Metal halide hood 3d printed

[gregrock68]

Hi - I am looking for someone who can 3d print me a hood for my metal halide setup. Obviously needs to be heat tolerant, although I will have reflectors around the bulb and fans mounted on one side of the hood and vents on the other side. I can draw up the design, but think of it as a trapezium shape. Ideally, I would like to have the top thicker so I can solid mount it to a bracket from the wall.

Let me know if you have capabilities to print something like this for me

Thx, Greg

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

The main issue, as you pointed out is heat.

Inherently, fdm printing uses lower temperature thresholds for creating prints.

There are some engineered plastics that have higher heat tolerances, but that means having a printer that can get to those higher temps.

It's possible to get away with ABS plastic (which most hobby grade printers are capable of reaching), but I'm not sure if ABS is capable of tolerating the heat generated by MHs.

I'd be interested to know what you had in mind (as far as design). I envision the big metal covers you see on old school MH fixtures.

 

[gregrock68]

The main issue, as you pointed out is heat.

Inherently, fdm printing uses lower temperature thresholds for creating prints.

There are some engineered plastics that have higher heat tolerances, but that means having a printer that can get to those higher temps.

It's possible to get away with ABS plastic (which most hobby grade printers are capable of reaching), but I'm not sure if ABS is capable of tolerating the heat generated by MHs.

I'd be interested to know what you had in mind (as far as design). I envision the big metal covers you see on old school MH fixtures.

I was definitely leaning towards dimensions of 24 in wide X 16 inches deep X and somewhere around 12 in tall. Probably in a trapezium shape. I feel like if I could mount fans on one side invents on the other side I can push enough air across to keep temperatures down. I could also ventilate the rear and top within holes where you might have to meet accumulation of heat. I think I'm going to test the reflectors to see how much heat they absorb on the opposite side from the bulb. Thinking if I could space the bulb and reflector assembly off of the plastic by 2 to 3"in at the top ( minimally) three to four inches on the sides I think it might work . Obviously that's why I'm putting feelers out there to learn what the capabilities are for 3D printing

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

That’s pretty large for a hobby printer. You’re probably looking at multiple pieces unless you can find someone with a ginormous printer.

Maybe acrylic?

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Most commercial printers won't accommodate 24".

But multiple pieces with a way to fasten them together isn't a deal breaker, in fact it will allow better looking part because you can brake it up with the thought of how it will print based on shape (and size).

@gregrock68 do you have CAD capabilities? I model in solidworks and mostly design with the thought of how to orient the part on the print bed to ensure little or no support material.

It sounds like you've put some thought into the heat issues and came up with some good solutions.

I'm happy to lend a hand, not sure how committed I can be for fast turn around. But to give you an idea of what I'm capable of, here are some of my projects. You may want to skip ahead on a few of them because what I start out with gets iterate quite a bit to what I finally land on.

DIY Kalk Controller

For about the last 4 months, I've been tinkering with a controller that will adjust the effluent through a kalk reactor based on input from a pH probe inside the tank. It all started as a conversation about pH being the parameter that we need to be focusing on instead of DKH. At the time I...

www.reef2reef.com

The Start of Something Good [3D Design]

I don't fancy myself a "Fragger" but due to recent events which caused me to pull all my acros and put them into a hospital tank because my tank got a case of the AEFW's. I needed a tool to help remove all my colonies off the tiles and get them back into the tank. I haven't completely finished...

humble.fish

DIY Ozone Reactor

I have 2 friends with fairly large systems that've been having great success with ozone reactors. Over the last few years they've been proclaiming how great they are for organic breakdown and water clarity. The pessimist in me goes straight to all the negative stories I've read about them and...

humble.fish

DIY CaRx 8"X24"

I've been running a Bubble Magus CaRx for the longest time and it's on it's last leg. I have always wanted to make my own reactor so instead of spending lots of money I'm going to make my own. This required a lot of thought because there are so much I wanted to change with my current reactor and...

humble.fish

I lean more on the mechanical side of things. This is the latest reefing project I've done, it's a peristaltic pump that is way over the top from any hobby grade peristaltic pump sold in the hobby.



All of these projects are my creation using CAD software and primarily 3D printing. A light shade would be a walk on the park.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics]

I was definitely leaning towards dimensions of 24 in wide X 16 inches deep X and somewhere around 12 in tall.

We couldn't produce anything of that size, but if we could I would take look at the new PolyMaker "High heat resistant" PLA material, as it seems like it would be a perfect option for something like this.

Polymaker™ HT-PLA

Polymaker HT-PLA offers a premium satin finish and high heat resistance. Choose from 14 colors—perfect for cosplay, tools, models, and more.

us.polymaker.com

What is the shape of the hood you would need? Square/rectangle or round?

Maybe @Moe K could help

 

[gregrock68]

We couldn't produce anything of that size, but if we could I would take look at the new PolyMaker "High heat resistant" PLA material, as it seems like it would be a perfect option for something like this.

Polymaker™ HT-PLA

Polymaker HT-PLA offers a premium satin finish and high heat resistance. Choose from 14 colors—perfect for cosplay, tools, models, and more.

us.polymaker.com

What is the shape of the hood you would need? Square/rectangle or round?

Maybe @Moe K could help

Thx for information! Rectangle footprint at the base, tapered toward the top on all sides. The side profile would be a trapezium. Now just need someone who could print this

 

[Moe K]

Not sure how I can help here. This seems like something you can just find the reflectors already made for fairly low cost and then just build a canopy around the reflectors.

Not really an application to be 3d printed at all as others have said the heat will be a factor. Acrylic would be better but then the costs to get something custom fabricated to your exact specifications can start racking up.

 

[Reefing102]

I’m wondering if bending aluminum may be a better application in this case? Something like this bent to the size and shape you need?

Falken Design 24 in. x 60 in. x 1/8 in. Thick Aluminum Composite ACM Black Sheet Falken Design ACM-BK-1-8/2460 - The Home Depot

Falken Design Aluminium Composite panels feature two thin sheets of Aluminium enclosing a Polyethylene core. They are lightweight but strong and the extremely flat surface is great for printing high quality

www.homedepot.com

 

[commod0re]

ABS, ASA, or polycarbonate are your best bets for heat resistance without using something unreasonably expensive. Heat deflection temperatures:
ABS and ASA can withstand 80-85C. Polycarbonate is typically closer to 140C

Adding reflectors may help too

You’ll be hard pressed to print something in one piece that’s 24” long. My largest printers can almost do 16” so you’ll need either someone with a really big printer, or, a multipart design

 

[gregrock68]

Not sure how I can help here. This seems like something you can just find the reflectors already made for fairly low cost and then just build a canopy around the reflectors.

Not really an application to be 3d printed at all as others have said the heat will be a factor. Acrylic would be better but then the costs to get something custom fabricated to your exact specifications can start racking up.

I already have the reflectors in hand, just looking for someone to print out a housing for me using the high heat material.

 

[commod0re]

If you have models for a housing already I could print for you but I don’t have time to do the CAD for you also. Bearing in mind, again, that 24 inches is far too big for a single part for 99% of printers

 

[gregrock68]

If you have models for a housing already I could print for you but I don’t have time to do the CAD for you also. Bearing in mind, again, that 24 inches is far too big for a single part for 99% of printers

So is your printer large enough for that size? I can get the cad done if so