Dreamcast Fan Replacement

The 555 timer is an IC, a part you have to order. It's common and cheap.

 

Over the Holidays I purchased a Noctua fan just to see what I can do with it. The fan turn out to be 10.9mm thick (11.9mm if you include the brown rubber cushions). Either their spec is incorrect on their web page or they increased the size over the years without stating it on their literature. Anyhow, I redesign the duct from scratch.






Also designed a modified latch similar to Collingall to match.



I haven't test them since I'm somewhat locked out from my CAD program. I'm not able to make any more changes unless I am able to restore my software or re-design them from scratch again. I might have to do that someday, just not anytime soon as I'm somewhat burn-out from last re-design.

You should be able to use Noctua's screw on the top tab to secure the fan on to the duct. If the brown rubber cushions appear to be in the way, they could be peel off to give a little bit more clearance (they are held on with double-sided tapes).

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Edit: Replaced NoctuaDuctV1 with NoctuaDuctV1.1. Lower tabs extended to accommodate Noctua Fan's 10.90mm thickness.

 

im dumb lol the I see the 555 chips on eBay like 10 for 2 dollars but I don't know what resistors to use. I'm just a copy man I have that slim fan buffalow has I think its like 6mm deep but only has the power and ground I put the 10k over yellow and 5 volt when I wired it up. the console stays on but the screen goes away after the dreamcast logo ( I guess thats when the system does its check and doesn't see yellow wire )

looks great but with the latch part... the open end don't those vertical bars need to be removed theres a washer there that sits flat looks like the screw one reach and would be poping out the 3d print

 

There are two versions of that 6mm fan. A 3-wire and 2-wire version. Although I haven't tried it, I'm sure a pull-down resistor will probably work with the 3-wire version without needing a 555 timer.

Vertical bars? Do you mean those 7 small nubs? The washer doesn't cover them. The washer goes into the pocket on the second latch photo. My only concern with this part is that that cut-out isn't large enough. This is a time I wish I have one of those translucent DC housing so I could see how everything line up.

 

both end basically use the same screws and need the same clearance and Hight around them. I was looking at the STL and it looks like the vertical bars on the open end side are a little too high. I don't know tho I know nothing about 3d print ... all your work looks good by the way thank you for making it

 

I guess you are referring to the two inner walls on either side of the slot. That should be correct as I replicate the same design from the original DC latch. The washer rides over them and even when the latch is fully slid over, the overhang shouldn't interfere the duct (I hope).

 

ok thanks for clearing that up. I'm still working on the old design with the 6mm fan hopefully I won't blow it up when I make the 555 timer for it lol

 

Another option I've seen for it is using a micro controller like an Arduino to feed a square wave to it. It doesn't need anything more than the micro controller and a little bit of programming. I've seen the small USB plug in ones for less than $2 on eBay lately. http://www.ebay.com/itm/112178793161

Here is the thread on that http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/dreamcast-fan-mod-with-an-arduino.57434/

@BuffaloWing
I printed out your new duct. It does give the room needed to install the fan without cutting anything, but the Dreamcast has a sloping contour that keeps the fan from sitting flush against the part. That could be remedied by cutting a bit of the fan or possibly on your next redesign having the mount have a slight slope so that it sits at the angle flush against the part.



I also ran into the clips on the bottom being slightly short.


What cad software do you use?

 

This was done on SolidWorks 2010. I might be able fix the clips using an indirect method. I'll post an update later. The clip was designed with 10mm thickness in mind. I probably didn't have a chance to fix that when I found out the actual fan size is 10.90mm. I worked on this about a month ago and my system locked up around that time.

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Edit: Posted revision V1.1 on post# 42

 

I got some time to print v1.1 it seems to be a great fit.

 

Great to hear it fits. The brown cushion at the mounting tab seems like it wasn't compressing much. Peeling that piece off should reduce the gap between the duct and the fan chassis.

Did you try the latch? Does it clear the fan?

 

I haven't tried the latch yet when my printer gets some free time I'll give it a go. My printer might have a problem with it. My first version of the latch was styled like the original latch, I ran into issues with overhangs and layer splitting. Which is why I went more solid and built in support material for the latch part.

 

Can you guys confirm that you've been using the Noctua NF-A4X10-FLX 5V? If not, which model Noctua fan have you been using?

 

That's the one I've been using in my system.

 

This is a pretty neat development.... I don't have any access to 3D printing, but if someone can put together a drop-in replacement kit I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

Yeah same here!

 

You can use services like Shapeways.com or Sculpteo.com to print these parts. These parts were actually designed for those services in mind. Honestly, home 3D-printers aren't the best solution for these types of designs.

 

I have the stuff to make the fan adapter and offer a printing service. A few people have taken advantage of the service to have these made for their machines. If you want a whole package ready to go with a fan or without one you can PM me and I can help you out.

 

@Collingall It looks like you printed a couple copies in different orientations (your orange one was printed face-down, I assume). Which one worked out best? Did you use supports for any of them?

 

I use some generous supports, the original bracket printed best laying down. The new one is a tougher print but I solved a fair number of my issues by going to a 0.1mm layer height. Layer adheasion was strong enough to screw the fan to the bracket without seperation. I will do some experiments on an angled approach on the next one I print. I think that may compensate better for the fragility cause by thin perimeter walls. Since any stress will be applied across multiple layers. With the 0.1mm layers the part seems more than strong enough to be used inside the system where no one should be able to figit with it. I need to upload the final version of my latch. It prints much easier now.