I want to upgrade my K8400 with two E3D-V6 (24V’s one) and a heated bed. I read a lot of forum threads and other wiki’s to understand the whole process. I know I need a new PSU to power the heated bed and new printer heads. I still have a couple of question’s though, I hope you can answer them.
[ul]
[li] What is the difference between the 12V and 24V versions of the E3D-V6?
Do I need more power if I pick the 24V versions? What is the benefit of having the 24V version?[/li]
[li] How can I distribute the power between the heated bed, printer heads and the logic board of the K8400?
I know I need a Power expander, but how do I get 24V to the heated bed and 2 times 24V to the printer heads and also power the logic board with 15V? [/li][/ul]
[quote=“vblinden”]Do I need more power if I pick the 24V versions?[/quote]Yes : the higher the voltage the higher the current : I=V/R as R (the resistance) doesn’t vary if you raise V you raise I too.[quote=“vblinden”]What is the benefit of having the 24V version?[/quote]Quicker heating.
[quote=“vblinden”]I know I need a Power expander[/quote]Actually you need three (one for the bed and 2 for the heads).[quote=“vblinden”]and also power the logic board with 15V? [/quote]You need a DC-DC 24 -15V voltage converter.
So if u want to convert from 24 to 15vdc you’d need a DC/DC converter but those aren’t really power efficient. At reichelt I could only find a 18-36VDC -> 15VDC 535mA converter. That thing costs a whopping 33€ and it only can power a miserable 535mA I don’t know for sure but I don’t think that has enough power to provide for juice for all the steppers and the motherboard. I wouldn’t go for a simple unregulated transformer, most likely screwing the motherboard.
If I where you I’d just buy a beefy 500watt 15V supply. That’s far easier IMHO. I work like that for months now without any issues whatsoever. The 12V cartridges supplied by E3D and the heat-bed is wired in 12V mode without any failures so far. So it can handle the 3 extra volts just fine.
I have this one installed: MeanWell SNT RSP-500-15
Which i bought from reichelt
It’s not as cheap as a 24v psu but less hassle with electronics imho.
I totally agree with jeafke. Go for the 12V version of the E3Ds and a 15V PSU. It’s the solution I took for my printer. Only drawback of the 500W PSU : a noisy fan.
Yes I totally agree with raby the fan is redicioulisly loud… And another thing to keep in mind. The type I specifically mentioned can’t be swapped out and reuse the mounting holes. I had to drill a few new ones. Maybe there’s a 500 watt version which has the same form factor. But that was the cheapest high power one available. And I rather drill a couple of holes over spending 50€ more.
BTW raby I’ve read somewhere it’s possible to reduce allot noise by adding some vent holes in the casing. And also possibly add a 100 ohms potentiometer so you can regulate the power output a bit better… Default mode is “turbojet”
another suggestion:
keep the original power supply and buy you an additional 12 V or 15 V one.
no additional fan, cheaper (you need 150 Watt for the heatbed and something of 100W for Printheads), it is enough space there for a second supply and if something goes defekt later …