For those of us who have put an LSI 9300-16i in a case that might not have a wall of screaming case fans pushing frigid data center air over their HBA, I created a cooling fan shroud for the LSI 9300-16i and shared it on Printables.
My design is parametric-enough that adding new fan shapes shouldn’t be too difficult, but they might not work well. Fans larger than 92mm will be problematic because they’d be wider than the card.
It’s a fairly easy 3D-print, I’ve printed them in both PLA and PETG. Both materials should work fine. PLA has a lower glass transition point, but as long as the fan is spinning, I doubt that temperature should be any concern. While I have utmost confidence in PLA as the material choice, I’d recommend PETG for a different reason. PETG will bend more than PLA before it breaks–and since this shroud clips on tightly to the heatsink, it needs to bend a little bit.
It’s good to keep in mind that the height of the fan will block at least one adjacent PCI-e slot for the narrower fans (15mm).
I figured I’d post about the model I shared here because I’d get better feedback from folks who might use it than I would over on printables.com.
I’ve got to say, that is a great idea and thanks for posting it. I wish I had a 3-D printer but I barely have room for a laser printer (it is still in the box ). I can think of little projects (computer related) that I would love to try out. Someday I hope.
For those who do not have a 3-D printer, I suspect there are services to print one of these should someone desire it for a reasonable cost.
I can understand room, but price is much less of an issue than it used to be–you can get a decent printer for around $100 if you have a Micro Center nearby, and a really good one for $200-300. But they do take some space, make some noise, and take a good bit of time to print anything. And as a result of the latter, they’re kind of like Pringles; you won’t want just one.
To echo what dan already said, the barrier of entry on 3D-printers has really become non-existent in terms of cost and effort. There are some awesome and affordable 3D-printers out there that are incredibly easy to use.
In particular, the Bambu Labs A1 Mini is worth checking out, assuming you can find some space to store it.
At the risk of flaunting the self-promotion rules, I do sell something like this on eBay (and plan to sell exactly this model, too) for folks who are lacking access to a 3D-printer. But I’d also encourage you to first check out your local libraries and/or makerspaces. I hope you’ll find there’s a 3D-printer available to you for much cheaper than those custom-printing services.
I’ve built two, so I’m probably not a good gauge on that score. But I’m thinking about one of those Bambu A1s for someone else, and that’s pretty much what I’ve heard of them–they Just Work™. And while they cost a bit more than Micro Center’s Ender 3s, they still seem quite reasonable (and the cost with the AMS, particularly, is surprisingly low).
If you want something to tinker with, the Bambu printers probably aren’t the best choice. But if you just want something to use…
I like to joke that there’s two kind of hobbyists in 3D-printing:
People who use 3D-printers as part of their other hobbies.
People where the 3D-printers are at the center of their hobby.
This is definitely an oversimplification, but I think it aligns well with picking which 3D-printer you should consider buying. If you identify with the first group, then the printers from Bambu Labs are really hard to beat.
But I totally agree with you, if you’re interested in modifying the 3D-printer at all a different manufacturer/brand is probably the better choice.
I just watched several videos on 3-D printers and now I want one. The price sounds right. Now I need to make a list of things I want to create. Besides computers, I also fly RC Airplanes. I know I could use it for this hobby as well.
But I will not buy one just yet. I need to buy a new car for the wife in April. It can wait until after I drop some cash for the new car.
). I can think of little projects (computer related) that I would love to try out. Someday I hope.