A Study on the Influence of Metal Sheet Enclosure on Temperature Uniformity in FDM Printing Environments

Abstract:

For fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing, maintaining consistent local ambient temperature is critical to prevent warping, poor layer adhesion, and dimensional errors. This study investigated the efficacy of a metal sheet enclosure in preserving thermal uniformity during FDM printing, addressing the limited information on metal enclosures' performance. Experiments were conducted using ABS filament on a Creality Ender 3 Pro, comparing an open-frame setup with a custom 500x600x620mm metal sheet enclosure. Results show the metal enclosure significantly enhanced thermal stability. The open-frame setup exhibited unstable temperatures, fluctuating from a peak of 58.0°C to 36°C, averaging 49.5°C. Conversely, the metal enclosure maintained a stable plateau between 65-67°C for most of the print, reaching a peak of 72.0°C and averaging 63.0°C. Qualitatively, open-frame prints displayed surface cracking and suboptimal layer adhesion, while enclosed prints showed markedly improved surface finish with no visible cracks and smoother layers. The metal enclosure acts as a thermal buffer, mitigating environmental changes and convective heat loss, thus improving print quality and reliability by ensuring thermal consistency in FDM 3D printing.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 1027)
• Pages: 35-42
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-zNjQe4
• Online since: October 2025
• Authors: Muhammad Hasif Hanif, Mohd Haidiezul Jamal b. Ab Hadi*, Mohd Shahrizal Dolah, Noorhafiza Muhammad, Mohamad Syafiq Abdul Khadir, Wan Mohd Faizal Bin Wan Abd Rahim, Muhammad Nur Misbah, Mohd Hazwan Mohd Hanid
• Keywords: 3D Printing Enclosure, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Thermal Stability, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

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