3D Printed Cool Box

[Stub Mandrel]

I'm chickening out of making a cold finger for now, instead I'm going to try making a compact cool box for my 450D.

I've 3D printed a bracket which will hold the camera, a holder for a peltier with fan and heatsink on top and a large copper plate underneath and some clips.

Next area couple of frames to make it easy to create a box from 5mm foamex, which can have a bit of extra sealing around the t-mount. The idea is to have it easily removeable and that being near airtight and compact but with plenty of circulation space around the camera will be more important than thick insulation. The core aim is simplicity and compactness.

I'm hoping for a 15 degree drop, but a 10 degree one will be useful.

[fozzybear]

Hi,

I'd be interested in making a cooler box for my 450d I have access to a 3d printer (my son has one) will be watching this post...

Regards

Andy

[Stub Mandrel]

Well my thermistor has shorted so a delay while I fix that! :-(

[fozzybear]

1 minute ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Well my thermistor has shorted so a delay while I fix that! :-(

I know the feeling

[Stub Mandrel]

Not great success at the moment, the box has come together but I don't seem to be able to get the heat out of the peltier fast enough with the small heatsink and I haven't made it very practical to fit a larger one.

An initial trail did manage to bring the temperature down about 8 degrees, but now struggling.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

OK, bodged on a HUGE heatsink and bigger fan. Feels colder, now to see what happeneth.

[Gina]

Don't buy cheap Chinese Peltier TECs - they're rubbish!!  Better to pay several times the price for ones that actually "work"   I've had a fair amount of experience with Peltier TECs.

[Stub Mandrel]

This one works well, it's out of a fridge that got binned. My flat copper plate heatsink was good and cold and condensed a few teaspoons of water, but didn't really pass the cold on to the rest of the box.

I'm adding foam seals to cover the gaps and a properly oriented fan for internal air circulation, blowing the air over the cold pate.

I'm just nervous about taking the 450D apart again to fit a cold finger.

[Stub Mandrel]

What resistance did you use for your nichrome sensor heater in your conversion?

[Gina]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

This one works well, it's out of a fridge that got binned. My flat copper plate heatsink was good and cold and condensed a few teaspoons of water, but didn't really pass the cold on to the rest of the box.

I'm adding foam seals to cover the gaps and a properly oriented fan for internal air circulation, blowing the air over the cold pate.

I'm just nervous about taking the 450D apart again to fit a cold finger.

I'll have to have a look through my "junk box" - I have a feeling I may have a 450D with cold finger fitted but by no means sure.  I know I did this with 1100Ds but forget what happened to them.  I suspect they succumbed to my trials of mono modding and died the death   Sometime I guess I ought to see what I've got

[Stub Mandrel]

Well, after two hours, only six degrees or so of cooling :-(

It seems the fomex isn't a very good insulator, about 22 degrees inside and 24 outside (with IR thermometer)

Strangely the 3D printed wall appears to be a better insulator than the foamex...

I've glued 1 1/4" thick polystyrene over most of the outside, again it seems to be improving but I have to wait for it to stabilise.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Ok, it's stabilised at about nine degrees below ambient, with the cold plate at about twenty degrees below ambient (i.e. 11 degrees colder than the camera).

I think I have to go for a cold finger conversion - this box is actually far clumsier than a fan hung off the side of the camera.