So, a few weeks ago I replaced the loudest fan on my 3d printer with a Noctua model and I saw a huge improvement with the total noise output. However, I’m still not completely happy with the noise levels while printing, so this next iterative step will hopefully:
- Make the printer completely silent from downstairs
- Make the printer almost completely safe to be around if you’re a child/dog/adult who likes to stick fingers into moving fans, moving printer carriages, touch 200°C hot ends, or throw toys into those things
- Should significantly clean up the look of the disaster area known as the printer/networking corner
I did some research online to see what people have used for enclosing their 3d printers and stumbled across a really slick option using the STUVA line from Ikea.
We don’t really have any wood upstairs at all, so we decided to just go with plain white for the doors. Also, since we don’t really have all that much stuff to store in this cabinet for the 3d printer, we’ll just do 2 levels instead of 3. Originally I was planning on putting our ESXi server in the lower level to clean up all the wires and such, but we ended up changing that plan once we had everything assembled, so that’s why we bought a glass door. Because even servers deserve RGB, and the whole deserves to see it, even if it’s in a cabinet.
The IKEA Trip
It just so happens that a brand new Ikea was opening while I was thinking about doing this project so the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. A few hours later (and with a lighter wallet), we came home with the following items:
| STUVA frame | 003.299.74 | $69 |
| STUVA shelves | 001.286.97 | $6 |
| SINDVIK glass door | 902.918.58 | $25 x 2 |
| BESTA hinges | 802.612.58 | $15 x 2 |
The Build
In usual Ikea fashion, it took almost no time to assemble all of this and it looks great so far. For now, I just put our ESXi server next to it and put another machine on top just as a test.
Acoustic Results
I really didn’t know how well this enclosure was going to help the sound output from this printer, but it sure wasn’t going to make it worse. I couldn’t hear the fans downstairs anymore, but I could still hear the stepper motors whining and ticking, which was actually more distracting than just the almost white noise-level of fan noise there was before. Almost.
Before I made the below measurements, I got a test print going, shut the case, and walked downstairs to see what it was like and if I was going to have to go deeper down this rabbit hole. Would I need to put sound-dampening foam on the inside of the enclosure? Put the printer on some rubber mounts?
Luckily, it would appear none of those additional modifications will be necessary!
Note: all numbers I reference are the average reading over a 30-second time frame. I don’t care about the current reading too much or the outliers.
Before 
After
I think it’s safe to say that the printer is pretty damn quiet now, and a drop of 8.7dB is pretty significant. For reference, a refrigerator humming right along is about 40dB, so getting the printer down to 35dB is awesome. Both of those measurements were made with my phone from 1 ZTL (zip tie length) away from the printer.
I have some more 3d printer modifications in the pipeline, but I don’t think there will be anymore with the explicit purpose of quieting the thing down as I think I’ve already taken care of all the low hanging fruit. For now, I’m calling this printing enclosure a massive success and I should be done with it for now. Should be.
Out of My Element 