Battery Pack for Mobile 3D Printing

Parts You Need

• M3D or Other Low Voltage 3D Printer
• 5 Volt 5 AMP Universal Battery Elimination Circuit for M3D. For other printers see Step 1.
• Battery Monitor Alarm 3 Cell(Sound) or Digital Battery Display
• T Connectors
• ZIPPY Flightmax 5000mAh 3S1P 20C Li-Poly Battery for M3D. For other printers see Step 1.
• 2x 40mm Fans 12v or 6v

• Extra power brick you can remove end from

Total cost under $50(Not Counting Printer)

3D Files to Print

Battery Internal Thingiverse

or

Battery Eternal Thingiverse

Tools You Need

Voltmeter

Wire Cutters

Soldering Tools

Heat Gun

Heat Shrink Tubing

Drill Gun or Drill Press

Li-Poly Watt Meter

If you are using an M3D Micro you can ignore this step, but it is still very informative!

Info To Collect

• Verify the output and input Voltage and Amperage of your 3D Printers current power supply.
• The location of the positive and negative leads shown on this power supply in the middle right.

What Part of My Plug is Positive?

Using the Ohms setting on your multi-meter determine which wire goes to which part of your plug and mark the appropriately.

UBEC

When selecting a Universal Battery Elimination Circuit (UBEC) it is important to match the voltage exactly but the amperage can be slightly higher or lower than the listed amperage and you should still be fine. Use the output information to select the proper UBEC. In the case of the M3D a 5 Volt 5 AMP UBEC with an input voltage of 7.2V-21V was selected for the M3D.

Battery

Once you have selected the proper UBEC for your project the next step is to select the proper battery or batteries to power it. Your battery choice must conform to the following rules

• Be within the input Voltage of your UBEC
• Have enough capacity to be useful

Using the output voltage and amperage of the UBEC we can calculate how large of a battery we would need to power the 3d printer for 1 hour

Output Watts = output Volts * output Amps

Output Watt Hours = output Watts * (Hours you want the printer to run)

A Batteries Watt Hours is equal to its amp hours times its voltage

mAH / 1000 = Amp Hours

Battery Voltage * Amp Hours = Battery Watt Hours

So an 11.1V 5000 mAH battery will power a printer hooked to a 5V 5A UBEC for about 2.22 Hours

Safety First

Instead of soldering a T Connector directly to the battery consider buying a converter cable!

Test Your Setup

Connect your Watt Meter between the battery and your UBEC being careful to verify that positive is connected to positive and negative is connected to negative. Use your volt meter to verify the output voltage of your UBEC before plugging it into your printer.

Choose Your Model

Click Here for Small Enclosure that doesn't hold the battery (Ideal for Small to Medium Printers)

Click Here for Large Enclosure

Print!

Soldering

• Solder a Switch on the between the Battery and the UBEC along the positive wire
• Solder the Fan Connectors to Input side of the of the UBEC for 12v Fans and the Output Side for 6v Fans.

Assembly

1. Remove the clips from the end of the fan connectors with a small screw driver and slide the wires through the hole closest to where each fan will mount.
2. Push the Power Connector out of the lid hole and reattach the fan connectors.
3. Push the Battery Meter into the grooved slot until the lid can easily be closed.
4. Push the Switch through the quarter inch hole and secure it with its provided hardware.
5. Connect the Battery Meter to the battery and slide the battery into the housing if possible.
6. Screw the lid on the enclosure.
7. Enjoy!