Elegoo Centauri Carbon2, closable vent:

First off: The CC2 is almost perfect for my needs, and I’m very satisfied with it.

What I noticed is that when printing PLA, it does get a bit warm under the plastic cover where the filament tubes run through the top of the printer. The CC2 reported several times that no filament (PLA) could be fed (I suspect the temperature inside is a bit too high for PLA). After I opened the door, the error messages disappeared. I didn’t want to always have to open the door a crack and lift the hood a bit when printing PLA to lower the temperature, so I cut an 88mm x 88mm opening on each side and at the top of the plastic cover and installed the two ventilation grilles.

I started the initial cuts with the multi-tool (to create the slots for the saw blade) and carefully finished them with a hacksaw. The ventilation grilles are each secured directly to the plastic hood with 4 3x6mm screws (pre-drill with a 2.5mm bit). I secured the round firing mechanism inside using the same screws. The extra button with the small extension serves to cover the exposed mechanism of the inner button; I carefully attached it with a bit of adhesive (be careful not to stick it to the cover frame).

During the first measurements (22°C room temperature) with the vent closed (PETG print, bed 80°C), the temperature was approximately 35°C in the build chamber and approximately 39°C in the hood; with the vent open, it was 35°C in the hood (i.e., about 4°C lower). So it does provide some cooling.

I printed the parts in PETG; the files are included for the CC2 as .3fm and .stl. Photos of the modification are also included.

Summary:

With the ventilation open, there are no more error messages when using PLA. I’ll be testing USB silent fans soon to see if better results can be achieved through active exhaust or active air intake. Initial tests with a makeshift 12V fan already resulted in more effective cooling, bringing the temperature a few degrees below the build chamber temperature…