So you read the reviews (hopefully mine as well), shopped for a good price, and are now the proud owner of an Anycubic Photon printer. You’ve set it up in your house and started a print. The resin smells a bit, but it is contained. Then the fan kicks in and the smell begins to permeate the house. What do you do? We can help you vent that smelly Anycubic Photon.
Why Should I Vent My Printer?
If you read our review of the Anycubic Photon you may recall the following lines
“Photoreactive resin is not a pleasant material in its uncured state. Read the documentation, it is pretty toxic when liquid and it does have a significant odor. Some resins are worse than others but all of them have a smell. You are not going to want this printer in your bedroom or office. A garage, utility room, or shed will likely be better locations. I think the concern about odor is a little overblown. I deal with chemical smells on a daily basis at work, so maybe I’m desensitized.“
So smell is definitely an issue for some people and the location of your printer is going to change your tolerance for it as well. For my review I had the printer located in my shed/workshop, an outbuilding from my house with good ventilation. As the seasons change I won’t be able to maintain the suggested print temperature of 30C I moved my printer into the house.
The printer’s new home is a utility room in my basement with a single poorly ventilated window. This hasn’t been an issue for my Ender 3 but after just an hour running my Photon I knew changes needed to be made and I would need to vent my Anycubic Photon.
Disclaimer: Though we have used this to fix our systems, we are not responsible for any issues that might occur to your system(s) by you following this guide. Please check with the manufacturer or your service provider prior to following this or any guide to be sure you will not cause any issues with your system.
Steps To Venting The Anycubic Photon
Step 1: Do I Need An Enclosure?
You can see the small exhaust fan in the rear of the build chamber. Other than fumes leaking out through the door this is the only outlet which runs to a single vent on the rear of the housing.
The big question I had to answer was do I build an entire enclosure for the printer? After the print ended and the fans turned off the smell began to dissipate. The odor from the machine when off and the door closed was minimal so that indicated to me that an enclosure was not needed for the resin smell. The smell of the IPA from post processing my prints doesn’t bother me and dissipates quickly as well. No enclosure needed, let’s use a duct.
Step 2: Using a Duct and Inline Fan
Model view is Cura. Sliced and ready for my Ender 3.
I downloaded a helpful adapter off Thingiverse which replaced the rear vents with a 4” diameter connector. Some flexible 4” ducting and an inline fan completed my test setup. Now for the moment of truth, running another print. I tossed the duct out the window (I’ll make a proper vent later if this works) and ran another 5hr print. Previously the smell was noticeable almost instantly when the fans kicked on. This time I couldn’t tell that it was running. One hour, two hours, five hours in and I could only smell the faintest of odors. We have a solution!
Wall mounted inline fan, comes on when the printer is turned on through my smart plug. The installed 3D printed adapter.
Step 3: Cleaning Up The Installation
We are going to need some supplies
Testing complete I now wanted to clean things up a bit. The inline fan had screw holes for mounting to the wall so that was easy. For the duct I want a defined path for it. I bought some nylon zip ties and adhesive mounts. Two mounts and three zip ties worked to anchor the duct at each location. I routed the duct across the wall and around a few obstacles being careful not to damage it or block airflow.
Step 4: Insulating The Window
I don’t want my window open with a duct just flailing outside, winter is coming (and not just to Westeros) so I need a more suitable solution. High density insulation foam from the hardware store is excellent in a window frame like this so I cut it to size and used an insulated duct tape to seal the seams.
Pink foam board and duct tape are working fine for now. I plan to replace this with a proper window with a vent once it is warmer.
Once fitted I cut a hole for the duct. This will work nicely but I don’t want a big open hole for wildlife to decide to nest in. I considered a screen over it but found a spring loaded dryer vent that opens when the fan is on. Perfect! I attached up the vent and sure the fan provided enough airflow to open it.
This dryer vent is spring loaded so it only opens when the fan is on.
Once tested I mounted the setup in the window and used the same duct tape to seal around the edges. I will probably replace this in the spring with a proper piece of acrylic cut to the right size and sealed with silicone caulk but this lets me get my printers up and running now in time for making holiday gifts for friends and family.
Conclusion
You do have a smoke alarm near your FDM printer, right? My own personal maker space.
Hopefully this article helps you in dealing with installing a vent for your Anycubic Photon. For the Photon S there is a vent in the back and bottom so a different adapter would be needed. For printers without an obvious vent you probably need to build an enclosure and then vent the enclosure the same way. If you have any suggestions or questions we would love to hear them in the comments below.
