MicroFAN (Part 1)
We gained quite a lot of experience after printing few kilometers of ABS on our Makerbot 2x. Controlling the temperature inside the cabinet solved a lot of problems. After few attempts, we decided to modify the printer by adding a fan on top of the transparent cover. The fan is turned on when a certain temperature is read by a good’ol TMP04 digital sensor. Nothing spectacular and a simple Arduino Uno + a dedicated shield made the job for some months. Then I decided that this prototype was ugly and was lacking few nice functions such as the possibility to change the temperature setting, the hysteresis and a forced mode.
As many visitors are interested in rotary encoders, I decided to build a new device which would feature a LCD, a rotary encoder all packed together in the smallest and cutest enclosure. A few hundred clicks and a few grams of ABS later the box was sketched and printed.
As you can see, MicroFAN features a small however very convenient LCD with 2 lines of 8 characters. May be you can distinguish the vertical fins on the cover for the dissipation of heat.
Note: Before buying a LCD, check if the extra fonts match your language !
A apertures gives way to Arduino connectors and to the wires connected to the shield,
The enclosure features 4 ABS parts (Bottom, cover, front and button) and only 1 screw ! This is a really minimalist design. I am happy to share the plans that you can download >here<
