3D printer location

[chop chop]

Where do you guys keep your printers?
Anyone using a (n enclosed) 3d printer in a garage or is that a recipe for pain?
I know filament is hygroscopic and dust can be an issue....

 

[fleyh]

My 3D printer sits next to my desk, covered from dust when not in use.

If I had another printer (or if mine was too noisy and I had space in the garage), then I would definitely consider leaving the printer in the garage, provided it is fully covered from elements and crawling things when not printing and my filament is in a dry box. I'm sure it is perfectly okay to keep an uncovered printer in a garage, but your maintenance (cleaning/oiling) would probably have to be much more frequent.

You can probably get away without keeping filament in a dry box (when in the garage), if you go through filament rolls frequently (like once every couple of weeks).

Either way, if you are considering buying a 3D printer and the only place you can have it is in the garage, do not hesitate, go for it. Depending on how well your garage is insulated, you may have to waste a couple of rolls before figuring out the right balance of covering/drying, but that should not be a showstopper.

 

[chop chop]

Thanks Fleyh
I'd keep it covered so not worried about that. With a metal door the temperature does fluctuate throughout the year - hot (ish) in the summer - freezing in the winter.It is 'up north after all!!)
It's not damp per se but the cold air inevitably gets in. Maybe I'll bring it in the house for the winter??

 

[Gordon Tarling]

Much depends on what materials that you're going to print with. PLA and the like doesn't need an enclosed printer, so would probably be fine in your garage. ABS and some other materials requires an enclosed and heated printer, so probably OK in the garage during summer months, but you may well get problems keeping it warm enough during the winter.

 

[HamsterJam]

My 3D printer lives on a shelf in the workshop covered with a polythene bag to keep (most of) the dust off. I move it onto the workbench when in use.
Filament is kept dry in the house.

 

[pops92]

Luckily I have a spare room for this and as I have the Sonic pad on it I keep it in this room. I only use PETG so don't need an enclosure for it. Works great for me and filament is never damp.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

My Robox RBX01 lives in it's standard enclosure upon my desk indoors. I have it sitting on blocks of high density foam to reduce the sound by blocking the reverberations and the desk top acting as a sounding board. I only print ABS but take no precautions to keep the filament from absorbing moisture but have no issues. Brilliant printer but it's a little long in the tooth now having bought it in 2015.
Have fun
Martin

 

[pops92]

My Robox RBX01 lives in it's standard enclosure upon my desk indoors. I have it sitting on blocks of high density foam to reduce the sound by blocking the reverberations and the desk top acting as a sounding board. I only print ABS but take no precautions to keep the filament from absorbing moisture but have no issues. Brilliant printer but it's a little long in the tooth now having bought it in 2015.
Have fun
Martin

You say it's in an enclosure, is it venterlated. Was looking at using abs?

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

Yes though not so you'd notice. I don't notice any/much ABS smell when its printing. I have seen that some owners have but additional extraction onto their Roboxs and/carbon filters but I've never bothered.

 

[chop chop]

Luckily I have a spare room for this and as I have the Sonic pad on it I keep it in this room. I only use PETG so don't need an enclosure for it. Works great for me and filament is never damp.

we do have a spare room, but not sure I'd get away with that.
I think I might just monitor the temp/ humidity in the garage and take it from there. It sounds like a garage printer might be ok for a good portion of the year ...

 

[cemannion]

My Robox RBX01 lives in it's standard enclosure upon my desk indoors. I have it sitting on blocks of high density foam to reduce the sound by blocking the reverberations and the desk top acting as a sounding board. I only print ABS but take no precautions to keep the filament from absorbing moisture but have no issues. Brilliant printer but it's a little long in the tooth now having bought it in 2015.
Have fun
Martin

I have the same printer bought as a kickstarter around the same time. It was spectacular in its day, but last September I splurged on a creality K1 max and as the robox was to the rest in 2015 so the K1max is to the robox today. I use creality hyper pla which prints at 300mm/s for most bracketry
Same sort of price though

 

[Richard_C]

Could you put your bed up on a few bricks and put the printer underneath? Then long jobs could run overnight with occasional supervision. I can't see why anyone would object ....

Seriously though, I often think of getting a printer but worry about having another "thing" to accommodate. Good to hear that some find the garage acceptable.

 

[chop chop]

Could you put your bed up on a few bricks and put the printer underneath? Then long jobs could run overnight with occasional supervision. I can't see why anyone would object ....

Seriously though, I often think of getting a printer but worry about having another "thing" to accommodate. Good to hear that some find the garage acceptable.

Yes, I'm sure Mrs Chop would love that!

 

[mc281]

Where do you guys keep your printers?
Anyone using a (n enclosed) 3d printer in a garage or is that a recipe for pain?
I know filament is hygroscopic and dust can be an issue....

I keep mine in a small walk in cupboard which is insulated and the only heat is from the print bed. I have printed right through winter butI got fed up of going outside across the yard to check on progress, until I fitted a Beagle 1st gen camera/printer hub. It is an absolute game changer.

 

[Britman]

My printers are in the utility room both have built in filters so I'm not too worried about fumes or particles.
Although when printing ASA or ABS I can smell them.

 

[bp122]

I have a BambuLab P1S (the enclosed one)
It sits in the dustiest place in the house, my garage

Filaments have never been covered (PLA, PETG)