Give Your Printer Power Over Its Accessories

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Today we're installing BentoBox air filters in the Bambu Lab X1C and P1S 3D printers. The Bento Box is a multi-stage air filter and scrubber that uses a combination of a HEPA filter and activated carbon media to remove particulates and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air when printing with ABS, ASA, Nylon, PLA, and other 3D printing materials. And we're going to use smart plugs and my home automation system (SmartThings) to automatically turn on the air filters when print jobs are running.
Links for stuff in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
ZigBee Smart Plugs (Amazon*): amzn.to/3xzpq0Z
Bambu Lab X1-Carbon: bit.ly/3XzuET9
Bambu Lab X1-Carbon Combo: bit.ly/3JzYQaX
Bambu Lab P1S Printer: bit.ly/3OYgcjT
Bambu Lab Filaments: bit.ly/3pusOqd
Starrett Precision Screwdriver Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/35taFJc
reMarkable 2 Paper Tablet (Amazon*): amzn.to/3TR3BkW
VoxelPLA Pre-Printed Bento Box: voxelpla.com/products/bento-box
Raw Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
00:00 Intro
00:59 What is a bento box?
05:04 Installation in the Bambu Lab X1C
06:45 Switching the bento box with a smart plug
07:58 Detecting the printer state with energy monitoring
10:44 Configuring automation rules
14:06 Conclusion

[@jameshancock]

Home assistant has an integration for the Bambu printers. It has a trigger for when it starts and stops printing you can use to trigger other automations like those smart plugs. There’s also an integration for all moonraker/klipper etc for the same which gets you almost all other types of printers.

[@Vampier]

octoprint has various plugins as well - I like to use TP-link Kasa as it's not dependend on the cloud and works even then offline with Home assistant and or homebridge

[@TheDuerden]

I use it this too, I even have it set up so that if it is late at night and the printer has a "completed" message and no other printer is running, then give it 5 minutes to cool down and then shut off the plug - so that when I do a print and go to bed I don't leave the printer running all night. Very useful. - Should point out that I use TAPO plugs, which are a bit dumber than the ones that James has shown - but they don't need a hub.

[@jameshancock]

@@TheDuerden tasmota/esp home is your friend. No cloud spying.

[@MichaelDeeterIA]

this is the way

[@Hossimo]

Home assistant is surprisingly good. I have my octo print setup as an entity and I've made a few different projects with esp's and MQTT. I know there are a ton of pre built projects but I like the idea of a 1st party solution so it all just works with or without Internet.

[@markpoulsen6429]

"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the air filter began to take hold."

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Interesting nomenclature for your devices.

[@richardgrier4721]

I designed a filter controller that is Arduino based. It senses AC current using a conventional toroidal current sense transformer (about $2) with a burden resistor and diode and small filter capacitor; half wave rectifier. The current sensor output goes to an A/D input of the Arduino. The magnitude that read is relative to the power consumption and it is easy to detect the change from standby consumption to run consumption. The Arduino drives the 5V coil of a 120VAC relay to control the fans or other accessories. I mounted the contraption in an enclosure with 2 duplex AC power sockets. Both sockets connect to AC mains through an inline fuse and power line cord - I didn't bother with a power switch. The sense transformer line wire is routed through the toroid then to the socket where I plug in the printer. The AC line connection for the other socket is where I connect the 12V power brick for the fans for my home-built filter system. A couple of dozen lines of C++ code running on the Arduino has provided 100% uptime for the last three years. All with no WiFi or Zigbee. I spent a couple of days building the enclosures, wiring up the electronics and debugging the code (mostly tailoring the on/off level sensing and timing). I suppose the material cost was about $20 because I used power bricks from my "retired power supplies" box and had only to purchase the AC sockets, AC sense transformer and misc. for the enclosures, which I laser cut from 3mm plywood. Nary a printed part needed. Of course, I already had the Arduino and some of the other components, so that part was "almost free."

[@joell439]

😂😂

[@KingZeusCLE]

Just remember that there's no replacement for literally replacing the air in the room. Even the commercial air scrubbers don't do a whole lot in a sealed environment. Complete room air cycling is the best solution. 3D filament printing is just one thing that adds particulates or VOCs to the air. By the time you add a filament dryer or two, maybe some resin printing, do some soldering, some paint work, do a bit of sanding, some woodworking, machining some metal, add some mist or flood coolant.. you end up with more air pollution than any number of these scrubbers could ever handle. Find a way to get clean air into the room and find a way to get the dirty air out. In my basement workshop, I have a small 4" intake fan and then two 8" exhaust fans. Both are set up with screens and covers to keep the bugs, weather, etc at bay as much as possible. The intake is at the far end while my exhaust fans are set up next to my two biggest polluters. Being in North East Ohio, our winters are cold too, so I have these fans set on timers, running for about 5 minutes every 20 minutes or so. The shop is chilly, but not unbearable at 60- 65°F during the winter months. These little scrubbers might have their place, but they are no replacement for fresh air. A respirator is probably the right answer but.. yeah.. for most of us, thats not happening.

[@belatoth3763]

To reach a proper venillation in my shop I have a really bad door on it 😂

[@CGT80]

Welding and grinding can make it nasty in a garage, not to mention the SoCal weather that is more hot than it is cold. My miller 211 inverter mig welder has fan on demand but my 1965 monster miller 330abp tig needed to learn those tricks. My swamp cooler is great for cooing the garage and blowing out fumes or dust but is a problem with shielding gas. A few contactors, a relay, and a timer all taught the 1965 miller to shut off it's own big fan and the sureflo pump and fan for the tig cooler that I built, while allowing power to the swamp cooler. 30 seconds to a minute after tig welding, it gets quiet and the cool air starts moving......if the cooler is set on. when I tap the foot pedal, the cooler shuts off and the pump and fans start. When there is something like 30+ psi of coolant pressure, the main contactor of the tig welder is allowed to close to start an arc. It was all done with simple wiring and components but this video gives me even more options for similar projects. It is the exact kind of planning and convenience that I love.

[@gd.ritter]

Another option that may work for some people is a woodworking automatic vacuum plug. The intended use for them is you plug a tool into one outlet and your shop-vac (switched on) into the other outlet. When you use the tool, that power draw turns on the other outlet so the dust collection will work along side it without you needing to toggle it manually. I don't know what the threshold for power consumption is on them so it may activate even at the 7w idle consumption. But they can be had for low cost and don't have any network/hub requirement.

[@sonub5401]

I love you!!! Thank you so much. I 3D printed my Bento Box and was thinking about this and how I was going to go about it. Kept putting it off and then, today I see this video. So again, thank you. You’ve got a new subscriber.

[@TradeWorks_Construction]

Fantastic video, very helpful and versatile for just about any home automation need.

[@cooperised]

I used to have a non-"smart" washing machine and used Home Assistant and a smart plug to get its status remotely. Even when the power was really small, I found that variations in the power factor gave information - for example I could tell the difference between "standby", "idle" and "on timer".

[@BoltBurlLLC]

The AMS cable has 24v power that is switched on/off with the printer. All you need is an AMS cable that you would use to add a second AMS. I used it to add additional LED lighting to my printer.

[@JCWren]

People actually turn their printer off? Why would you do that? And this solution is one device that's off the shelf and costs the same or less than an AMS cable.

[@kyle8575]

@@JCWrenWhy would I leave my printer running? It doesn’t take long to start and is just wasting electricity. Sure, you could say it’s not much. However, if I said this about every device in my house then I’d definitely see that in the electric bill! Also probably a good idea to be environmentally conscious these days

[@Abrikosmanden]

That's very clever! I may have to look into this plugs for other things.

[@seedmoreuser]

Great idea. Nver thought of using the routines like this. Will have to look into it.

[@cabengg]

Genius, perfect solution to another issue i have in my CNC 😊

[@phoolb7326]

Seriously right before watching this I finished installing a number of smart switches in a new house somewhere up the hill from you. Did the same thing the same thing to have lights turn on/off correctly as I make my way thru the house. But Very Clever to use a smart plug here as I would have had an Arduino on my bench first thing and then after a few hours of frustration I would have gone back to the ABS fumes aren't that bad. ITTT would be a very universal app for others to possibly try as well.

[@jt6802]

If you use a heated chamber an easier and cheaper solution would be a disc thermostat to switch the 12v fan power. They are available with many temp settings.

[@tim71291]

Using HAOS and the Bambu MQTT- automations to detect state of printer (‘running’ or ‘printing’) could trigger a shelly or sonoff device to put power to the bento-fan. I use all that with WLED to light the interior; off on first layer inspection, but the advances through presets as layers increase. Also lights on/off when the door opens/closes with 5 second delay off.

[@FrankGraffagnino]

I'm excited to see you possibly get into the HomeAssistant ecosystem... free and open with a huge community of enthusiasts building things and sharing them.

[@troelshansen6212]

Interesting idea! I might look into a similar system for automatic dust vacuum turn on for my wood working tools

[@gd.ritter]

a dedicated woodworking automatic vacuum switch is like $25 and designed for this very purpose.

[@petervillano3484]

You can also buy a 12v motion activation sensor for ~$3 that will keep the filter on for x minutes after the printer stops moving

[@Sh4de2k]

That is actually a big brain solution for this problem

[@APEX.86]

Link?

[@GenericAnimeBoy]

I use pretty much exactly this technique (same plugs, just with Home Assistant) to send myself a notification when my tool battery chargers finish charging a battery. I also use the energy meter on my main panel to get notifications when my washer and dryer stop.

[@TheCreat]

Using the same basic idea (as I'm sure many other people do) for notifications for my not-smart washing machine. It'll just notify and not actually actively do anything (unfortunately, would be nice if it would move the clothes to the dryer though). The actual automation is handles by HomeAssistant, so the plug can be any type I can talk to (happens to be a generic Tasmotized WiFi plug). Simple power monitoring really solves many of these small automation problems, and in much fewer cases you actually need a fully smart appliance.

[@jackjr473]

Great video. Your very talented.

[@monkeywrench1951]

That’s pretty nifty; wonder if you can tune it to trigger only when you are printing higher temp materials only. I added a temperature controller to my bento box, it works well because you can also set it to start and stop a bit later because the chamber stays hot for a while. I couldn’t really finetune the controller for only hight temp materials.

[@makerdave42]

Absolutely brilliant solution. I guess I'm a little old school, I've done something similar over the cat box to turn a fan on. For that I simply used an off the shelf timer circuit to switch the wall voltage to a ceiling fan. The trigger was a magnetic switch that tripped when the automatic cat box started the cleaning cycle.

[@davefilicicchia6341]

Hi James. I have a Kasa smart plug to power my Ender 3 pro printer. I have it also turn on a lamp so a RasPi camera also has illumination of the print bed. The Pi runs Octoprint where I also control the smart plug. So I power up the printer in Octoprint, and then I can send a print job and watch it print in Octoprint or just check on it.

[@clv603]

I have a to-do on my project backlog to design a simple board to order from pcbway that would daisy chain to the power supply but after seeing this it will have to get demoted to lower priority. I sometimes forget about automation with routines and triggers on smart home apps given I have only used those features to automate turning on/off christmas lights lol

[@doobaloo1326]

No one is gonna talk about that tricked out mill in the background? Thing has variable speed and pneumatic draw bar. Dude definitely knows what he’s doing.

[@sq3rjick]

I mean, why would we? He's got plenty of videos on the channel about it if you're curious.

[@mrbilky]

Homeassistant - smart plug and the bambu intergration it pulls down a ton of sensors create an automation to turn on off based on one of those sensors

[@alanwood3597]

I'm using Smart Things connected via Alexa to control things around the workshop. In particular my Qidi X Smart 3 has a really noisy PSU fan when in standby mode so I just tell Alexa to turn it off. The Qidi motherboard has spare control ports so I use these to control my Bentos.

[@edwardaloftis6705]

I was looking into getting a printer so I could build a light plastic body for my built RC car. Not in my budget, so I am back to doing that buy hand.

[@tablatronix]

Seems like alot of work, what about an adjustable current sense dust collection switch

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

Nice solution! I’m doing exactly the same thing with mine, but I’m using a Hubitat hub as I don’t like cloud based automation systems.

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

Btw, for your Klipper based printers, Hubitat has a community integration that allows you to do this sort of thing without using an extra plug for power monitoring.

[@JulieanGalak]

Any concerns about the printed bento box warping from the heat of the chamber?

[@daxmakes]

You could wire those 2 fans in series if you need to power from 24v.

[@mikebroom1866]

In this day and age, I refuse to bet any smart devices that don't have local control. Been bit by cloud services way too many times and then just ended up with more e-waste.

[@greybeard3759]

"Clap on, clap off...THE CLAPPER!"

[@davidkaye821]

Hello James! I've once again noticed that you have named two of your printers "Fear" and "Loathing". Is this a nod to the Hunter S. Thompson novel? Is "Distress" related or is it some other reference? Do any of your other machines have interesting names? May I suggest Phobos and Deimos? :) LOVE your channel and I keep coming back for the Fusion 360 tutorials, best on KZbin.

[@dm-zx7xb]

Does the smart phone send the program info to the plugs or is the phone the one watching the status of the plugs and turning things on and off? Basically remove the phone from the equation after setup and the system still works?

[@rickmellor]

A very consumer oriented solution. I was expecting an mcu and an accelerometer that would detect the start of printing and switch the fan on with a fet.

[@Stubones999]

you could also tell the filter to turn off if there is no power draw (as in turned off)

[@DeveloperChris]

A miracle? or a clean organised workshop?

[@Splarkszter]

The lamp is so cute

[@johang1293]

Definitely a miracle

[@DeveloperChris]

@@johang1293 In my workshop not even the creator of the universe could find a screw that small.

[@Airtight215]

I don’t believe it. You either stole that screw from another unit, or you’re the luckiest person in the world, with the eyes of God. Edit: Someone is a Hunter S. Thompson fan, so, eyes of God it is...

[@ironhead65]

Was this the standard, or high flow unit?

[@urbanawoodproject3123]

I always end up regretting trying to use IFTT type smart setups. They always end up dying somehow and just become a hassle. I think you will eventually conclude that wiring this in directly to the printer (use a relay, build a little circuit, or whatever is needed) will make much more sense. Less wiring mess too.

[@Clough42]

There's essentially zero wiring mess. The printers are on a bench with a long plug strip under the back edge. The wires drop about six inches and plug in, with the smart plugs.

[@urbanawoodproject3123]

@@Clough42 Well, assuming you never have to move or service the machine, I guess you'll never have to deal with the wires and plugs again. I still suspect the smart setup will incur some problem down the road and you'll wish you had made a dedicated circuit. Does this setup need the cloud to operate?

[@Clough42]

@@urbanawoodproject3123 the automation is local in the hub.

[@snart]

I found the bento box fan to be excessively loud so I also added an "Adjustable Driver Switch Low Voltage DC Motor Speed Controller with Speed Control Knob" from Amazon.

[@mikeydk]

I did something like this years ago, but instead of using it to control fans, I used it to lower stand-by power usage. Now that has been expanded to my 3D printers too, so when the wattage drops below a set point, and stays below for 30 minutes, the printer will be turned off. At the same time they track how much power has been used, while also checking what the price of 1 kWh currently is, then when the printer is done, a notification will be send with how much power it used, and what the total price was of that. :)

[@Clough42]

That's an excellent idea.

[@criggie]

Aww I thought it was going to be a ring sensor on the main power feed to do the same process. As a long-term IT wallah, I do not want home automation anywhere in my home :)

[@HelenaOfDetroit]

Hunter S. Thompson would be proud

[@berniejanssen2863]

On the xplus3, will the charcoal filter in the rear suffice for the filtration.

[@Clough42]

That's a totally different type of system, since it's exhausting the air out of the machine.

[@nordishkiel5985]

Why not trigger of the chamber temp? I have put a dirt cheap adjustable temperature controller in my RV that runs a 12V fan in the electronics compartment if it gets warm.

[@Clough42]

That would work, at the expense of another sensor (and batteries)

[@osgeld]

well I mean that is a way to do it without modding the printer and that any "average Joe" could cobble together with off the shelf things so kudo's! Its not the way I would handle it ... but I design electronics for a living, and that's not really fair.

[@mzakelj]

Why you dont put one temp switch that will turn on when reach 40 degress...

[@JCWren]

Interesting, I haven't run into that issue with the AMS yet. I wonder what's going on it with it when that happens.

[@Clough42]

Don't know. It works fine, but all of the LEDs blink periodically and it will no longer recognize the RFID tags in newly inserted spools. Even unplugging the cord to the AMS and plugging it back in fixes it.

[@garethevans9789]

Carefull! You'll get to a point where physically turning on a lightswitch or socket feels weird. Now I just need to automate the blinds in my front room.

[@Clough42]

I know exactly what you mean. :)

[@PaulSteMarie]

Loathing? Do you also have a printer named "Fear"?

[@Clough42]

Yes. Also distress, despair, trepidation, disillusionment, angst, dread, and a few others.

[@GapRecordingsNamibia]

Is it not a bit useless having them (the fans) run when just the motors have moved? Personally, I would set them up only when heating, just seems a bit useless to have them run on motor movements, just my 2 cents though.....

[@Clough42]

I rarely ever move the motors if I'm not printing. The reason I set it up that way was to be sure the fans won't turn on and off as the heaters cycle.

[@A1N0]

Hi. You really need a professional fume extractor. BOFA makes many but they are around $1500, still is your health important? Yes takes a small bit of heat out. Just run the BOFA on low. To control it? They make controllers that turn on a shop vac. when your circular saw starts. They work great with this application.

[@petervillano3484]

The LED lights on my printer are motion activated closet lights

[@dinotom1]

Well, I guess cause it took lees time than the video. To each his own, I’d rather just turn on the Bento box when I need it.

[@JimsShed]

FYI if you lose a spring or circlip in the workshop, it disappears into another universe :)

[@FineApe]

Although oddly enough, it's not the same universe that 10mm sockets, 3/8" boring bars, or T7 torx bits dissappear to🤔

[@gags730]

@@FineApe The missing sock Universe

[@bruced3763]

Is a new printer coming? X plus? You mentioned it. 6.23 ........ :)

[@Clough42]

There's always a new printer coming.

[@stevenschmelling5597]

So I assume one of your other printers is called "FEAR". ;-)

[@PeregrineBF]

Shows one called fear in the smart plug app section. I'd hope there's a "Las Vegas" printer as well.

[@stevenschmelling5597]

@@PeregrineBF yep I noticed that after I posted. I think I saw the third one was labeled despair.

[@VladekR]

Would be nice to have those smart switches build into a powerboard 😢

[@Clough42]

There are various multi-switch units available. I haven't played with them very much.

[@mikepetersen2927]

I think I might've just bought a power strip for each printer & its accessories and called it done. Not as sophisticated, perhaps, but it's cheap and doesn't require an IoT provider, live Internet connection and all the associated failure points. But hey - you do you. 😁

[@jdmorgan82]

What is the story behind the printer name?

[@Clough42]

Like any good geek, I have systems of names for devices. The printers at the moment are fear, loathing, despair, angst, dread, disillusionment, trepidation, distress, and a few others.

[@bobweiram6321]

$35 is pretty cheap for the bento box, considering 3D printing doesn't scale well even for a small production batch.

[@Clough42]

Especially with the fans, power supply, and media.

[@JohnDoe-mg7ht]

Octoprint

[@NexusTrimean]

well sadly the Amazon branded plugs i have don't do energy monitoring. How lame.

[@SianaGearz]

It would be a little evil, but fundamentally you can wire two 12V fans in series and run them off 24V together. A little evil since effective impedance of them isn't strictly equal and you're relying on their integrated brushless controllers having a little extra voltage resilience headroom. But i just have a lot of extra step up/down converters at hand. I had given myself a serious styrene poisoning with ABS. I now use HIPS which prints much easier and nicer and has sort of similar properties and it may still give me poisoning but it's not nearly as bad. Plus as opposed to ASA it's also very cheap.

[@dinotom1]

For far less work, just install the Bento box, drill a hole right next to it for a rocker switch which you can wire directly to the units power with a buck converter 24V to 12V. Now you can just turn on the Bento box when you are using ABS because you don’t really need it for most other media.

[@Clough42]

I fail to understand how drilling holes and wiring a buck converter is "far less work."

[@kevinpezzi6777]

"... you don’t really need it for most other media." WRONG; dead wrong: read what scientists have reported about harm from microplastics and nanoplastics.

[@DatMammut76]

I cannot believe they sell prints that look that bad. Good lord.

[@David_Best]

That lamp is really ugly. Is your Zigby smart power switch metric or imperial?

[@paranoiia8]

4:10 Fake! We all know that you had to get new one :D

[@Clough42]

I hardly believe it myself.

[@dfraser]

you should relax instead of spending your whole weekend updating your thumbnail and video title - i know youtube pushes you to do it, but i will watch your vid when i get a chance, i promise. you don’t have to clickbait me into it!

[@kevinpezzi6777]

Considering the increasing evidence of harm from microplastics and nanoplastics, you are literally betting your life on that filter - supposedly HEPA, but filters made in China (that filter was made where?) are notorious for not performing as their specs (e.g., KN95) suggest. I wouldn’t trust any filter (data is easy to fudge) unless it came from a reputable source, such as 3M. Second, HEPA isn’t the gold standard; your lungs, brain, and other organs are better protected by ultra-low particulate air (ULPA) filters. Third, given that very few 3-D printing enthusiasts sufficiently protect themselves and other home occupants (children, spouse, parents, pets), 3-D printing is best done in a separate building.

[@dirtdart81]

We cant print here! This is bat country!

[@timturner7609]

They're plugged into the same power bar. Just use the switch on that instead of all this idiot shit.