On The Table - Ender 3 Enclosure

 Part of raising the new baby that is a 3d printer is building it a crib. This will reduce cold drafts, give more consistent temperatures, improve buildplate adhesion by reducing curl, massively reduce dust build up, reduce noise. Lots of advantages but the main two are improved printing in ABS and being able to move the electronics outside the enclosure.

I'll get to some of the details in a bit but if I had to do things over again I would have gotten this or ideally this enclosure and not build my own. Then, if I had to build my own, I would have not tried to cut corners and just done the Ikea Lack enclosure that everyone else does. In the end, I am still satisfied with how it came out because, despite the setbacks, I could build it precisely how I wanted to (with a few compromises).

The damage for the materials alone was over $100 which is more than enough to get a premade enclosure or a couple of Lacks.

1x1 for frame $11
Acrylic plastic for windows $56
1/4" plywood for lid, floor and back $20
Adhesive vinyl tile for lid and floor $11
Screws, bits and bobs $15


The idea started with a 20 inch floor. The Ikea Lack enclosure is 21 5/8" and it turns out that extra inch and change is important later. I wanted a hinged top and no brace across the front to make it easy to access the printer and move it if needed. I wanted clear sides, but the prices on plexiglass were bonkers. I opted for thinner and floppy acrylic and could only afford enough for three sides. Had to use plywood for the rear but that worked out in my benefit later. I knew I wanted the floor elevated with rubber feet.

I got all that done with few problems. I ended up printing some simple L-brackets to help with assembly, some supports to keep the front in line and level and adaptors for the extra large rubber feet to fit on the 1x1. I also wanted inside brackets for the rear but it was miserable trying to print that shape in ABS so I sliced it into three interlocking pieces that were easier to print and mostly worked. I was going to spend $15 on hinges, but decided to print my own.

To that end I made a hinge maker file on Tinkercad. I made 3D shapes that were about the size of the screws and bolts I had then turned them into holes. That way I could make the hinge I want and sink the holes into the hinge. I had to make hinges for the front door and the lid. Despite not really measuring anything and eyeballing the installation, it all worked great. The lid hinges are parallel and it opens and closes like butter. The front hinges worked great but I ran the bicycle spoke for the pin through the bottom rather than the top. Not sure why I did this other than a brainfart but I could fix it if I want.

Here are where the problems start. I wanted to move the electronics, lcd display and the power supply outside the enclosure to prevent the increased heat from damaging them. This proved more difficult than I anticipated. I kind of used this as a guide, but things went off the rails immediately because of some stupid wires. Because the z axis motor sits right on top of the motherboard, the wires connecting them are super short. I bought another set of stock wires to connect the end stops and stepper motors but shipping is taking its sweet time. Impatient, I asked my local computer store to add some length onto the existing wires by splicing. After attaching them, it makes the stepper motors move really rough and that has me worries. It could just be the extra resistance from the solder and longer wires, or the local nerds could have really messed something up. $30 later they are my backup and my printer is down until the wires come in the mail.

I printed an enclosure for the motherboard and mounts for the power supply. Without extending the wires, especially those that supply power to the build plate, the external case is going to be really close to the enclosure. I doubt that I'll be able to get it as far as I want, but it needs a little space for airflow.

The main problem that I encountered was around the aforementioned wires for the build plate. I measured twice and cut once but I forgot about asymmetric parts like the little bundle of wires that pokes off the back of the build plate that supply data and power for heat. Because my surface is 20"x20" rather than the almost 22"x22" of the Lack enclosure, this little bundle of wires bumps into the back wall when printing on the front of the build plate. I could not move the machine any further forward because the build plate would bump into the front door.

Not to be undone, I bundled the wires together with zip ties and drilled a hole in the back wall. I'll print a little cover that will screw over it and keep the heat in later. Because these wires move so much, I'll likely have to design and print some sort of guide to prevent them from touching the z-axis.