Uggh! it broke

[-tim]

I was just about done testing my new HEPA filter for the S9 when the the 3d printed part for the inlet broke. I spent about 1/2 hour using the machine and verifying pressures and it all worked. I moved the machine for one last test before bed time and broke the part.

[Julie]

Are you asking for help or advice or just venting?

[Sludge]

I was just about done testing my new HEPA filter for the S9 when the the 3d printed part for the inlet broke. I spent about 1/2 hour using the machine and verifying pressures and it all worked. I moved the machine for one last test before bed time and broke the part.

It is unclear to me exactly what the issue is, but this Repair Guide should help:

[-tim]

I was just about done testing my new HEPA filter for the S9 when the the 3d printed part for the inlet broke. I spent about 1/2 hour using the machine and verifying pressures and it all worked. I moved the machine for one last test before bed time and broke the part.

It is unclear to me exactly what the issue is, but this Repair Guide should help:

I was going with the super glue option...but I'm not considering the gray side of the force.

[-tim]

Here are the pictures of the device. The yellow bit is the 3d printed part that broke.

[LSAT]

I was just about done testing my new HEPA filter for the S9 when the the 3d printed part for the inlet broke. I spent about 1/2 hour using the machine and verifying pressures and it all worked. I moved the machine for one last test before bed time and broke the part.

Simple Question....Why?

[chunkyfrog]

Hubby was just looking at your image here, and your yellow part appears to have delaminated between layers.
Your hot end temperature may need to come up a bit; If you don't have a heated bed, it would be a good investment,
as unheated beds allow the print to cool too rapidly, leading to delaminations.

[-tim]

I was just about done testing my new HEPA filter for the S9 when the the 3d printed part for the inlet broke. I spent about 1/2 hour using the machine and verifying pressures and it all worked. I moved the machine for one last test before bed time and broke the part.

Simple Question....Why?

I have bad allergies. This is an attempt to reduce night time allergen exposure.

[LSAT]

I was just about done testing my new HEPA filter for the S9 when the the 3d printed part for the inlet broke. I spent about 1/2 hour using the machine and verifying pressures and it all worked. I moved the machine for one last test before bed time and broke the part.

Simple Question....Why?

I have bad allergies. This is an attempt to reduce night time allergen exposure.

If you don't filter the air you breathe during the day without the CPAP, why would you need to filter that same air with the CPAP. I don't understand the "nighttime" exposure vs daytime exposure. The filter is there to protect the inside of the CPAP from contaminants...not to protect you.

[chunkyfrog]

If you had allergies, you would understand.

[craiga]

Love that flow chart...

[-tim]

Hubby was just looking at your image here, and your yellow part appears to have delaminated between layers.
Your hot end temperature may need to come up a bit; If you don't have a heated bed, it would be a good investment,
as unheated beds allow the print to cool too rapidly, leading to delaminations.

The tube was just too thin. It may have been printed at the wrong speed. It was done on a table with a heated base. I don't know the specifics of the material as it was printed on a friends low cost machine. That machine cost about $1,000 and it might have an an ORDbot or something like it. The next step will be to make it thicker and I'm going to adjust the taper. We are also looking at ways to lock it into the machine using the holes for the existing filter cover. I'll put the .stl file on a web site when I can. I have access to a number of low cost 3d printers owned by a few different people so I expect to have a new part soon.

One interesting side effect of this device is that it has changed some of the sounds the device makes.

[-tim]

I was just about done testing my new HEPA filter for the S9 when the the 3d printed part for the inlet broke. I spent about 1/2 hour using the machine and verifying pressures and it all worked. I moved the machine for one last test before bed time and broke the part.

Simple Question....Why?

I have bad allergies. This is an attempt to reduce night time allergen exposure.

If you don't filter the air you breathe during the day without the CPAP, why would you need to filter that same air with the CPAP. I don't understand the "nighttime" exposure vs daytime exposure. The filter is there to protect the inside of the CPAP from contaminants...not to protect you.

Allergen exposure is additive. If I can easily drop exposure by 1/3 by building this device, it makes sense to do it.

[chunkyfrog]

Tim: Many inexpensive printers can produce very good prints--but there is a learning curve.
Temperature is critical--cool the part too quickly and it cracks between layers before it is even finished.
Some materials are more resistant than others. Hubby had horrible luck when the shop was too cold;
or the fan was pointed wrong.

[Lazer1234]

I have a hepa filter between the machine and the mask, it has helped me to get a restful sleep. Before doing so, I was disturbed by coughing on and off during the night. Now I sleep all night. I did raise the pressure about 1.5 cmH2O to compensate for the pressure drop across the hepa.