Just out of curiosity. I actually really like the trend that printer housings can be retrofitted. As I don’t actually need closed printers at all and I have at least the feeling that they are overestimated if someone don’t have one yet.
Multiple selections are possible:
I preferred it because of the filter
I preferred it becouse of housing heaters / warping materials
I preferred it becouse of reduction noise emissions
I often have problems because of the Enclosers
I would prefer printers with retrofittable housings to adapt it to my needs
I preferred it for visual reasons / e.g. printer is in the living room
Well, I have 2 active printers with and 2 active withoute enclousers but i can`t select any of your answers
And one has the housing to keep metal dust away of the printer inside - otherwise it would also be also an open one.
Of course: If you need the printer with a closed housing, you have no alternative. Than an entclosure is needed but who or how many needs the enclouser really and for what reason?
I don’t print toys or knick-knacks. I print functional parts, some with materials which require an enclosure. Any other advantages are just consequences of that requirement. I’ve not found a disadvantage.
I can not more adjust but this was in top of my head by:
I preferred it becouse of housing heaters / warping materials.
Maybe we need to summarize the questions first and start the survey again?
“I often have problems because of the Enclosers may not be entirely correct either”. I’ve had an extruder clog at ASA twice the last week because I accidentally closed the door. I print a lot of PETG and TPU and you’d rather get to the printer parts than have it closed. Also a lot of Green tec pro fillament which is really a very technically oriented material. Then the housing isn`t needed at all and then I just prefer better accessibility for printer maintenance, since man-hours are counting too. I don’t know why I always have to use the housing because I don’t always need it.
And to print an attachment with ventilation holes - somehow I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, but it sometimes inspires me to improve other people’s designs. Why I can’t just order an upgrade thing? It would actually be a very simple modification to implement on existing printers which they could make cheaply. I would probably rather make it on the press brake than print it… But I would prefer to be able to simply order a solution or have something come from the manufacturer.
and now that I’ve seen the K2 I’m wondering if they really understood something because I didn’t see any ventilation openings… or may I’m just the only one since i can be also wrong
Sorry for the late reply. I somehow missed your comment.
I agree with you; despite looking better and occupying a lower volume, it is harder to do maintenance and even worse when you need to fix something with ongoing print.
I always needed to use enclosures because of the filament materials and to avoid dust in the printer bed.
Without any doubt, my favourites are over-dimensioned tents. The large volume, the sides and top velcro openings, and the practical tips are helpful for maintenance tasks. The walls entail a radiation shield that acts as an effective thermal insulator and helps diffuse the light within the chamber. The flexible walls don’t block your arms, and the lower thermal inertia (thin walls) makes it easier to cool down and control the temperature. You can also use the space to keep filaments protected. They are(?) cheaper than other solutions and easily adjustable regarding printing with or without an enclosure.
The only defect is their poor look.
Currently, I have the X1C and an S1Pro in a repurposed old closet. The main reason was the X1C noise, which I solved by moving it to a “basement”. To avoid possible moisture issues, I put both printers in the cabinet. The solution worked better than expected, so I am still using it. This may not be the right solution for many, as you may need to invest in the furniture. But it works pretty well.
Regarding the clogs, I also had a few issues, which I found to be caused by trying to keep the closet airtight as soon as I removed the tape; the relatively constant temperature of the basement and natural ventilation helped to avoid that issue. I only open the door during summer or for long prints.
Facing this event, I think we can find different needs and experiences depending on the printer’s surrounding ambient conditions.
the path of Flashforge M5, Phrozen, Magneto - Which has its origins in the Bambulab P1 series seems to me to be by far the smartest - buy the same model with or without a housing. And how they at Infimech TX have now thought about the topic - unbelievable.
Anyway, in consultation with my wife, we will expand 3D printing and integrate it more into her company but then comes a whole room - and not just a housing. Well, that will become anyway not before 2025, but the course has to be set now and the product range still needs to be expanded somewhat. The “technical demands” on the 3D printed parts then go down massively or remain with the filament - biologically like Biofusion (high price segment for sustainable, demanding customers in the area of ecological thinking with a high level of health awareness). But maintenance, power requirements, self-monitoring and maintenance then become very important. So any kind of downtime becomes very important. Than Technical maintenance of the printer must be calculated at 250 USD per hour worked… And then parts then have to go straight from the printer into the packaging box, which means they have to be printed in order units per box to pack, no matter how long the printer is standing and how much it throws out for material changes… since there is no way to come under 75 USD per working houre, if you put a packer there…
Regarding cost-effectiveness for business, everything you need to consider every expense, but I lack the experience to help.
Non-enclosure printers seem ideal, as you can also dilute the enclosure costs with a custom solution for all the printers. As the A1 may not fit in tour plans, you can solve the clogging issues by removing the door and cover of the P1S and X1C; however, maintenance may be challenging. At 250$ an hour, it may be adequate to go with simple and swift maintenance and, whenever possible, replace the component (I would be glad to receive the old ones ).
That’s why I like FlashForge Adventurer 5M so much. Even if it really needs glue stick. You don’t think about it for 2 seconds - you just get a new one so at least one that always runs… and than you have a whole printer full of spare parts That’s why I already have 3 of them (but one is a pro version)
It is an interesting question. I never understood why some brands avoided enclosures, but you may have clarified it.
Out of topic and out of curiosity, how many printers are you planning to have?
I am not into the 3D printing business, but having the lowest number of printer models seems more efficient; I would guess two from different manufacturers to avoid dependency. Is it straightforward to manage multiple printers of various models daily? It looks like a logistic nightmare. Are you using specific software?
I’m starting with 4 for her - fortunately the shipping and webshop are already there. It’s just a matter creating 2-4 more printable unique products desinged thrue me. And if 4 printers aren’t enough, I still have a few standing around which are already here.
There are already several premium product representatives for other companies in the beauty sector (but products that immediately meet customer problems in the service segment eye to eye) - the online shop was simply logical since the stock was already there. This Printer thing is only about expanding the “unique selling point” and not how many printers are coming?! If you have direct contact with the customers (eye-to-eye) which is the main buissnes, then they talk about their problems and then the adapted products are added automatically and then new business areas come - the cornerstone is never your own idea. The cornerstone is always the problem of the existing customer base. So this 3d Printing thing - it won’t be a complete build up. More a delicate integration. In this Beauty sector you have a lot of spear time between costumers to make the costumer feel like a king - otherwise the prices will foll into nowere. So this 3d thing and the Store is a go thing to fill up waiting time. Of course you never get the same fees as in the main business, but it’s also great advertising by making additional income. There are simply more e.G. Google raitings, than thure 1 customer every 2 hours and that improves the listings and booked costumer appointment immensely.
