MakerGear M2 Ducted Fan Mount

There are a lot of alternative hot-end fan mounts for the MakerGear M2 that try to increase airflow where it counts, but most of them require a modified mounting assembly for the hot end. This one goes on just like the standard mount -- in front, and is still able to pivot out of the way for access.

As of May 12, 2015, there's now a second, more aggressive, version with a rectangular output. You can see the difference in the third image. The more aggressive version tends to cause uneven cooling on larger objects, so I don't recommend it unless you're printing things with very thin structures.

As of March 7, 2016, there's now a third version that aims the air flow just about perfectly. It's got an oval opening like the first version, but it points more directly where we want the air, and that works -- even better than the second version, which appears to suffer pressure loss from using a rectangular opening. The catch is that this 3rd version still doesn't produce perfectly even flow because the air is all coming from one side. Still, it is better than the other two versions....

Instructions

The duct looks scary thin, but is quite strong and prints easily on an M2. In PLA 25% filled, it only uses 10g. It mounts using the same screws and nuts that came with the M2. The more aggressive version works even better, but gets close enough to the hot end that I recommend using ABS. It is also a little thicker to resist heat deformation. No problems with either one. The second one delivers air more precisely where it is needed, but can result in more of a quality difference between front and back of the printed object due to uneven cooling, so I prefer the less-aggressive model. Either one is much better than the raw mounting of the fan as MakerGear does it.

Incidentally, yup, that is it being used to print a copy of itself in the seventh image. Why? Well, I printed the first one before I had the attachment and the second one (as you can see) after. The second one is a much nicer print... which was the whole point of doing this. I actually have two M2s, so neither copy of this mount will go to waste. ;-)

The last photo is of http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:690176 , printed on my MakerGear M2 after installing the ducted fan mount. This is a tiny wine glass, with a long stem that's around 2.25mm diameter -- which would have sagged and probably caused a print failure with the standard fan mount. Printed in white PLA at 0.25mm, 8% fill (there's fill in the base, stem, and lower portion of the cup), 50mm/s.

BTW, the third (latest) version is the one shown in the second photo.

Category: 3D Printer Parts