It seems if you have access to a 3D printer and run a Noctua cooling fan you can knock 7db off the noise level. Also apparently adding a front case fan was attempted but noisy? Something for the pure performance crowd to get into
https://noctua.at/en/how-to-make-the-framework-desktop-run-even-quieter
Oh wauw, how cool to do this. Feels a bit like betrayal to replace the sidepanel XD but 5db is a huge difference.
Very cool of noctua to make this freely available. big fan.
One could say that, yes 
It’s not that big really.
Thanks for sharing this page! I’m seriously considering this, albeit I don’t have any experience with 3d printing. I’ve found a 3d printing business (Calculate the cost of 3D printing online. 3D printing calculator — Print 3D easy) that lets me upload the schematics and set multiple parameters, like the material, fill density and layer thickness and get an approximate price. Could someone please suggest some sensible values for these? For material I guess the ABS would be ideal as these are structural elements, but what values should be used for fill density and layer thickness?
I wouldnt’recommend ABS, it’s difficult to print with even in a print farm so the price will be high and the quality sub par.
PLA or PETG would be what i recommend printing something like that with, leaning towards PETG to avoid PLA’s tendency to “creep” over time.
1.2mm top and bottom layers with 1.2mm walls and 20% gyroid infill would be sensible default values for all prints with a 0.4mm nozzle (more or less the default for desktop printers) if you want it a bit stiffer going to 1.6mm top and bottom with 30% cubic infill should give you good results.
I’m actually planning on printing the side panel myself using PETG with a 0.6mm nozzle, 1.2mm top and bottom, 2 perimeters (1.2mm total thickness) and 20% gyroid infill to try it out myself. so those settings should give you good results.
Interesting that they also recommended using front as exhaust instead of additional intake. Which is what I ended up doing after i noticed that when the cpu fan goes full speed, it will actually over power the front fan when setup for intake, and force air through it backwards. I still have not decided on which sensor to tie the front fan to long term.
I was wondering if anyone is adding a Dust Filter for their setup like a 120mm magnetic dust filter for their Computer’s Cooler/PSU fan. If so which design or model have u chosen. I just want to keep this thing pristine inside - dust and heat are the killer of these boards. Thanks
PETG for transparency. Wish I got a case, now…
if you do want transparency in PETG that’s not impossible to do.
you do need to print VERY SLOW and completely solid in order to get like actual actual tranpsarent prints, but you can get translucent and pretty effects printing with normal infill and stuff. gives a kind of privacy glass effect and makes the RGB stuff inside it look hella cool.
i do enjoy playing with it. 
I’m wondering two things:
1.) Can Framework provide a version of THEIR transparent side panel that incorporates the Noctua grill?
2.) Using Noctua’s side panel, would this provide an opportunity to incorporate a dust filter while still maintaining appropriate air flow?
to answer your questiosn to the best of my information
probably yes, but that would be a more complicated mould for injection moulding, or a more complicated stamping dye for punched metal. they’re unlikely to change the grill patterns until the current ones wear out.
Sure. they released both the STL and the STEP files.. you can merge them with other models, make magnet pockets in it, or whatever you want. it’s only limited by your imagination and willingness to learn 3d modeling and printing skills and techniques.
I found some media articles about this topic below.
https://www.techspot.com/news/109306-make-framework-desktop-run-even-quieter-3d-printed.html
I’m just popping in to say that I’ve also printed the side panel and new fan duct myself. I’ve not installed them yet as I’m in batch 12, but here’s the result of me passing it through my Anycubic Kobra on my quick “Let’s just test this thing out and see if it’s worth tuning up the settings for a better quality print” and other than a few little marks in the gaps of the holes I’m actually quite happy with the result.
Printed in the purple filament that I had in the printer at the time I first read the blog post from noctua and I’m inclined to keep it like this.
If I find that I do want to reprint it though, I’ve got a nice marble effect filament that I might use next time around or the slightly less pretty wood effect one, just to see how it all comes out.
I appreciate that not everyone has access to reasonably priced 3D printing facilities, so if there’s anyone that’s UK based and is willing to cover the postage costs for it I’ll be happy to give a best effort in printing it for you in whatever filaments I’ve got to hand, just drop me a message and I’ll have a rummage through my filament drawer and see what’s about.
(I bought the printer when I was going to be charged ~£100 for something I was able to print in about 60 minutes and decided that it was more cost effective to pay for a printer of my own than to pay such stupid prices even if I couldn’t hit that kind of professional finish)
So, how’s the effect on noise?
This looks great! Planning on attempting to do this myself for the first time - Did you go PETG or PLA for the filament?
Very curious to see your results if you’ve happened to try this and/or are planning on it
Sadly I can’t comment on the noise because I don’t have my machine yet. I’m a batch 12 person and I tried to wait for my machine to arrive before printing this, but I just couldn’t wait. Due to some little comment that was made on a work call when I had something printing a year or so ago, whenever I speak to a couple of specific clients at work I like to have the printer going as it’s visible in my background and this was the first thing I found whilst prepping for the call that I’d already sliced and knew I wanted to print anyway I just went for it.
I printed it with PLA and I hope it’ll stand up to the heat. If not I’ve got some black petg stuff in a drawer, but the last time in tried to use that I clogged up the print nozzle pretty well and thought I was going to have to replace the whole print head, so I’m a little nervous about going for that!
I apparently started a forums organization disaster because I had no clue this fourm existed so here is my original post.
I ordered the Noctua side panel and duct from Xometry and it cost $149.96 if anyone curious. I’m sure you can find cheaper ways to get that printed.
Process: 3D Printing
Technology: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Material: ASA, Color: Black, Infill: Solid
Finish: Standard
Threads and Tapped Holes: None
Inserts: None
I now know this was not the best technology or Material to use, and I certainly could have got it cheaper. Too late to change the order now so hope it turns out okay.
I’ve contributed to the situation too, so here’s a post that I also put in another thread where I’ve shared the settings I used to get my above print:
It’s PLA with 0.2mm layers and a 0.4mm nozzle. I went for 1.2mm top and bottom thickness, a wall count of 4 and a print speed of 60mm. I could slow it further to see if that reduces the diagonal lines on the inside face and make it all look a little nicer, but since I shouldn’t be seeing that normally I probably won’t bother. I know PLA will not last as long as PETG, but it’s easy enough to just reprint should I need/want to so I’m not overly fussed on that front.
Additional:
I can’t remember whether or not any infil was required but my default of 30% with cubic subdivision was set on the slicer. When I get a chance I’ll reslice it and see whether or not that came into play here, but it feels robust enough in my hands.
Update: Looks like I had 2 layers of infil required. I’m reprinting it now at 30mm/s and it’s now a 19 hour job, but it’ll be interesting to see if there’s an appreciable difference in quality.
