Karcher HEPA filtered air inlet for 3D printer and CNC enclosures

Do you need an affordable, filtered air inlet for your DIY 3D printer or CNC enclosure?

Want to avoid all those expensive HEPA filters?

Happen to have a Karcher MV4, MV5, MV6, or WD4, WD5, WD6 shop vac? (If not, that's ok... you just might have one of the HEPA filters laying about... they're cheap if you don't have these specific models of shop vac)

Want an easy way to mount the HEPA filter for one of the aforementioned shop vac models?(they all use the same HEPA filter, so they're not likely to disappear any time soon)

Yep, me too. That's why I made this.

I'm in the process (at the time of writing) of building a fairly serious 3D printer enclosure for my workshop. Unfortunately, it's a workshop that does both copious amounts of wood work and metal work. All this debris isn't great for 3D printing, so I created this to handle the airborne particles.

Now my fans are built into the enclosure itself... so this doesn't have any fan mounts.. the filter is already pretty chunky, so adding fans here is unlikely to be ideal.

PART DESCRIPTION:

There are two parts.

1. The vent itself, (which the filter fits into) and,
2. The slide-in retainer (which looks like a picture frame, that holds the filter in place).

HOW DO I INSTALL THE VENT ITSELF INTO MY ENCLOSURE WALL?

1. Carefully measure/mark/trace the outline of the vent back, and cut that rectangular hole using your preferred method (drill + jigsaw, drill + keyhole saw, oscillating multi-tools, CNC... whatever you have). Mine needs a hole 165mm x 110mm. It's better to cut it undersized, then use a file/rasp to "sneak up" on the right size for a tight fit. Of course, if you have a CNC or a square cutting jig for a manual router, then this is a great option.

2. Smooth the hole (cleaning out corners with a chisel/saw/rasp/file) and install the vent.

3. Using four COUNTERSUNK screws/bolts, attach the vent to your cabinet using the holes provided. Ensure that each screw head is entirely flush or below the surface of the printed vent so the sliding retainer can move without issues.

BUILDING AN ENCLOSURE? THIS MIGHT BE USEFUL:

Have a look at my serviceable, sealed way to run power through your enclosure walls.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6718915