blog:models_spraybooth [Target-Earth]

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====== DIY Spraybooth ======

Since the move to the [[blog:personal_diy_office|new office]], I haven't been able to do any painting of models, as I had no way of using either spraycans or my airbrush. IN the previous office the size of the desks meant I could have a fairly ghetto setup with a huge cardboard box that I could spray into. Although I had no extractor, at least the paint (mostly) didn't go everywhere.

There are plenty of (cheap to very expensive) spray booths out there, including a very common one (under £70) that does pretty much everything I want:

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//However//, the problem with this design is that the air is extracted out of the //back// of the unit. This means that you need quite a sizeable depth of desk to use it on. I don't have that:

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I have a maximum of 75cm, front to back, and not a lot of free workspace to have something like that permanently in-place. What I needed to do was to build something like that, but that would fold-down even smaller, and with a top-mounted extractor to leave me without the depth issues whilst it is in use.

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===== The design ====

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   * 2x Noctua NF-A14 IndustrialPPC-3000 PWM 120mm fans
   * PWM fan controller
   * 120mm ducting connector
   * 3x 12v LED lighting strips
   * 6mm MDF and 10x10mm strips
   * Spraybooth filter material

The two fans are needed because, due to the compact size of the housing, the main fan behind the filter material is almost vertical, since there isn't a clear channel for the positive air pressure to evacuate the housing, the top fan sucks the air out of the housing - constantly creating an area of low pressure for the front fan to suck into.

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It will actually still work with only one fan running (either of them), but the rpm has to be increased and the airflow is significantly reduced. It's not exactly quiet, but with the extractor hose on I can run it with the kids asleep in their rooms and not worry about waking them up, so it's not that bad either.

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With extraction attachment trial fitted, straight out of the office window:

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The whole unit folds up and fits neatly under the first shelf on my desk - the enclosure was deliberately sized so that it was no taller than the air compressor, so wherever that can fit, this can fit too:

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Added countersunk neodymium magnets so that the extractor attachment can be quickly attached and removed:

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