Creality CR-10 S5 Enclosure Build (Part 2)

Creality CR-10 S5 Enclosure Build (Part 2)

by Craig Easter

Skills we'll be using:

-3D Design (Advanced)

-Carpentry (Beginner/Intermediate)

Moving along with the build, I've started putting the insulation in place:

I'm using "Reflectex" aluminum insulation - it kind of feels like bubble wrap with tinfoil on either side. I'm also using Loctite spray adhesive and a staple gun to secure it. The entire inside of the enclosure will be insulated with this material, though it is only really necessary around the bottom of the enclosure. I had to purchase a massive roll of it anyway, and it was cheap, so it's not a big deal.

The lid, which hasn't been photographed for a while, is now painted and has the window attached:

You can still see some of the OSB through the paint, but as I intend on muralizing the exterior, I'm not worried about it.

It is held in with 1/8th" wood cuts held on with wood glue, as well as outdoor silicon sealant around the edges on the interior and exterior sides. While I'm sealing it in the way you might do to waterproof or air seal an environment, this is more to prevent dust from infiltrating around the window. Not pictures is also that the entire interior of the enclosure is now covered in the Reflectex insulation.

I put liftgate struts and mounting pegs on order, but they will take two days to arrive. In the mean time, I'll simply be chucking the door open with a 2x2 beam cut to length. And being very careful not to smack it out of the way while doing so.

With all that sorted, it's finally time to attach the lid to the enclosure and clean up my mess! Once all the adhesives dry, anyway...

Part 3 coming soon.

-Craig

Creality CR-10 S5 Enclosure Build (Part 1)

Creality CR-10 S5 Enclosure Build (Part 1)

by Craig Easter

Skills we'll be using:
-3D Design (Advanced)
-Carpentry (Beginner/Intermediate)

Recently, I started building the enclosure for my Creality CR-10 S5, here-on referred to as "S5". I needed  a VERY large enclosure to fit the printer. The cabinet in the render above is 1.82m tall.

First, I needed to dissect the 3D model into pieces with accurate dimensions. This whole process took around 4 hours, just making the dimensions more realistic and ensuring everything was square.

Then I needed to determine the amount of space needed by the printer. It ended up needing about 76.2cm of Z-axis clearance, 71cm of X-axis clearance, and an insane 1.09m of Y-axis clearance to provide the space needed to move the 50cm^2 bed's full length of travel. I also wanted interior lighting, an acrylic window, and one or two shelves underneath. It was also the idea to line the entire enclosure interior with aluminum reflective material, both as a fire retardant measure and to enhance the heat trapped in the enclosure.

Beginning with the shelving frame, I spent about 4 hours cutting the wood and manufacturing this (I am not very experienced in carpentry, and this ended up rather shoddy, in my opinion, but it works).

I then needed to tackle the enclosure base frame and lid frame.

 For the entire 2x2 frame, I used wood glue to stiffen the joins. This worked incredibly well.

After adding the shelving, the frame became much more rigid, but I noticed two of the diagonally opposed corners were lifting upward. This would have to be corrected later after adding casters.

After building the frame for the lid, I noticed that the enclosure would be nearly 2.3m tall when the lid was opened, in my garage which has a 2m ceiling clearance. To get around this, I had to trim off the bottom shelf. This lowered the amount of storage the unit provides, but it prevented sacrificing the entire project.

I then began carefully cutting fitted body panels out of OSB. The two wood panels on the lid's sides were surely the most difficult. The front panel is not pictured because it had not yet been attached, and fitment was being checked. Namely, I needed to make sure the lid would slide in and out of the exterior side panels of the enclosure smoothly. There is around 3mm of "play" at the rear of the lid, and almost 1cm of "play" toward the front. While not looking the best, this means the lid will NEVER strike the sides of the enclosure, which was the whole point.

Once locking casters were added, maneuvering the unit around the shop became MUCH easier - however, as previously mentioned, I did have to shim two of the casters to prevent the cabinet from wobbling. I don't believe it's 100% level, but then again, neither is the floor of my garage.

I have begun painting the enclosure using white exterior house paint. Using this kind of paint will make it so that the paint will actually dry despite the cold, damp air present in my neighborhood at this time. It will also leave a very strong, watertight coating around the printer, in the event the enclosure ever needs to be cleaned.

Part 2 will cover installation of the insulation material and prepping the lid for attachment.

Stay tuned.

-Craig