Morph 4K Cooling Fan

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Description

These are the original DIY fan installation instructions as uploaded to the Morph 4K wiki. If you wish to fit a fan to your Morph 4K it is generally recommended to use the official fan kit.

Please follow these instructions at your own risk.

Morph's top shell has holes for M2 threaded inserts with a height of 3mm and outer diameter of 3.5mm. Paired with a set of M2 screws (6-12mm depending on fan screw hole depth), these inserts can be used to mount a cooling fan close to the vent on the rear shell molding. Morph has the ability to power the cooling fan with a JST-XH 2.54mm (or 2.5mm) 2-pin header. Either a 5V or 12V 30 x 30mm cooling fan with 2 wire leads and a maximum height of 10mm is sufficient (5V = high fan speed/more audible vs 12V = reduced fan speed/less audible). PixelFX recommends Delta fans, such as the BFB0312HHA-C (does not include JST-XH connector), as they tend to be quiet while still being efficient.

Note: Some cooling fans may or may not come with a JST-XH connector pre-installed. If the cooling fan is missing a JST-XH connector, then you will need to install it to the fan's 2 wire leads using a JST-XHP kit and ratchet crimping tool.

Threaded insert installed in Morph's top shell using soldering iron
  1. Remove the 6 screws located on the bottom of Morph.
  2. Carefully lift the top shell off the unit and place it aside.
  3. Lift the main PCB from the bottom shell and take off the rear shell molding. Set it aside.
  4. Take off the front shell molding and be mindful of the two tiny transparent pieces near the front LED. Set them aside.
  5. Look for the two holes labeled J3 on the PCB, located beside the WiFi chip and front LED.
  6. Insert a JST-XH housing into the two holes with the flat side of the housing facing the WiFi chip and make sure it sits flush to the PCB.
    • If the JST-XH housing sits angled due to Q4 (beside J3), then shave a bit of plastic from the bottom corner of the JST-XH housing using a needle file or small drill bit.
  7. While holding the JST-XH housing in place, flip the PCB over and solder each header to the board.
  8. Now that the PCB is ready, reassemble it with the front and rear shell molding along with the two transparently pieces for the front LED.
  9. Once the PCB is back inside the bottom shell, set it aside. Then grab the top shell and set it face down.
  10. Look for the set of holes on the underside of the top shell adjacent to the diamond on the PixelFX logo (behind the "Pi").
  11. Select which two holes you wish to use for the threaded inserts, either diagonally with the holes forming a square toward the edge of the shell or linearly with the holes that form a rectangle beside it.
    • Use the cooling fan screw holes to assess alignment. If not careful, mounting the fan too close to the front shell mount (far end of the holes forming a rectangle) will hover the blades over the JST-XH mount and/or wires.
  12. Once you've decided, place a threaded insert on top of the hole (threading facing up).
  13. Clean the tip of your soldering iron (conical or similar) and set it to 220°C.
    • As a precaution, test the soldering iron tip sizing (while cool) to ensure it doesn't poke through the threaded insert hole or exceed the threaded insert's outer diameter.
  14. Place the soldering iron tip on top of the threaded insert and make sure to use minimal force so the threaded insert sits level.
  15. Patiently let the soldering iron continue to heat the threaded insert as it glides into the top shell hole and stop immediately once the top of the threaded insert is flush to the lip of the hole.
  16. Repeat this process again for the second hole and allow both holes a few minutes to cool.
  17. Grab the cooling fan and two M2 screws and mount two fan holes to the corresponding threaded inserts.
  18. Bring Morph's PCB close by and plug in the cooling fan's JST-XH connector to the JST-XH mount on the PCB.
    • If there's excess wire, be sure to zip tie it and leave enough wire slack for the connection.
  19. Place the top shell back on and make sure it encloses the lips of the front and rear shell moldings.
  20. Reinstall the 6 screws on the bottom of Morph.

Once Morph is powered on with the front switch, the cooling fan will proceed to move continuously until Morph is either put in standby mode (as of firmware 3.9.32) or powered off with the front switch.