hey guys. since I got my Printrbot Simple Metal I have abstained from any long prints. but I am looking into printing parts for my paintball gun which will need high fill density and lots of structural support making the prints 9 hr. and up. I heard that b4 doing long prints one should put a second fan to cool the extruder motor but i don’t know which to get that will run off the exiting power supply. any thoughts. also I find that the printer makes noise, not a lot but just enough to keep me from letting it run all night, i was thinking of a Plexiglas box to put over it (also trapping the heat in giving better layer adhesion) to cancel out the noise. Any thoughts ?
Your motor shouldn’t get any hotter the longer you run it, if it does then there is something that needs adjusting. Also adding some heatsinks might be good enough if it is only getting “warm”. Once it begins to get hot you will have to introduce a fan, but again this is an indicator that something needs to be adjust OR you are running very fast (in this case defnitely add a fan, will improve the life of your motor). If the noise is bothering you that much move it to another room? Maybe look into some rubber feet. Noise reduction is going to require a bit more information, where do you think the noise is coming from?
the noise I hear is more of an electronic buzz, the wirl of the motors and the sound to the linear bearings.
I just got a desk fan, and I run it aimed at the extruder motor. It also helps keep the y axis motor cool during long prints. I’ve noticed that the extruder tends to heat up the motor quite a bit, but the extra fan solved that for me, without affecting the adhesion, or quality of my prints.
that’s a good idea thanks
Try something like this for the motor noise http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:25205
And something like this for the heat http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22449
The linear bearings I can’t recommend much, try printed bushings or look into getting igus bearings (I’ve never tried these)
I would still look into adjusting your steppers
@cris_luna do you know what the voltage of the fan should be so I can connect it to the existing fan port
Depends, usually 12v. Hopefully you have a voltmeter to test this though.
thanks. I cant believe I didn’t see the label on the fan b4 its a 12v so guess I should get one
I meant the power on your board. I don’t know what the printrbots are running right now. I use ramps and that can be either 12 or 24v. You then buy a fan to match what you have.
Look at the power supply. It probably says what voltage it is.
You know how I got away from long prints? Make that baby hollow and fill it with cheapo expanding foam or epoxy if you really want a strong part 
@Jon_Gordon I like the foam idea, wish there was a special slicing option for this when you have bad overhangs. What do you do for parts that need to be strong though? Or am I thinking of the wrong type of expanding foam? “Great Stuff”
@cris_luna Epoxy, acrylic, plaster of paris, anything hard and cheap really. I think I used silicone one time and it took forever to dry but it held well. Hell, wood glue and sawdust would work I bet. Concrete?
@Jon_Gordon The wood glue and sawdust thing didn’t work too well for me, took forever to dry. The epoxy definitely sounds good for smaller parts. I want to try the plaster of paris now. Lol…Concrete. Acrylic Sheets?
@cris_luna Acrylic casting resin. As long as she holds right?