Noctua shares its ultra-quiet 120mm fan grill design with makers
Noctua says that this fan grill dropped the noise levels of their Noctua Edition PSU by 2dB(A)
When creating their new Prime TX-1600 Noctua Edition power supply with Seasonic, Noctua created a high-efficiency fan grill that helped drop PSU noise levels by 2dB(A). Instead of keeping this fan grill design to themselves, Noctua has decided to share it with the world on Printables, Prusa‘s 3D printing community website.
Compared to Seasonic’s standard fan grill for their Prime TX-1600 PSU, Noctua’s design enables significantly lower noise levels. That’s why the Noctua Edition version PSU is much quieter. Using a Noctua NF-A12x25 fan dropped noise levels significantly. However, the addition of this fan grill pushed things to the next level. Overall, this Noctua Edition version of the Prime TX-1600 is 8-10 dB(A) quieter than the standard version.
Over the years, Noctua has shared a huge number of its designs on Printables for 3D printing enthusiasts to enjoy. This includes models for its NV-AA1-12 Airflow amplifier (which was used as part of Noctua’s NV-FS1 Desk fan) and inlet spacers for its 120mm and 140mm fans. There are even files for their NA-AVP1 anti-vibration pads. Simply put, Noctua has proven itself to be a maker-friendly company.
Noctua’s high-efficiency 120mm fan grill is available to makers as an STP file and an STL file. This makes creating these fan grills easy for owners of 3D printers or laser cutters. Printables users have already remixed Noctua’s design to create versions for 80mm fans and 140mm fans, and more remixes are undoubtedly on the way.
Are you looking for a high-efficiency 120mm fan grill that can easily be 3D-printed or laser-cut? We’re sharing the design we’ve developed for the @Seasonic Noctua Edition PSU on @printablescom, this has enabled us to drop noise levels by ~2dB(A): https://t.co/dYJVmIynqJ pic.twitter.com/4ojCQFs80c
— Noctua (@Noctua_at) December 4, 2024
Makers can download and modify this design to suit their needs
Noctua’s high-efficiency fan grill design is now available through Printables. Noctua recommends using this grill with its NF-A12X25 fans and orienting it so that the radial struts run perpendicular to the fan blades. Like all fan grills, this design offers users a trade-off between fan performance and protection. This design complies with PC power supply regulations limiting each hole’s size. Users can boost fan performance by lowering hole size, but this comes at the cost of reduced protection. For maximum fan performance, the user shouldn’t be using a grill at all (if possible).
You can join the discussion on Noctua sharing their designs for their Noctua X Seasonic PSU fan grill on the OC3D Forums.
