Bespoke heated and insulated cabinet for a resin 3D printer.

[BillTodd]

Be careful with bulbs, they obviously run very hot, i e. Ignition temperatures.

You may be better of with a cheap ceramic heater from curling tongs or something.

[A7er]

I wonder if water washable resin is flammable? I do use IPA to clean the fep film after washing it with water, but the IPA should never get near the heat source.
Lee

[BillTodd]

My guess would be that all types of printing resins will burn , just by nature of being hydrocarbons.

My concern about ignition was more to do with your blankets and boxes,  and other paraphernalia that is kept about.

The thought of an IPA vapour explosion , however, has got me wondering about how and where I store the stuff while printing and heating.

[A7er]

I am now wondering about using foam board as the carcase of the cabinet. I think the board is only dangerous if exposed to naked flame.
My idea was for a three sided cabinet with lid, and a front panel either hinged or just held in place. Three 15 watt bulbs mounted securely to a wooden board that would sit behind the printer, out of the way. If three bulbs generated too much heat, one of them could be removed or replaced with a 5 watt bulb. All cheap and cheerful I admit, but it fits the bill. I know a timber based board like ply or chipboard isn't as thermally eficient as foam, but it might be ok.
Lee

[bent]

Nice work, and some great suggestions from others as well.  I've done similar for thermal testing at work - box made from 2x2's and some sheet foam insulation from the local hardware store, thermostat and a 60w bulb works fine, though higher temperatures get trickier.

[A7er]

In the end I stayed with ultra low-tech. I still use the cardboard box the wash and cure machine came in, I have four large thick towels draped over the top and sides, and a single 40 watt bulb made for lighting the inside of an oven that will work up to 300 degrees. The inside of the cabinet easily reaches 90f and during warm up I have the bottle of resin inside the cabinet getting warm, and the build plate suspended several inches above the bulb to get warm too. Easy peasy, and dirt cheap!

[ddmckee54]

If you ever do want to go with foam insulation, think about using the foil covered polyurethane foam.  That's what is used inside DIY active solar collectors.  It can stand up to stagnant air temperatures near 200°F.

Don

[A7er]

I will check out he price and availability of the foam. It would be a lot easier than to keep unwrapping the cardboard box!