Sorry if this is not the right place to ask this sort of question. Is getting an enclosure for the X1C a bad idea?
I’m considering using the X1C to print PLA. My condo is well-ventilated, and I have a small, enclosed laundry room with an additional exhaust vent that I can utilize to vent an enclosure. Would there be any issues if I place the printer in a plexiglass enclosure and vent it to the outside, maintaining a constant negative pressure? Also, as a new parent, I’m a bit anxious. I want to understand how much risk I can mitigate without adversely affecting the prints or endangering those around me. From what I’ve gathered, relying on a single method isn’t ideal. Implementing a multi-pronged approach—such as using a separate room, a printer enclosure, a bento box, and ventilation to the outside—appears to be the most effective strategy.
I don’t think there will be any issues with that, if you keep venting outside. Just try and see the temperatures
Alternatively you can get Bambu activated carbon filter, and you can also mount the “Bento Box” filter (self printed + some parts), which will filter the air inside the printer’s chamber.
I wouldn’t worry if the printer sits in laundry room, which is well ventilated after printing.
If you have the budget and the time to do all that, then I’d say amen, you’re on a good track. Printing remotely adds another layer of protection, and it’s easy to do with an X1, because you can monitor the print via the built-in camera and control it remotely as well.
The only gotcha I’ve run across is when a print gets paused because of some problem, waiting for the user to intervene. This might be where your redundant systems helps mitigate enough that you decide you can save the print rather than aborting, waiting for the venting to finish, and then starting over. With experience over time, you’ll be better able to choose wisely.
I personally think using the laundry is probably ideal, the only issue I can see is temperature. The ambient temp needs to be reasonably stable and not either end of the dial. I used to run my X1C in an old Ender Enclosure, it worked quite well but in hotter months it really cooked and I ended up ditching it.
I’ve got a bento box recently and honestly I don’t see the attraction in its standard form. The fans are pretty useless and it seems to have trouble with flow direction (the fan turbulance seems to pull air back in where it should be pumping out. Anyhow, its a project for later. The internal carbon chamber fan is pretty much the same in my opinion. Having an exhaust fan/ducting in the laundry would be the ideal solution.
I think an additional enclosure would be redundant. Just print Bambu’s pipe connector and then connect the X1C to the vent using a draught diverter - not sure of the english word, it’s what you’d use for a drying cabinet:
You could print the latter as well but it should be cheap and easy to source. I guess you can control the negative pressure in the X1C by adjusting the distance of the draught diverter. You want only a little lower than ambient pressure, not a massive flow.
In general, I cannot see any issue.
I’ve mine inside a wood cabinet, and it runs without problems.
During the first few prints within the enclosure, I would advise actively monitoring in case of unforeseen issues.
Regarding the negative pressure, it is a double-edged sword.
You may have moist air entering the enclosure in a laundry, but your baby’s health is far more critical.
I would rely on active filtering, and if moisture becomes an issue, use a dehumidifier or a passive solution such as silica.
I second the bento box. It is roughly $30 and integrates into the printer easily. I turn mine on when I print PETG or CF/Matte filaments and it is adds a bit of noise to the printer, but works great. My not so rigorous resting was printing PETG, being scared by the smell, and then turning on the bento box. About an hour post print there was no smell in the printer, and never any outside of it.
Reporting back. So I finally pulled the trigger. I have the X1C in an Acrylic enclosure. I am venting the enclosure and the room with an AC Infinity 6" duct fan. While monitoring the air quality in the enclosure, the room and the rest of the house. Everything is fed into Home Assistant and can activate my HVAC/ ERV air exchanger if required. I am happy with the setup.
I could be wrong, but I think I remember reading that if it is plugged into power, it will update every 2 minutes, and if it is just on battery, it’s every 10 minutes.
For my setup, it’s been pretty accurate. I usually see a spike in PM2.5 levels right away when the filament is cut and ejected. The VOCs spike pretty hard and fast when I let one rip .
Having the second one to compare with keeps my mind at ease. I feel the enclosure is doing a good job with PLA. I plan on making the DK raiser with the vent to control the temperatures better if needed and to get a bit more light in there.
I’m curious to know if I would be able to print high-temperature materials while maintaining a slight negative pressure to vent out all the bad stuff, without losing temperature. I’m not there yet, but I have a motorcycle part project in mind that I think would need to be made out of ABS at least.
So far, no issues with PLA. The humidity in the AMS is down to 13% and packed with desiccant. It’s currently 60% humidity in the house, so I think the enclosure is helping there too.
I will continue to report back as I go. Thanks for the feedback.
It appears to be from Clearview Plastics in California, you can find them with a search engine and they do specific enclosures for both the X1C by itself and a taller one to include the AMS.
They ship internationally too, I’ve been toying with buying one, but the price is… well…
So far just printing PLA, no noticeable air quality issues so far and I’ve also added a bento box to the enclosure.
ABS is on the menu but I’m waiting for the polymaker dryer to be released in Canada in the beginning of august. From what I can gather you need to keep your filament extra warm and dry for abs. The acrylic enclosure keeps the heat in. When I’m printing with the vet on full blast it’s still 27’c / Chamber is around 40’c when I print PLA. I haven’t had any failed prints yet. For my fist printer experience it’s crazy good. I was thinking of adding a little heater to the x1c but I think I’ll try printin abs without it first, and see how it goes.
I will report back once I start printing high temp material
What do you use to monitor the air quality in each of the locations you specified? I’m interested in doing something like that. My concern with venting the air out is Mainly temperature differences.
In each location I use an Airthings Plus, not cheap but reliable for the most part. Works great in Home Assitant. I monitor the air in the printing room, acrylic printer enclosure, Living room and my kids room. I haven’t had any failed prints due to temps, with a constant vacuum of air the temp of the acrylic enclosure while printing sits between 27’ to 30’C. So far running a pretty stock X1C printing PLA, PETG and TPU without issue. Havent had a failed print that wasn’t my fault, usually due to some know limition I hadn’t learnt about yet. I am very happy with this setup and would deffinaly recommend and advise if needed
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