Fixing the Loudest, Most Obnoxious 3D Printer on the Planet: the QIDI X-Plus3

[@flubba86]

Every time someone asks me about my 3D Printer: "Hey cool 3D Printer. What kind of things do you print on it?", me: "Mainly just new parts for my 3D Printer".

[@helixxharpell]

Cant tell you have many times I've heard someone say that. 😂

[@helixxharpell]

Don't feel bad! I mounted the fan mod on my Plus4 yesterday backwards too! 😂 You probably have many more useful brain cells than I have. 😂

[@dasworkshop4967]

The spokes in the case are meant to keep fingers out, but they are the source of the siren like whine. Cut those spokes out and leave it blank (wide open), or adapt a piece of screen to cover the fan.

[@g.tucker8682]

I was also thinking that might be a factor.

[@queazocotal]

Seven bladed fan and eight bladed grill also makes a difference. You get a pulse every time a blade crosses a hole. 4000 RPM is 66 revs a second, and if you had a seven bladed grill, you'd get a moderately loud noise at 66Hz. Which is largely inaudible. As the pitches differ, the actual frequency is six times this, or around 400Hz, which is slap bang in the most sensitive bit of the ears range. In principle an alternative would be to 3dp a 8 bladed replacement impeller for the 40mm fan. (but that'd be another channel :) )

[@teac117]

If you still want safety spokes, the metal fan grills they sell do much better. They're rounded edged and very slightly offset from the blades for a reason.

[@mhdm]

Removing the spokes will definitely help. Unfortunately, even 'quiet' 4010 fans will sound annoying due to their size. QIDI should really have used the slightly larger 5010 fan. +56% area, still fits, still a common size, basically just as cheap and can actually be as quiet as the power supply fan.

[@c0mputer]

Won’t do that much. The fan itself is super loud. The grill doesn’t help but eliminating it won’t reduce the noise as much as you’re alluding to.

[@ryanokeefe12]

When reinstalling self tapping screws, position the screw in place and rotate it anticlockwise until you hear the screw threads drop down into the existing threads that have been cut into the plastic. This prevents the risk of stripping the holes as you're not cutting a new thread every time you insert the screw.

[@conorstewart2214]

That makes them last longer but they still don’t last very long.

[@ryanokeefe12]

@@conorstewart2214 if you're not Overtightening the screw, it will last just as long as a threaded insert. The second time you install the screw is no different to the first and you shouldn't be tightening the screw enough to stress harden the plastic.

[@RambozoClown]

Thanks for fixing that. It was a really annoying noise I could hear in California, every time you turned it on.

[@warmfreeze]

Sorry, that noise was actually my ex..

[@alex13902]

​@@warmfreeze😂😂

[@kurtbilinski1723]

Small diameter fans are always a problem. We used some that were tiny, delivered a Lot of air, but were insanely loud at about 90 dB. It didn't matter in that application, but the point is, if at all possible, always upsize to a larger diameter unit that spins slower, yet almost always moves more air.

[@BloodyMobile]

That small fans suck in any way but literally is a well known fact. Which begs the question: why the hell they went with such a tiny one instead of a larger one... Could've even mounted an 80mm on the outside and just grill it... Basically what he did minus the throat and consequential stick-out.

[@the1maxb]

It might have been interesting hearing OE fan in free air, no longer flailing against sheet metal grill; also, as compared to the other 40mm fans.

[@lv_woodturner3899]

I love the Noctua fans. I would have resorted to cutting a larger hole with a jig saw and then filing the edges smooth by hand. There are normally many ways to achieve a result. Glad this fix worked well.

[@dougfleming8327]

After reading these comments - I went and cut out the grill. Since I've already moved the spool holder to the side exposing the fan is not an issue as the rear always against the wall. The noise level dropped considerably. Thanks for the video. Oh -- and I also ordered a Noctua 4010 fan and will just stick with the original size.

[@DavidNayer]

when you flipped the fan, you didn't flip the back fan cover, so your counter swirl strategy for blade beats didn't get tested as you thought it would. This honors the idea that there's almost always another opportunity to reassemble something. I love your channel and watching your consideration of the audience. You could probably reduce some noise with tiny shock mounts to reduce the stiff plastic into the big metal plate as an ampifier.

[@davidinman3542]

Excellent solution. QIDI must have seen this video, my new X-Plus checks at about 46db at 1 foot out of the box with the same fan. Maybe they are running it slower.

[@AXJ1971]

James, I’ve been watching your channel for several years and just wanted to say thanks for all the things you share. I’ve picked up a bunch of tips and tricks from your videos that have been very helpful in my shop. Stay well!

[@sergeb7945]

James, in case of cross section reduction like this, you definitely want to straighten the flow (look for "vaneaxial" fan / "guide vanes") This prevents the airflow to turn into a vortex on the cross-section reduction shroud that wastes a lot of energy and reduces the output flow

[@cda32]

it's a cooler not a jet engine

[@crystaldragon141]

@@cda32 or is it :D

[@conorstewart2214]

@@cda32 it doesn’t need to be a jet engine to benefit from better design. Do you know how much aerodynamics and fluid dynamics are used when designing fans?

[@adamchambers7502]

@@conorstewart2214 behold the difference between an maker who uses fusion, and an engineer who utilises a full suite of CAE!

[@Prime_Nexus]

Just a little correction, the Noctua LNAs and ULNAs drop the actual supply voltage of the fan, so be careful if its speed controlled.

[@guyfranks4354]

When dealing with self tapping screws screwing into plastic, in my experience, I make sure I put each screw in the exact same hole I removed it from. I have found that even though the screws are supposed to be exactly identical, they are all slightly different. If they are mixed up then the holes that they screw into will become wallowed out. So I take a piece of cardboard and sketch a diagram of the cover I am removing with the location of all the screws. I then stick each screw into the cardboard in that place. I love your videos and I am learning about 3D printing. Thamk you for your insight and I await the next video.

[@NINEWALKING]

I would have went with the Noctua NF-A12x25 FLX and I would cut out proper mounting hole for it. This fan is having such a nice sound profile and it delivers a lot of pressure and air volume. Considering that I have many buck converters in house I would most probably use one of those.

[@BorkToThe3rd]

You showed that the noise is caused by the interaction between the fan blades and the straight radial spokes of the built in grill making what is basically a mechanical siren. - Why not just remove the straight radial spokes? Any number of replacement grills could be made to cover the open hole and it wouldn't require going to such lengths with a mounting duct, new fan, and wiring. Plus it wouldn't be protruding as far out the back where clumsy moving could knock it off. It would be massively quieter and it wouldn't have a major energy intensity focused on one frequency.

[@Elektrotechniker]

His solution was completely over the top. I just purchased a 40mm Nuctua Fan as a replacement, and it made the fan noise completely inaudible!

[@omarql]

​@@ElektrotechnikerWhat is the part number of the fan you purchased?

[@ChrumkavySuchar]

If you have X-MAX3, STL model for the back panel already exists. You can print it and use 120 fan for it. Very useful.

[@steveh8724]

Can you post a link or cite the source we should go to? Thanks!

[@ChrumkavySuchar]

@@steveh8724I tried, KZbin deleted my comment , because community guidelines...?? Try to google model named: Xmax3 120mm fan back cover, it should find it.

[@blackcanyonmodelworx6060]

Thank you for doing this. I am on the fence about what my next printer will be and this is 1 of the top contenders. I have seen other videos complaining about that noise as well so was thinking about dropping this printer down the list. Now I know there is an easy and some what cheap fix to make it an even better printer then it already is. Thanks again.

[@ThatGuyThatThumbs]

Some of my favorite content that you create involves modifying tools. Adding features and or fixing problems in existing products are all reasons I like hobby making. Truth be told, sometimes I enjoy my shop/tool enhancement projects more than making gifts or non-shop improvement items.

[@joehimes9898]

That’s what I was thinking. Is the fan the same as most others the same size and voltage? If so, maybe the grill is acting as an amplifier/resonator. Would a simple TPU gasket work? At any rate, this makes a fun video.

[@grizzlyrideemwet1698]

The combination of using a 24v to 12v converter, plus the Noctua low noise adapter (essentially a resistor) is, as you said, straightforward. But a cheap adjustable buck converter would replace both, and allow you to modify the fan speed to pick your own flow/noise point. About to tackle this with a Noctua 80mm NF-R8 redux-1200. May add a rubber gasket or o-ring between the fan mount and panel.

[@riverracer]

Thanks to your reviews, i purchased one of these printers back end of August, and it has been working great since, not a single problem.. As far a noise level, i have the printer in another room connected to a wifi switch, control everything thru the klipper interface, so only go out and check once the print has started. Even bought the official camera. Although i can not (neither can Qidi support) figure out how to run that camera and an outside view camera plugged into the the top usb port at the same time, even tho klipper allows up to 4 cameras thru the interface software. Would like to see inside close up and a general outside from above view remotely.

[@hmartinlb]

This video is the epitome of "if you have a hammer every problem looks like a nail"

[@chublez]

Seriously. An 80mm hole would have been faster,cheaper,easier and actually cool the board underneath better while not sticking out so far. Also a plasma table is his solution to a round hole? Hole saw....😂

[@VLAD-fr9tf]

I can confirm that this is the last concern for the noise issue, actually, the rear small board fan has a sound pretty ''server rack'' level. Of course, you can make it disappear as the post suggests but the power source fans and the quick cooling fans will defeat the purpose...not to mention the 500mm/s speed with 10k mm/s acceleration motors.... Even like that the Bambu had to do the sound upgrade to be at the Qidi level...and i am still not sure it can beat the massive Qidi frame advantage... Bottom line: you cannot hear too much of the Qidi from the other room! (of course, depends on what wall is in between..) :)

[@MrRedAlexander]

The Low Noise Adapter actually is just a resistor on the 12V line. They get disturbingly hot imho which is why I never use them. I'm sure they're 'within spec' and 'safe' but I don't like stuff getting too hot to touch. You can also get 40mm Noctua fans in both a 10mm and 20mm thickness if you wanted to do a direct swap. If you want to be truly extra, they also make the NA-FC1 which generates a PWM signal from a knob that you could mount and perfectly control the fan speed of a smaller fan so it wouldn't whine.

[@Elektrotechniker]

I have the exact same Printer, and mine is not even close to this loud and annoying! I actually think that your fan was somewhat broken to be that loud, that's insane!

[@Phoeff99]

You know, I passed the video for a bit because I have little interest per se in 3D printing/printers. I don’t think the noise they make would ever bother me as I doubt I’ll ever get one myself. So this video had little appeal but then I reflected on your other videos which I have enjoyed and realized it isn’t the problem that I resonate with in those videos it’s your approach to solving them. The same can be said of your CAD tutorial type videos. I know nothing about CAD but I find your approach to building an object even digitally very interesting not the keystrokes etc but the order of operations the topological foresight and the marginal comments about edge treatments chamfers fillets etc. all this to say I think I’ll watch whatever your produce because I learn something even when it has nearly zero relevance to anything I do or understand. Keep it up!

[@stanmacdonald1073]

I've ordered an x plus 3 and I'll be interested in noise mitigation. There are 2 exasperating fan noise factors: the blades crossing the radial spokes and the fan being mounted on a large, flat panel. You stated that one of the small fans was not too bad in free space. Ill check that first. If the fan is acceptable then I'll try replacing the spokes with a screen, mounting the fan on compliant supports and adding a resonant damping member to the plate. In a previous life I built a military RF amplifier that had a tunnel of folded-fin heat sink and three 50mm, 400Hz fans that spun at 12000 RPM drawing air through it. You couldn't even talk in the same room the system was in. Fortunately it was mounted in an external avionics bay.

[@nick91900]

James, why did you choose to go with the 80mm fan instead of Noctua’s 40mm fan? The Noctua 40mm quotes 8.3m3/h (the generic 40mm is 0.134 m3/min, which converts to 8.04 m3/h) Noctuas fan also puts up 1.75 mmH2O with adapter, so almost triple the static pressure of the generic, and quotes 12.2 dB(A), less than the 80mm’s 13.8 dB(A) spec. And it excludes the need for 3D printed adapters. Also instead of hard plastic grill, you should consider a magnetic (assuming that back plate is ferrous) mesh dust screen. The increased static pressure from the Noctua fan should easily overcome the restriction from a mesh filter screen.

[@Larsema1]

In the 90:s the cpu coolers often had one ore two small noisy fans like that. I made an adapter with thin aluminum plate, bent with handtools, and two 80mm fans in series to push as much air as possible at the lowest RPM possible. I sold the silent computers to quiet offices. A few years later a lot of the big computer companies offered quiet systems, and aftermarket fanregulators for computers. But often it was enough to change to a bigger fan and put a 22 ohm resistor in series to make dem much quieter. I also often replace 24V fans with dual 12V in series, since I have a lot of computerfans in store.

[@brianatbtacprod1989]

Neat solution, I have spent a lot of money changing lots of my equipment over to Noctua fans. I have been around long enough to know people who worked in mainframe rooms, and have actual hearing loss at certain frequencies from decades of being exposed to that electronic equipment fan sound. It may not necessarily be just annoying, if you work around it long enough, and at what you may consider a not unreasonable level.

[@Brauma54]

I’m shocked that you didn’t put this on the mill and cut a bigger hole, eliminating that grid in the back cover

[@ferrumignis]

Totally agree, would have been a far nicer solution than having that big lump stuck out of the back. I suppose if it's under warranty you might prefer an adapter which can be removed.

[@diepurpledino]

I was gonna mention those fan blades looked backwards... but you found out the hard way! It happens.

[@siberx4]

I've learned to never trust _any_ models I download online. In the majority of cases I'm better off just re-creating it from scratch unless it's already perfect for my application out of the box. I also would have been tempted to just cut a larger hole rather than print an adapter; even without a laser/plasma cutter, a drill and a hacksaw would do the trick for a "functional" solution like this on the back of a printer I'm not likely to look at very often at all, but that wouldn't have made as good of a video of course :) For reinstalling plastic self-tappers like that, I always start them by running them backwards for a turn until they "click" and drop into the existing threads before driving them forward. Makes it a lot less likely you'll mangle them after a few repeated re-installations. I have also replaced some unnecessarily noisy small fans on various devices with Noctua ones and have had good results as well. They're a bit expensive, but the airflow is good and they're very quiet.

[@snowcapmods2110]

I appreciate you showing the resources you use, and how you source parts. Looking up the fan dimensions to confirm your model was a nice tidbit. Thanks.

[@alphamegaman8847]

About 10 seconds in and I'm thinking, Noctua fan!🤔 Excellent!! 👍 Now I have to watch the rest to see if that's what he did! 😁 Yep.😁 Love Noctua Fans! 🥰 Mike in San Diego! 🌞🎸🚀🖖

[@VagiPeti]

Nice video again! Love your precision James!

[@joell439]

It's like Function Print Saturday. Thanks James

[@b89john]

Well having the same aversion to noise and having had some success with Noctua fans in the past I bought an NF-A8 but I decided to cut a hole in the back plate to take the fan. No laser cutting I am afraid, just tin-snips and a couple of files. The distance between the back plate and the heat sinks on the control board is 30mm - just enough to mount the fan inside the case. Another feature of the x-plus 3 is the chaotic wire routing around the case and a degree of order is required to avoid knots of wires interfering with the fan blades. Re-bundling and minor rerouting of wires is not very difficult. On the other hand the fan can be mounted on the outside of the case if a small notch is cut in the metal work. The fan is not speed controlled so a simple buck-converter 24v to 12v needs to be fitted between the control board supply and the fan. So having thrown away any chance of ever being able to claim under the guarantee, was it worth it? The fan is a lot quieter. A lot lot quieter. However, when all the cooling kicks in once the printer starts doing the job it was bought for, the Noctua is irrelevant. This is a noisy printer.

[@michaelrobinson9643]

A small amount of thin foam absorption may be able to reduce psu fan noise depending on how it’s arranged - particularly if there is an open base where you can fit a base plate with some absorption material. The printing noise may be significantly higher than- this would be a case of removing ground level noise during non operation periods.

[@TuneYourGarage]

Nice video! i would suggest modifying the Air funnel to have sort of like stationary turbine blades that direct the air towards the intake. The air column coming out of the fan is spinnin (because the fan is :) ) so the centrifugal forces will drag it outward which is exactly what you dont want to happen in the funnel since you get a lot less air flow. Cheers!

[@robertsternlieb5532]

I'm forced to accept this enjoyable video as another professionally created and elegant solution. A job truly well done. But I really want to comment on how utterly disappointed I am that James didn't spend an inordinate amount of time and effort rewiring the fan so that there is a single power cable instead of the perfectly acceptable, although Frankenstein-ish, combination of off-the-shelf parts.

[@Zardwark]

Quick shout out to James for inspiring me to spend *far* to long learning CAD (I'm a bit squeezer) and buying a 3D printer (P1PS). It's been 6 months of pain, but now I think I could have done that adaptor in about the same time as James . Noctua AF fans, the one fan to rule them all. I discovered them about 15 years ago and have never bought another PC case fan.

[@drpainsjourney]

So sad ... Why are people always using noctua? There IS many others that do the same, but are AWAY cheaper! Tryout Sunon, those are NEAT!, also Arctic Fan are brilliant, I self use those in my water cooler from .. tada ... Arctic! Also, you could as easy as nothing, just cut of that grill, and put your own printet one on.. Else? You are one of the best around here... Like your content ALOT!

[@BrentLeVasseur]

I suggest using a silent PC case cooling fan like The Vortex by Cougar, which uses hydrodynamic bearings which are almost completely silent when running at full speed.

[@daveash9572]

Interesting solution, and fun to watch, but can I ask a question? Given that you want to run a larger fan, which being a noctua will likely be a lot quieter, is there a reason why you didn't just cut a larger hole in the sheet metal to accommodate the larger fan? Admittedly that would remove the finger guard currently afforded by the thin fingers of metal left in the existing hole, but I'm willing to bet that those are responsible for quite a lot of the noise, which might be masked by higher static pressure.

[@mikedtubey]

I use noctua fans everywhere and anywhere I can, when trying to get rid of noise. I'm especially fond of their 140mm fans. Great fan shrouds adapter plates you designed on the fly and printed. I've been using a homemade cnc in my shop since 2008, similar the the avid 4x4, ive even bought some parts for the machine from "cnc router parts", before they were called avid. Also using a C02 laser since 2014. I've never invested in 3d printer. I think its about time, so I can make cool one off adapters for things.

[@riba2233]

That resistor in the LNA actually limits the current (yeah I know). I love your channel btw, great work!

[@stephenjohnson6841]

Once again great problem solving! Thanks again James!

[@georgel5308]

Spaceballs reference love it. Great work as usual

[@saddle1940]

Thanks for the ideas. I have two of these arriving and the sound would have driven me nuts. Instead of screwing it on, did you consider printing a duct that had the same internal shape but on the outside, just straight over from the fan to the case (an 80mm box). If you did that, you could just double side tape or magnetically mount the fan to the case.

[@chemicalcorrosion]

Very nice project . You easily glossed over crimping your own connectors. Crimping those pins is an exorcize in madness!🤣🤣

[@hoggif]

That was interesting to see how this turns out. Often sharp edges (like on the cut in panel) and fast airspeed are bad for noise. More than often it is best to have as large an opening for air as possible.

[@thomapapa4006]

Qidi should follow your lead and modify all their loud 3D printer fans accordingly. Good Job!

[@mduvigneaud]

As someone who has spent some time in server rooms and data centers having quieter fans is a f-ing dream. The fans in 1U servers are so loud and obnoxious.

[@Rob_65]

One of the main problems with the original fan is that grid. It is so close to the fan that it act like a shutter, similar to the shutter configuration that was used in the old air raid siren. I have dremeled grids out of most of my 3D printers and power supplies and that decreases the noise quite a bit but I agree that putting an 80mm fan in there is a nice upgrade. It should have been there from the factory!

[@adamchambers7502]

Just want to add that i loved the video. Have you considered learning surface modelling to make tangent continuous surfaces that you can thicken to ensure you have a constant wall thickness on a flowing geometry loft feature such as what you created here? The method that you used is O.K for the end home use of course but listen, im probably on the spectrum a little and seeing that cross section of varying wall thckness then hearing about how it caused issues with your print certainly rustled my jimmies a little bit.

[@mith5168]

James, did you notify the owner of the fan CAD file that his bolt centerline dimensions were incorrect?

[@gillesmaranda5495]

I have installed an 80mm "be quiet" fan which is similar to the Noctua etc. In the end, I tested everything more than once and these axial fans do not perform well when you restrict the flow. As a result the 80mm axial fan, with the adapter, cannot push the same volume of air as the original fan. Perhaps the suggested set up works well with the Noctua fan and it pushes as much air as the original fan but if I were you I would double check it. I decided to not take any chances and I am cutting an opening to fit the 80mm with no adapter. That "be quiet" fan is very quiet and it will increase the air flow. I wish the adapter set up would have worked but in the end cooling is too important for me to chance it but I had fun modifying it.

[@grizzlyrideemwet1698]

Bought an X-plus 3 after seeing your review. Have not found the printer to be obnoxiously loud but it is far from silent. I might tackle this type of mod at some point but I have a few other projects, including a bridge crane controller, to finish first.

[@partsdave8943]

Seems like an open back, or mesh panel would work without the need for a fan. Does it need forced air ventilation?

[@zmast333]

Two comments: 1. In my experience, fans usually blow air out of the device. I don't think it makes a big difference in terms of heat transfer. But it might help to keep the dust out of the device, because air would have to get into the device through small gaps in the enclosure, which would probably block the bigger blobs of dust. 2. On a Noctua fan I installed, the LNA was a resistor in series with the power supply, lowering the fan voltage. I don't know for sure if that's the case in all models, but a quick google images search suggests that's still the case. So, I don't believe it "just provides a signal that tells [the fan] to run in a lower speed mode".

[@vim55k]

we saw there is a heatsink there, the fan blows directly on the heatsink

[@intjonmiller]

Great project and solution, but for me the best part of the video was that you identified the JST XH connectors. I've been wondering about for a while, but it hasn't been enough of a priority to research it. Any tips on figuring that sort of thing out in the future? Like is there one great guide somewhere for identifying connector types?

[@avejst]

Great design, somewhat simple solution. What a difference in sound quality 👌 😍

[@mazchen]

Ah, so much effort for a suboptimal solution.... that fan would be my pick as well, but cutting out a bigger hole - especially with the equipment you own - would have been as quick as designing and printing the adapter twice. And you still have the reduction in cross section and the original fan guard. Anyhow, as long you are happy all is good :-)

[@MrEmbedded]

I generally buy fan and thermal fan controller. I replaced fans in my oscopes and bench supplies to reduce noise. The thermal fan controllers are great, near zero noise until things get warm...

[@vim55k]

you would glue ntc on the heatsink there?

[@MrRock861261]

Loved the way you reengineered this simple problem. The fact that its not all black would drive me crazy. lol

[@tstanley01]

I've had pretty good success using a cheap all in one printer to scan stuff like that in. They are pretty accurate, and you can use the images to re-draw a dxf file.

[@sagichnicht6748]

I am bewildered by such design decisions. This is such a hulk of a machine, I refuse to believ that it would not be possible to give a cheap but silent fan enough space so that the electronic bay cooling is silent. The machine would be barely if any more expensive but I guess development would be more difficult if someone had to think about it instead of just slapping some random tiny fan onto the back of the electronic bay...

[@sambcg]

Me to, I just can't conceive why they don't take silence more seriously when designing these printers.

[@bernatix]

I have the Qidi X-Smart3 and have the same loud problem. I put the fan onto a controlled pin out and defined it so it would only run, when motors are on (Klipper definition: controller_fan).... works well when off, but still way too loud when printing. Will have to find me a large PC fan as well

[@chrissybabe8568]

The bane of my existence of over 30 years in the computer industry is manufacturers who have used too small a diameter fan for their cooling. I know that sometimes a manufacturer may be constrained by dimensions etc but every occasion that I have seen or been involved in failing fans it has always been the small diameter fans that have caused it. I think that a manufacturer doesn't care as long as it works for 1 year and looks good. If it fails at 1 year 1 day (and ALL the small fans do fail within a couple of years) that is fine by them. The hassle in finding and swapping a suitable small fan is out of all proportion to the gains by not engineering a suitable solution first time around.

[@andrewbarney5503]

Great project. How loud is the bambu lab? I need a printer for work, but it will be right next to me, so the quieter the better. I'm pretty much down to Bambu PS1 vs Prusa MK4.

[@piotrpaderewski299]

I changed all The Fans in my X max 2 for noctua one’s . Was waaaay better and acceptable. Now I ordered a X max 3 and I will do it straight this same mods ( even without a switch on the printer ) couse I know it’s a annoying loud . Just one cons : You can change those fans in the power supplies as well 😉 They ar straight on 12 V ones , not like the rest ones in the printer , so can be plugged directly to the ports .

[@davidapp3730]

Great solution to that noisy fan. I could see why the noise would get on your nerves.

[@memphetic]

Alternatively, have you considered using a bimetal temperature switch fixed to a component that the fan is designed to cool? Then the fan would just be completely off until it's needed. This is what I did with my Makergear M2 power supply.

[@vim55k]

awesome. I didn't know about that simple way to switch by temperature...

[@vim55k]

if continuing in this direction, fan could be controlled with variable speed

[@robertschnell8299]

The loudest 2D printer in my opinion is the Sovol SV06 (I own one)😞. Thanks for showing the process. I will follow it. There is a Noctua left from my PCs. 🙂

[@MrPaparoe]

I have the X_Plus-3 that is slightly newer than yours. I downloaded a dB app to check my fan noise. Background noise is 32 dB and 47 dB with the fan on. I don't know how accurate the app is. I can't hear it until I stand right behind the printer. I wonder if it is a design change, the crowded area of boxes stacked behind the printer (absorbing sound), or most likely a consequence of all the high-volume rock music from the 70s. At any rate, I got lucky with my printer, or there is a rare upside to my hearing loss. As a side note, I listened to this video on my computer and with the phone located just behind the keyboard, the reading is 73 dB on average. That says more about me than the printer fan.

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Looking good to me. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

[@mrDavo111]

There's an octoprint addon for tasmota I use to turn the printer on and off

[@JohannSwart_JWS]

Passed up a golden opportunity to use the waterjet for what its designed for? I had the exact same problem with my Ender 5 Pro. Redesigned the whole enclosure and moved it to the side of the printer, so I could run 2 x 140 mm fans for everything. Dead. Quiet. Had to iterate through a few grill patterns. Some are way better than others.

[@walkingkimchee]

can anyone enlighten me on why he printed the fan mount small side down instead of the larger flat side down? then support wouldn't be needed in that case, right?

[@thematthewlondon]

changed out my 3D printer's fans and needed some 24v-12v buck converters.. got 10 of them for $7, soldered 4 wires, turned a trim pot, boom, done.. even printed out a little case for them with a vent and a little hole for the trim pot.. i could never justify that noctua premium

[@opieshomeshop]

One *interesting* _thing_ about this; If you _run_ the fan *full on* and not limit it, *_forcing_* the air through a _smaller_ hole the velocity will increase and the *air charge* will become colder so you will get *_better cooling_* . It might even be running *a colder* charge with the fan limited. Id stick _with this_ and forget about the *laser cut* panel just because of *the colder* air charge *_benefit_* . Would also cut them spokes out and smooth out the hole.

[@fluppir]

Thanks for sharing! Great solution to a problem!

[@spyrule]

This could be a $10 mod for Qibi to implement and save everybody the hassle. Just cut the hole to 80mm, and put in a standard 80mm fan. At the very least, even if it was the same dB level, it will drop the resonant frequency down into the white noise range, which is MUCH easier to ignore, and not go insane with.

[@colincampbell3679]

The only cooling fan I've find to be the very noisy one out of them all is, the side 120 mm blower fan that does the extra cooling for PLA? The next noisy fan is the one you said the back Control board cooling fan. I will have to change it over to a less noisy fan soon! Since my X Plus 3 is down with a firmware and memory full problem at this time which I can't access the Fluid interface on my PC due to not having it there, I am working with Qidi Tech help to sort this out so I can get the printer back up and doing the amazing fast detailed prints it had done before the new V4.2.10 firmware crashed the system? All part of all 3D printers really! They all have some problems sometime.

[@chriswiese1348]

great video and project! Thanks for posting!

[@outsidescrewball]

Enjoyed…great discussion/build

[@Korvorkian1]

Just ordered the Max 3 and am looking at mods like this one. Did i miss where the files were posted for what you changed ?

[@TheWittyGeek]

I think I would've made the outside perimeter of the funnel solid so it just looks like a square box on the back of the printer. The cone shaped outside on the back looks both silly and like it's going to be knocked off on accident.

[@Runoratsu]

100% my thoughts too.

[@mauricesteer8023]

Hey James, love the Chanel and have learned so much. Just wondering what that funky usb powered screwdriver is?

[@billdberger7407]

I've given Noctua a lot of money over the years, perfect example of a love/hate relationship.

[@stancloyd]

Obviously you're a pretty sharp guy. I came to the wrong conclusion as to your background experience at The Bash. Yes, you are superior to me in most ways, but, I'll NEVER forget your reaction.

[@mhdm]

+1 to cutting the backing plate on the plasma table. Us common folk have ways to cut out large round holes (mark, drill & saw by hand). The Noctua 24v-12v buck converter is such a ripoff. Cheaper to just buy a second identical 12V fan and wire them in series.

[@danmooney7192]

I'm always amazed at the technical things you do on the channel, I was just curious as to what your day job is?

[@WillemvanLonden]

I bought a Qidi Tech X-Max 3 but I returned it because I wasn't able to get even one print out of it, because of software issues, and intermittent technical failure notifications. It also couldn't recognize the software update. I purchased a Bambu Lab P1P instead. Qidi Tech still have a long way to go.

[@XxTWMLxX]

I put my ender 3 electronics in an external 3d printed case outside my enclosure. And used a 24v server fan right off the PSU when it's on. You wanna talk about load. It's cools the 4.2.7 board and ras pi really good though.

[@MPenzlin]

sound is reflected from all hard surfaces. So put soft materials so, that you can't see the fan directly: Cover the direct sights with dampening materials. For example from the car engine hood. the air flow will go around corners, but the sound must be reflected. when using soft materials on the surfaces, this will dampen the sound. Like the inlets from a stealth fighter: no direct sight on the blades of the fan.

[@kingcustompaintball1444]

So I am trying to do this mod, and purchased the fan you linked, but it did not come with the adapter from 4 wire to 2 wire. Is it a different model? Did you purchase or build that separately?

[@jscancella]

I'm surprised you mentioned send cut send when you have a cnc plasma machine and could just do it yourself

[@philareilly]

Send Cut Send will do the threaded inserts on sheet metal parts.

[@mhdm]

@@philareilly Not needed. Self tapping screws into the plastic of the fan (very commonly done).

[@philareilly]

@@mhdm The question was not about whether the inserts are needed, but looking for reasons why he’d thinking about Send Cut Send when he has a plasma cutter. Hardware installation is a reason. Possibly.

[@YumiMatt]

excelent vid, after watching it i thought, why dont we just print a back plate for a 4mm fan ?