
- Can I connect a 150w 24v heater to the X1C board and control it via the Slicer as in X1E?
- How to insulate the board.
Odd. So those who use 220v are screwed 
Better off running a heater off is own power supply rather than risk overloading the motherboard.
And I’d run an extra fan to cool the MB rather than rely on insulation. If you seal it in, there’s nowhere for the heat generated by the board to go. Ideally you’d move the MB outside the chamber if you plan on printing consistently with high chamber temps. Or buy a qidi Q1 pro 
Sadly, yes, that’s now the writing on the wall. Even if you manage to raise the chamber temperature to 60C–although it would admittedly be an improvement–you’d still be limited to no more than a 300C hotend , because of the BBL firmware.
In contrast to that, the Q1 Pro has the 60C heated chamber and its hotend can reach 350C. Angus at Maker’s Muse said he printed ABS on it that was the absolute best ABS that he had ever printed.
So, yes, it would be worth looking into it. Besides the Q1 Pro, though, what other printers are there that might be worth considering?
I just today found one that looks interesting called the CreateBot F160 3D Printer. It comes in an enhanced $1999 version which it claims can even print PEEK.
CreatBot F160 3D Printer | 3D Printers Depot.
And if it can print PEEK, then it can print a whole range of other interesting filaments, like PPSU, which I only just learned about after reading a succinct survey article about different types of printer filaments (3D Printing Filament - How to Choose the Best Material For Your Projec — Kingroon 3D).
I only mention it at all because up until this moment, I had thought that capable high temperature printers like it were probably $6K and up in price. However, $2K is nearly the same as what Peopoly’s 3D printer will cost, or what the Orangestorm Giga will cost. If it weren’t for its small build volume, it would maybe be a true standout.
Look at some of the DIY resin heaters and adapt them to your needs. Mine is 24V powered and is rated at 120 watts. Also, it’s not just about heater rating, but also about air flow. Too low and it will take too long to heat the chamber. Too high, and the thermal transfer from the heater to the air will be inefficient. Sorry, w/o testing, I can’t give a recommended air flow.
I have one, it has to be powered by an external power supply. Its a 200w heater and a 350w PSU, two 5015 blower fans. Its controlled via an STC-1000 controller.
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Where did you buy this one?
I saw that one on ebay today. It may not have been identical in every detail, but it was substantially the same. The heater and blower elements did look to be identical.
You mean the heating element or the whole thing? I put it together myself from components.
Those tiny ones that are made for resin printing are too weak as they are only 50w. They are made to heat up the tiny resin printers to just above room temp. You need at least 200w for the X1/P1 for 60c, the X1E for example has a 250w unit.
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@maximit
I’ll go your route. But I’ll use a 200W PSU Meanwell - because it’s without a fan and I believe that 8Amps will suffice, for a 100W heater, isn’t is?
p.s. - how do you avoid clogging the nozzle/extruder when reaching chamber temps of 60°?
I got a few clogs today while printing eSun ABS+ Black. X1C chamber temps show 53° buy my own temp sensor got to 59°.
I print ABS all the time without a heated chamber and the prints come out great… the printers themselves however haven’t faired so well. The print head covers on all mine fell off due to the glue melting that holds the magnets in place. Also my cameras are all pretty much toast. Now my X1Cs were some of the first so maybe they fixed all this on later revisions.
Yes if you go 100w route the 200w PSU is plenty. The 100w is a bit weak though, i think 200w is much better.
Yes you can get clogs more frequently… you can try the TZ 3.0 hot end with the more effective copper heatsink.