Quieting the Prusa Mini

It is a well known fact that 3D printers, including the Prusa Mini, are not quiet. The printer lives in the same room as the desk, and the space is basically a brick cube. The table is MDF with an open frame, which helps the sound spread. Time to measure and make a few changes.

Stock printer benchmark

To get a baseline, a standard 20 mm calibration cube was printed and a phone app recorded minimum, average, and maximum noise.

Results: 39 dB min, 58 dB avg, 68 dB max. The loudest moments were homing and bed levelling at the start, and then brief spikes on layer changes.

Printed shock feet

First change was to fit printable shock absorbing feet to the Prusa Mini to isolate vibration from the table. PETG is the better material choice here because it flexes more than PLA.

Results: 29 dB min, 39 dB avg, 63 dB max. The average dropped a lot, which is where most print time sits, so this was a solid win.

Paving slab

Next, a plain garden paving slab went under the printer to add mass and soak up heavier vibrations that the feet do not handle.

Results: 27 dB min, 34 dB avg, 53 dB max. Minimum and average barely moved, but the maximum dropped sharply, which fits the idea that big, fast movements couple less through the heavier base.

Styrene foam

Tried a sheet of styrene foam under the slab to see if it helped.

Results: 26 dB min, 34 dB avg, 52 dB max. A tiny improvement, but not worth keeping. It raises the printer, looks messy, and the foam will shed beads over time, so it is coming out.

Conclusion and next step

With shock feet and a paving slab, the printer is much quieter and easier to live with in the same room. The foam did not add value and will be removed. An enclosure is on the list for the future to enable more materials and to take another bite out of noise.

Thanks for reading. If you have a proven enclosure build or noise test routine, feel free to share it.