From 55 to 42 dB: Fan upgrade for the 3D printer
1.4.2020
Translation: machine translated
I love my CR-10S Pro. The print quality is brilliant right out of the box. However, it is loud, damn loud. You can find out how I fixed that and other fixes for the CR-10S Pro here.
The sound level meter at my desk shows over 55 dB. Far too loud to concentrate on gaming or working. Unfortunately, I don't have any other space in my apartment for the Creality CR-10S Pro 3D printer.
A solution is needed. And not just for me: my wife uses our office for working from home and sewing. Three Noctua fans are intended to provide initial relief.
How to make it almost whisper-quiet
I found a first approach to a solution from YouTuber Nexi Tech. He upgrades his CR-10S Pro with three new fans: one each for the mainboard, power supply, and case. The problem: out of five fans on the CR-10S Pro, four have a voltage of 24 volts.
However, the Noctua fans that Nexi Tech and I need all have a voltage of 12 volts. This is not a problem for the power supply fan: it also has 12 volts. For the mainboard and case fans, Nexi Tech suggests connecting them in series. This way, no voltage converter or soldering is necessary. I like simple fixes and am doing it just like Nexi Tech.
In the video, Nexi Tech also notes that the solid-state relay gets very hot and moves it. This is not a problem with my model: Creality has recognized this and attached a heat sink to the solid-state relay to dissipate the heat.
When I assemble the CR-10S Pro and do a test print, I now measure around 48 dB. An improvement, but still not enough for me. I decide to also replace the hotend and filament fans.
Here I have the same problem as with the mainboard and case fans: the two fans to be replaced have a voltage of 24 volts, while my Noctuas only have 12. In addition, the filament cooler is a radial fan and not an axial fan. While axial fans blow air in and out parallel to the impeller's axis of rotation, radial fans draw air in parallel to the drive axis, deflect it by 90°, and blow it out radially.
I cannot connect the fans in series because I want to control them separately. For PLA, I leave the filament cooler off for the first print layer and then slowly ramp it up to 100 percent, layer by layer. The hotend fan always runs at 100 percent. This time I cannot avoid installing a voltage converter.
For the hotend fan, this is quickly done: I reduce the output voltage to 12 volts using the voltage converter and a multimeter. For the filament cooler, I first have to print a mount for the Noctua fan, as I cannot operate the axial Noctua fan on the mount of the radial stock fan. I find what I need on Thingiverse without having to fire up the CAD software myself.
I attach the voltage converters to the cable cover with double-sided tape. Now I only measure around 42 dB. I like it this way; now I can focus on the essentials again while printing – writing texts and shooting zombies. Such a fan upgrade is quickly done and is not only possible on the CR-10S Pro.
Further fixes
Since I have been using the CR-10S Pro, something else has been bothering me: I have to re-level the X-axis again and again. If I push the extruder from left to right along the X-axis, it is usually slightly lower on the left than on the right. This is because the entire weight of the electronics rests on the right Z-axis – on the CR-10S Pro, the X-axis is attached to the Z-axis on the left and right. This presses down so hard that it slips down a bit over time after leveling – this is fatal for precise prints.
I therefore took another tip from Nexi Tech and installed anti-backlash nuts on the X-axis mount. Now it sits rock solid.
Furthermore, I replaced the hotend with the All Metal Hotend from Micro-Swiss. The original hotend from Creality is only compatible with the manufacturer's nozzles. I want to try out as many nozzles as possible, and the hotend makes that possible for me.
I replaced the original build plate with a flexible, magnetic build plate. At the beginning, I could hardly remove the prints. Thanks to the magnetic build plate, I simply take it off after printing, flex it a little, and my prints come right off.
Then I printed a filament guide because the filament was scraping a bit at the feeder. This problem no longer occurs.
Last but not least, I recently updated to the Tiny-Machines firmware. In contrast to the original Creality firmware, it offers more setting options. I am currently still in the process of familiarizing myself with it.
It is very likely that I will also replace the auto-leveling sensor soon. So far, I haven't had any problems with it. I have read on Reddit that many users are not satisfied with it at all. Perhaps it will be a BL Touch, as recommended by digitec user Anonymous in my hands-on review of the CR-10S Pro.
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
Gaming
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Computing
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Background information
Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.
Show allThese articles might also interest you
Show all
These articles might also interest you
17 comments
later