I described how I used an aquarium air pump to cool down the deposited thread of plastic. This works surprisingly well and it has a lot of advantages in my opinion!
Great engineering in the true maker spirit!
I have something similar on my self build core XY, a small 12V air pump mounted to the case with a piece of bowden tube running to the nozzle. works really well and is controlled by the normal firmware cooling.
@Fred_U (answering here b/c I cannot reply to your question below – check your google+ settings may be?) The pump takes air from everywhere, it would be difficult to use it for vacuum. I am unsure how good it would work this way also, may be it can only build pressure up :s
@Jeremie_Francois
I suspected that was going to be the situation. Manufacturers of air pumps seldom take into consideration the source, for obvious economic and design reasons. I was hopeful, but realistic. Thanks for your reply.
Nicely done! It reminds me of a printer that was very influential on my designs: https://audiots.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/schorschxy-is-proud-of-what-he-can-make-in-6-minutes/
@Fred_U You could make an enclosure for the pump with a connector for your vacuum hose. Add a port for the pressure side as an exhaust, and pass through the power. Seal as necessary with RTV.
After reading your suggestion, I looked up the dimensions. It’s certainly compact enough that such a build may work. I’ll pop off to Amazon and get the lowest price I’ve found so far.
Nice, this is what being a maker is all about.
I like it very much, good job there with the aquarium pump.