3D Upfitters CR-10 Max Enclosure Kit User manual

CR-10 Max Enclosure Kit
Installation Manual 1.4
September, 2021
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You Really Do Want to Read the Directions
Hey, we get it. You just got your new enclosure kit and want to start using it as fast as possible.
How hard can assembling a few plastic panels possibly be? It’s not really that hard, assuming
you’re following the directions, but try to use brute force and you’ll end up working your way
through your vocabulary of swear words. While the acrylic pieces in the kit are strong and
difficult to harm accidentally, they are still plastic and will break if bent far enough. The ghosts
of the broken panels that have gone before you have become much stronger than you could
ever imagine, and are whispering into your ear, “please be careful”. #
Before you Start
Is This Manual for Your Kit?
This installation manual covers the R1 enclosure design for the Creality CR-10 Max enclosure.
If you have a different version of the enclosure please read previous versions of the manual
available on the website. #
Is your Printer Customized?
%
If your printer is stock then no customization is needed. If you have customized the printer,
you should examine any modifications to make sure they don't block the panels. If part of one
of the panels is blocked, you can use a laser or drill to customize one or more panels. This
should be done before removing the plastic or paper covers on the acrylic panels.
Cutting acrylic requires great care as the plastic is prone to crack if mishandled.
Preparing the Printer!
Remove any filament from the hot end (will require heating the hot end) and remove the
filament spool from the spool holder.#
Turn the printer offand unplug the power cable from the printer’s power supply. #
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Don’t Panic If You See This!!
If you can’t see through the plastic, please
don’t panic! What you’re seeing is just the
plastic or paper protective covering. You,
dear customer, are way too smart to think
the plastic is flawed and then call and email
us over and over again. #
When plastic sheets are manufactured they
are covered by either a paper (brown
colored) or plastic (white) covering to protect
against scratches. Follow the directions
below to remove the cover and discover the
beautiful plastic underneath. #
To remove the covering from an acrylic
panel, lay the panel flat on a table. Then peel
up a corner of the covering and CAREFULLY
and SLOWLY pull horizontally to the sheet to
reduce the lateral forces that would bend the
acrylic. This video shows just what to do. &
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https://www.3dupfitters.com/blogs/news/acrylic

WARNING
Once you’ve assembled the enclosure and its on your printer…#
DO NOT MOVE THE ENCLOSURE
while the printer is INSIDE#
If you want to move the printer and enclosure you’ll need to detach the vents and cables and remove the
enclosure first. #
Among the other things you should worry about:#
•Don’t let children climb on top of the enclosure.#
•Don’t use windex or chemical cleaners. Just plain water works better with a micro fiber cloth.#
•Don’t use a lighter on the enclosure to see if it will melt.#
•Don’t use sandpaper on the acrylic#
•Don’t see how far you can bend the acrylic panels before they break.#
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Everything You Wanted to Know About Screwing But
Were Afraid to Ask
Probably the most confusing thing about assembling this enclosure will be which fastener or
screw to use. Luckily it's pretty easy to figure out once you know the system. While the exact
screw to use will be detailed in each section of the manual, you probably won't need to refer to
it once you know the secrets.#
The most common screw is the 12mm hex cap head screws. The 12mm screws are long
enough to attach things to the acrylic front, top, sides and back. Each section will describe
exactly which screw to use, to read carefully and use the specified screw for the best results. #
The actual length of the "long" screws to attach the fan and or filter will vary depending on the
depth of the particular shipment of fans we happen to get that month. They won't be hard to
spot since they'll be the longest thing in the bags.#
Note that you’ll need a 3mm hex wrench for most of the screws. We don’t include one in the
kit since they invariably end up in a drawer or landfill. Anyone with a 3D printer should invest in
a nice metric hex wrench set, since there will be many adjustments to be made along the way.#
Finally, and we can’t stress this enough:#
D O N ’T O V E R T I G H T E N T H E S C R E W S!
Leave the screws a little loose until the end adjustment phase. During that process you’ll
be hand-tightening until the screws are snug, but you can easily use so much force the
plastic pieces or the acrylic crack. Please don’t be that guy. "
Screw
Tool Needed
Usage
Relative Size
30-50mm
Hex Cap
Head
3mm Hex Wrench
Attach fan/filter, attach large
front latch mounts
12mm Hex
Cap Head
3mm Hex Wrench
Connectors, hinges
16mm Hex
Cap Head
3mm Hex Wrench
Knobs, small latch mounts on
some models
#6 3/4” Wood
Screw
Philips Head
Screwdriver
Attach magnetic latch to mount
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Identify Panels
Before you start to assemble the kit, lay out all of the panels and identify which panel
corresponds to the front, left, right, back, and top. Although the panels are labeled, it’s
easy to get them mixed up once the covering is removed, and very rarely a panel can
be mislabeled. This chart will help you keep them straight. Note the panels are shown
as they appear if you are located on their corresponding sides, i.e. the right side is
pictured as if you were standing on the right side of the enclosure, etc.#
PANEL
PICTURE
HEIGHT
WIDTH
FRONT
32”
27.44”
RIGHT
32”
40”
LEFT
32”
40”
PANEL
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BACK
32”
27.44”
TOP
40.44”
27.44”
PICTURE
HEIGHT
WIDTH
PANEL
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Assemble Panels
1. Attach The Front Door Frame Corners!
Each of the corners on the enclosure will be held together by the connectors pictured
below. There are only two versions L and R, which can be identified by the letters
stamped on the inside. The opposite connectors are identical, i.e. Bottom Right is the
same as Top Left. In all cases the surface of the connector with the cutout pattern
faces front or back.#
The front door is designed so that the latches are on the left. Attach the corner
connectors on the back side of the door frame using the provided cap head 12mm
screws. See the photos below. The top of the connector should be flush with the top
of the acrylic.#
"
Top Left
Top Right
Bottom Left
Bottom Right
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The CR-10 Max version also has smaller connectors at the
top and right side when viewed from the front.
The front should look like the picture to the right.&
2. Assemble Front Door!
Locate the magnetic latches and use the wood screws
to attach them to the latch mounts. Hand tighten and
make sure they’re secure, but do not over tighten or
they may strip. The latch can be later adjusted front-to-
back to make sure the door is flush with the door
frame. #
Each latch mount is attached via three screws. Two M4
10mm cap heads are used to attach the latch mount to
the side, while a 30mm cap head secures the latch
mount to the door frame.#
Attach the hinges to the door and door frame using M4
12mm screws and nuts. There will be some play in the
hole size so that you can adjust the door to swing
freely.#
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#
Attach the door knob by first inserting the square M4 nut
into the slot. Use a 16mm cap head screw to attach the
door.#
#
Now that the latches are mounted it is time to connect the
strike plates. Each plate comes with a squishy adhesive
covering the same size of the plate. Carefully attach the
adhesive side to the acrylic at the location of each latch.
Then, adjust the width of the metal strike plate so that
it is held on by the pressure of the two sides of the
plate. The adhesive covering will keep the metal strike
plate from scratching the acrylic. #
3. Attach Left Side
%
Before attaching the left side you
need to place the left-side air intake
vent under your printer. It should
line up with the slits on the left-side
of the electronics case.#
Lift up the printer and slide the vent
loosely into place. It will rest on the
table, and from there it curves upward to meet the slit position exactly. #
This vent will be the main port to bring in cool air during a print.#
The one tricky bit is the vent will attach on the outside of the panel, so you’ll want
to slip the panel over the vent. #
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#
Attach the left side to the front forming an L-shape that
will stand up on its own, then attach one L and one R
connector at the back. Remember to slip the panel
over the vent, and attach the vent with the lip on the
outside of the panel.#
#
The CR-10 Max design adds a side door for easy
access to the extruder. The latch mounts are smaller
than the front, although the magnetic latch attaches
in the same way with wood screws. The parts for
the side door will be in a separate packet.#
#
Attach the door hinges, latch mounts,
strike plates, and the knob, and the
assembly will look like the illustration to
the right. Don’t forget the mid-panel
connectors at the back left and top.#
As with the front door, adjust how the
door hangs by loosening the hinge
screws, using the strike plates to hold
the door to the latches, and then
tightening the hinge screws.#
The doors do not meet in the middle!
This is because this is where the filament
will feed into the extruder.#
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4. Assemble Back
The back of the enclosure when viewed
from the back is shown to the right. The
four corner connectors are mirror images
of the front. The large hole is either for an
air filter (purchased separately) or can be
covered up 3D printing a cover using M4
10mm screws. (There’s a link to the cover
on the product page.) #
On the top and on each side are “mid
panel corner connectors”, which are
basically simple L-shapes. #
If assembling the Charcoal Air Filter, confirm the
direction of the fan’s air filter by plugging it into a USB
power supply before attaching to the filter and back of
the enclosure using M4 cap head 30mm or 40mm
screws depending on the depth of the particular fan.#
#
The air filter should look like this after being attached.
Note that its easier to insert the screws from the
inside, and put the nuts next to the filter housing.#
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5. Attach Right Side
The right side has a grommet and slide-in grommet
holder so you can remove the enclosure without
having to take offthe power cord. #
The right side is tricky to attach because of the large size of the enclosure. Although
attaching it consists of simply screwing it to existing connectors, unless you have
exceedingly long arms you will need a buddy to help hold the nuts in place. Customers
have done everything from having a child climb into the enclosure to placing the entire
enclosure on the side of a table to access the nuts. #
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6. Attach Top
Before attaching the top locate the top support beam:#
This will be placed in the slits at the top of the and right panels.#
Once the beam is in place, use access through the doors to attach the top of the
enclosure using M4 12mm screws. #
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#
7. Sealing Gaps
Once the enclosure is completely put together, it is time to make sure that each of the
panels is held tightly to each adjoining panel. The connectors are designed with a
small amount of play that allows you to make small adjustments for the perfect fit. #
1. Loosen screws on the panel to move.#
2. Push that panel into place. You may need a friend to hold it tightly in the right spot.#
3. Re-tighten the screws to hold the panel. Only tighten enough to hold the pieces
snuggly. DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN! These parts are sturdy, but they’re still all made
out of plastic..#
Repeat the product, going around the enclosure looking to make sure all of the panels
are flush to each other.#
8. Spool Holder
Filament is fed into the enclosure
from the included top/side
mounted spool holder. You are of
course, welcome and encouraged
to DIY your own solutions if this
doesn’t fit your needs. Creating
new spool holder designs seems
to be a favorite pastime of 3D
printer owners.#
First assemble the cross piece
using the included M4 14mm
screws and M4 nuts.#
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Next attach the L-shaped
connectors you will be familiar with
in the middle of the panels. #
Although the end caps should fit
snugly, you should glue them on
with superglue just to be safe.
Place the spool holder on the
top left of the enclosure. It
should be obvious from the
hole placement where to
attach it.&
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The filament feeds into the extruder through the gaps in the side doors. Position the
enclosure from front to back so that the slit lines up with the extruder’s filament input
hole.#
"
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9. Attach Air Vents and Filter
The CR-10 Max has an 80mm filter hole and will match the standard charcoal air filter
from 3D UP Fitters or any 80mm vent to hose adapter.#
The instructions to attach the air filter are on the air filter product page. If you wish to
print your own hose adapter you will find that on our Thingiverse page. You have two
options: 80mm to 3 inches and 80mm to 4 inches. The larger hoses are easier to find
but can be cumbersome. The 3 inch size is plenty big for adequate airflow.#
10. Managing Enclosure Temperatures
WARNING: Printing PLA without the fan turned on may cause clogging #
There's not much to a 3D printer enclosure. Although ours look fancy, functionally
they're not much different than putting a cardboard box over the printers since both
designs are passively heated by the beds. How complicated can they be? This
section will explain a little about how they work, and how to manage the temperatures
to get quality prints while protecting your lungs.#
We generally get two types of customers:#
1. Those interested mostly in air quality.#
2. Those interested mostly in print quality.#
Think Airflow, Not Fishtank
The problem is those two goals use two different techniques in terms of airflow. For
the best air quality, we use the same design as industrial equipment, which uses
airflow to manage air quality. Because of physics, the amount of air moving into the
enclosure has to be equal to the air moving out of the enclosure. When the air moves
out of the enclosure carrying volatile organic compounds it can then be vented to the
outside or run through an air filter. #
People often ask us if the enclosures are airtight and have a bottom. If your main
concern is air quality then being airtight doesn't buy you anything since the particles
will just float out when you open the door. It's only by maintaining a negative air
pressure that the particles are reliably kept away from human operators, which means
having openings for air to both enter and exit the enclosure.#
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If the maximum internal temperature is the goal, then being airtight also doesn't help
since the main cause of heat loss is through conduction through the sides of the
enclosure, not through small amounts of air loss. A bottom doesn't help either since
while heat doesn't rise, hot air does, and thus almost all of the heat of an enclosure is
at the top. A bottom is helpful, however, if your table is too small for the enclosure.#
Since airflow is key, all of our enclosures come with fans chosen for CFM ratings to
match the cubic size of the enclosures. This ensures that for cool-loving filament types
like PLA there's enough airflow to keep the temperatures in the safe zone. #
Room Temperature
Passively heated enclosures are completely dependent on the room temperature as a
starting point. If you're trying to print ABS in an unheated garage in the winter the
temperature inside the enclosure is never going to get hot enough. The reason is the
bed heater has only enough energy to increase temps from the baseline. If that
baseline is 22C, then you've got a good chance of getting into the sweet spot. If the
baseline is 13C, then you'll be lucky to warm the interior of the enclosure hot enough to
print materials such as ABS. #
ABS and Nylon
You want the internal temperatures higher for filaments like ABS, which happens
naturally because the recommended bed temperatures are much higher. With the fans
turned on we shoot for internal temps between 35C and 40C for 3D printers that use
E3D hot ends because E3D recommends that temp range to avoid clogging. Keeping
the temperatures in that range it puts the least stress on the equipment and follows the
manufacturer's guidelines.#
This works great for people either interested mostly in air quality or those who are risk-
averse and don't want to take a chance of clogging their hot ends or decreasing the
useful life of their printers.#
More experienced 3D printer owners though, those for whom a clogged nozzle is a
known risk, might want to run the temperatures higher for less chance warping of ABS
parts or to print nylon. In those cases, you can turn offthe fans or even print one of
the vent covers and just not vent at all. For our internal print farm, we do the later on a
couple of machines where the temperature when printing ABS gets as high as 46C.
They've been running like that for years with no filament clogging. Even with no
venting of the power supplies, we've never had a power supply fail either. Obviously,
your mileage may vary, as it depends on a lot of variables such as filament quality and
the quality of the power supply in that particular printer.#
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