The $1.99 silent Axe-FX fan DIY fan mod

L

lqdsnddist

Axe-Master
Like many Axe-Fx II mk1 owners, I've had issues with the kind of loud 60mm stock fan. Not a problem gigging, but when playing at home, later at night, et al., its pretty noticeable. I run a silent recording PC and don't otherwise have any noise sources in my home studio, so it kind of bothered me.

So, again like many others, I tried some different fans; replacement top motor fan, stealth fan, noiseblocker, and the (different company, same name) fractal fan. They varied in rpm and noise levels, some where pretty quiet, but spun slowly and moved very little air. Others moved plenty of air, but were like little hair dryer motors and louder than stock.

I found the fractal fan to be about the best overall compromise, its rated 18cfm, spins at 3000rpm, and I think its around 16 dB (don't quote me on those specs). More so, it actually felt like it was moving the same amount of air as the stock one.

Well, long story short, no matter what I did, the fans all still bothered me.

Solution ? Change the way the fan is mounted. I always was using the rubber feet, spacers and then sticking the fan mounts through the 4 bolts in the case lid, threading the nuts in the middle of the fan, since the other models are 25mm deep instead of 10mm deep like the stock one. Well the issue with is that your fan is directly coupled to the case lid, and you basically have this big metal lid vibrating with the fan, thus a source of noise.

So how could I try to dampen this vibration/noise issue ? Tried adding rubber washers and such, but no help. Fan is still basically connected directly to those bolts. So, how can I make it not touch the bolts ?

Rubber bands would of been an obvious choice, but as anyone who pulled an old rubber band from a drawer knows, they dry up and snap. Not good. Looked for big silicon o-rings but nothing was big enough. Then I realized some hair bands would work, as they are the right size, and elastic.

I got a pack for 30 for $1.99, and your wife/gf may already have plenty laying around.

Simply placed a few of them around the fan housing, then around each fan mount bolt on the lid. The fan is held firmly in place, yet, actually isn't touch anything. Also nothing is in the air path of the fan, same space behind it in pull in air, and nothing blocking the air flow. Same height over the processors as well.

Difference in noise ? Huge, can't even hear the thing running. Had to open the case and check to make sure.

For fun, tried the stock fan again as well, and also had a big reduction in noise level.

I put a couple layers of tape around the case lid too, just to dampened that a little more (not sure it made a difference) but I now have a totally silent Axe-Fx unit, even though I'm running a fan with a proper CFM rate.

No special tools needed, no case mods, no gluing new supports, drilling holds etc. Just a silent fan

Hope this might prove useful for some other users with fan noise annoyance
 
Thanks. As a MkI owner who has mucked around with various attempts of quieting the fan since May of 2010, I will be giving this a shot tonight. And I already have those exact hairbands (I only take the black ones from the pack, my wife and daughter use the other colors, I swear).
 
With as much as I've learned from you Chris, I would probably be okay with giving you my first born, much less a simple idea, so feel free.

If someone else tries this and wants to maybe write up better instructions and maybe more illustrative pics that would be helpful too I'm sure. I kind of just grabbed an iPhone pic before putting the lid on.

Seems to help with the noise though, as before I always notice that just touching the lid affected the perceived fan sound. Also seems really secure. I used 5 bands, probably overkill, but with the bolt shafts threaded, nothing slide around at all, so I think it should hold up fine to lots of load ins/outs

Guess just give it a try (assuming your already out of warranty lol) and see if it helps and if you feel its a safe and reliable mounting solution. If not, just stick the rubber spacers and nuts back on and your back to stock
 
Hehehe.....great mod!

PS: I can see guys hitting the stores asking for girly hairbands, almost the same thing happend years ago when musicians asked for nylons stockings for making cheap but great DIY vocal pop filter for their microphones :lol
 
Seems that larger sized 0-rings can be ordered via the internet, various materials, silicon etc pretty cheaply.

Few of those might be a better solution in terms of not stretching/breaking over time. I feel pretty confident with the hair ties though, but your mileage may vary. I think as long as your use a number of them, and they aren't overly stretched in the first place they should retain plenty of elasticity to keep the fan secure.
 
And also available in METAL black...

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Caution: This will probably add at least a +10db boost to your signal.

\m/
 
If you go this route I would consider attaching something like a zip tie or velcro strap to the lid and through the hole where the posts were supposed to go through the fan. This way if the girly hair ties fail the fan won't drop to the motherboard potentially causing damage.

Just a suggestion.
 
I actually considered that Craig. I was going to thread a thin wire through each hole on the fan, and then wrap it around each bolt shaft, as an emergency retention line.

After feeling how secure 5 bands felt though, and how there is very little tension on them, and how light the fan is, I just didn't feel it was a concern anymore. Basically, just 1 band held it fine, and really, even if it was stretched out a bit I think it would still hold fine, so if you have 5 or more, I think the odds of 100% failure are quite slim.

Could very well go and add 10 bands even, isn't going to hurt to have even more I suppose.

Overall though, this is just merely a concept, not a hard and fast only way to do something. Tons of user for each person to modify the idea with different materials, different "fail safes" etc.

You could probably tie some strings to each bolt and then through the fan holes and suspend it, for example.

Key concept is really just try to have the fan not rigidly attached to the bolt shafts which are attached to the lid. Is causes much of the noise due to high frequency vibration from the fan as the lid its a sort of acoustic radiator.
 
Anyone think about coating the bolts/studs with plasti dip? I use that stuff on everything from car rims to trem springs. Extremely durable when applied properly in multiple thin coats. Should work in this situation given no moving parts and minimal friction/torsion.

... or maybe sugru hacking putty... but I'd still try plasti dip first though for ease of removal just in case
 
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Etudica said:
Anyone think about coating the bolts/studs with plasti dip? I use that stuff on everything from car rims to trem springs. Extremely durable when applied properly in multiple thin coats. Should work in this situation given no moving parts and minimal friction/torsion.
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I don't think it would do anything to counter the transmission of the high frequency vibrations from the fan. Also, you'd have to dremel out the fan holes much bigger, as its otherwise a very tight fit on the shafts.

Really need to get the fan as isolated as possible from the case
 
Rane said:
I wonder if those silicone wristbands that kids always wear might work for this purpose?

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I like that idea, and now wish I actually had some of those bands, instead of always thinking they were kind of lame.

Wonder where one gets that sort of thing ? Probably find a "Livestrong" one at a sporting good store ? Or did they stop making those after Lance feel from grace ? (still a winner to me, as he beat all the other dopers fair and square lol)
 
I put a couple layers of tape around the case lid too, just to dampened that a little more (not sure it made a difference) but I now have a totally silent Axe-Fx unit, even though I'm running a fan with a proper CFM rate.
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Do you mean the outside parameter of the lid edges, where it screws on?
 
klaushouz said:
Do you mean the outside parameter of the lid edges, where it screws on?
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Just along the flat edge shelf type thing on the main chassis, so the lid is laying against the tape instead of against the bare metal. I doubt it really makes a difference, assuming your screws are tight, but couldn't hurt I figured.
 
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