I have a few printers but I think my favorite is my first one. The kit That started it all. The thing is that it is also my test printer. Every time I want to try a new piece of tech or a firmware mod I use it on this printer first. She has gone through a lot and never failed me. For being a Chinese Prusa I3 clone it’s gone far. Today is no different. I have mentioned in past blogs I print mostly in abs, it’s cheap and easily finished with acetone. The thing is it doesn’t like to have a fan on it because of that I don’t have a Cooling 3D printer Mod. Lately, though I have been using a lot more exotic filaments and even received a spool of pla (I probably won’t use it anytime soon). I decided I wanted to give it a fan for cooling but I didn’t have a lot of space to work with. I looked around and decided on the split cooling from fan mount made by eiPionezero. The problem is I can’t turn off the cooling, this way. that meant that I would either need a second fan or just replace it and deal with constant cooling. I didn’t Like that idea So I made the fans interchangeable and here is what I did.
Gather your materials and get to work – Cooling 3D printer Mod
If you don’t have some old PC parts laying around just buy some Bullet connectors that will fit your wires. If you do grab a couple unused 4pin connectors and pull them apart. You will need solder and a soldering iron, Heat shrink, a way to strip your wire (don’t use your teeth) now you’re ready to go.
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Solder the female bullet connectors to the wires coming from your printer board. Then solder the male ends to your fans. Heat shrink everything so you don’t get any shorts and you’re ready to swap any fan you like. This is a good thing to have set up these fans wear out often and the replacements cost a few dollars more if you buy them with connectors already on them for your printer. This way you can easily replace fans anytime you like.
This is a Quick Mod that can make your life a lot easier. Yes, you can add a second fan and that way it can be adjusted but even then if you have bullet connectors on it, you can make repairs easier in the future. You can apply this to other electronics as well. anything you want to make easily replaceable can be set up this way. If you like these sorts of mod guides let me know and anytime I fiddle with my printers I’ll document it.
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I did something similar when I was having an un-diagnosed problem with a cartridge heater so I put in a toggle switch with bullet and spade connectors that way I could turn the fan off if needed. I don’t have it now as I fixed the problem and other changes necessitated removing it altogether.