I did it for mine Zortrax.
It's very easy to do and it's very helpful !
Here u can see a tutorial video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYj5OTlv6Q
U can free download the project here:
Hi!
Do you notice any improvement?
what is this for???
I have been running silicone hot end covers on my M200's and M300 for the past 6 months, I couldn't find any issues with using silicone covers, I couldn't find any difference in the strength or quality of my printed parts when using the silicone covers. I did find that the dirt that normally built up on the hot end didn't build up on the silicone cover and the hot end stayed clean.
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Thanks!
I have been running silicone hot end covers on my M200's and M300 for the past 6 months, I couldn't find any issues with using silicone covers, I couldn't find any difference in the strength or quality of my printed parts when using the silicone covers. I did find that the dirt that normally built up on the hot end didn't build up on the silicone cover and the hot end stayed clean.
If you dont mind me asking, what silicone do you use for your covers?
Insulation for the hotend makes sense if one is experiencing temp stability issues while printing (sudden clog when fan pops in for example).
This can occur if the fan is running at high percentages (or auto) or when changes in fan usage occur.
The least is a known issue at the end of printing the raft, but IMHO mostly if using non Z filaments. Maybe it could be also an issue for dual fan setups.
Actually I never felt the need to use such insulation on the M200.
I cannot see why such insulation should be done by creating a mold and cast a silicone sock, except if you want sell 100reds (of thousands). To me this is somewhat overkill, but makers might just have fun to do.
A simple high temp cotton / ceramic fleece could be used, costs only a few bucks on amazon and many 3DP shops.
saves a lot of work and expenses compared to doing it yourself, but only good for single / original fan configuration.
FWIW, the thermal conductivity of silicone is roughly 4 times that of ceramic fleece, i.e., it's not nearly as good an insulator. Not sure how that translates to radiated heat in this application, though.
Silicone:
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Ceramic:
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Units converter: http://www.unitconversion.org/unit_converter/thermal-conductivity.html
If you dont mind me asking, what silicone do you use for your covers?
I now use a Waker C1200. I had tried at first a few High Temperature 2 component silicones as the Wacker C1200 was only rated to 230° C and I have a Silicone dispensing machine I use for making resin infusion moulds which uses the C1200.
After testing the C1200 in use on the hot end it does not seem to suffer from the heat.4310
Great looking covers! And thank you for the information on the silicon.
I suppose you wont be making them for your own.
So can you tell us what price you ask for the silicone cover and for shipping to europe.
BTW they look great
Well, after some print i cannot notice any advantage in print quality. But mine m200 has ever printed very well.
Only advantage is that the hotend is ever clean :)
It only makes a difference with certain kinds of prints and certain materials. Here's a test print that may show a difference: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1377893
Could be useful, thanks for sharing Julia