Reddit mentions of Scythe Mini Kaze 40mm Silent Case Fan (SY124010L)

Amazon stuff:

• $12 e3d v6 clone
  
• 40mm fan
  
• Currently waiting on an all metal heatbreak that I'll install as soon as it arrives.
  
  Printed parts:
  
  
• zero-offset e3d adapter
  
• 2-in-1 fan adapter for e3d v6 (There's two versions posted. The clone I used fit the measurements for the original v6.)
  
  Anything directly touching the hotend is printed in PETG (on the Mini) so it (hopefully) doesn't melt under normal use. ABS should work too.
  
  This Hackaday article has lots of good upgrades and was the best guide I could find. Although he has posted his version of the zero-offset adapter, he goes into all sorts of craziness with the fans and his clamping piece doesn't allow for the 2-in-1 fan thing I wanted to use.
  
  And if anyone is interested in just sticking a 40mm fan on the original shroud, this is the adapter I had in the before pictures. File called "adapt_30mm_to_40mm_at_0_deg". I rescaled it a bit to make it shorter. I've actually gone and attached it to the blue clip-on fan piece that came with the hotend kit so I can use that if I want my big fan without part cooling.
  
  I just did this swap today so I haven't done extensive testing yet... but that cube sure looks smooth and shiny, doesn't it?
  
  Edit: Gold? You shouldn't have... Also minor update, all-metal heatbreak is on the way and I've got an idea for attaching the hotend to the adapter that I'm gonna try out. Nothing major, but hopefully it'll make things easier.
  

The majority of 1U switches on the market come equipped with standard 40mm single or double thickness fans. Although somewhat expensive, Noctura makes a killer alternative that kicks out 4.83 CFM at 17.9dba:

http://www.amazon.com/40x10mm-A-Series-Bearing-Premium-NF-A4x10/dp/B009NQLT0M

At the same price though, you can get two Sythe fans with slightly lower flow (4.11 CFM) but a tad quieter as well (14 dba):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LB0M8S

A revised repost of an earlier comment I made:

I've replaced both the hot end fan and the case fan with these. Print the 40mm version of this first though. Replacing the hot end fan will require cutting the wires and soldering. I actually cut the wires on the printer, then cut the "3" end off the 3-2 adapter included with the fans. Then I soldered the "2" end to the printer so I'd have a plug to plug in the fan and any other fan I may get in the future.

For the case fan, use the old adapter. Cut off the ends of both fans and solder the old connector onto the new fan.

Also, the stepper motors on my V2 were super loud as well. I followed this guy's tutorial, it now incredibly quiet. You can move the plastic gears on the stepper motors, as unfortunately they are only press fit. Metal ones are another mod you can find at the site listed above. To move them, gently pry up from below.

The bed Y-Axis bushings were really easy to replace, but the X-axis was much harder. I ended up drilling a few holes in the plastic carriage and securing the PLA bushings with zipties, as they kept slipping out when it went back and forth.

My printer is so quiet now, it's incredible. I didn't need to remove the X-axis shield on mine.

Something I learned later was to heat up one of the metal rods on the stove a bit. Just one end so you can still hold it. Slip on the plastic bushings you printed one at a time, the heat will melt them and make them super smooth and glide easy.

Haha, I too did the screwdriver in the fan......twice, I replaced all of my fans besides the 30mm (including the power supply fan which I think was 80mm) with scythes like the one below, and I love how quiet my i3 is now. There's also the noctua that someone else mentioned but I prefer the straight black.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000LB0M8S/ref=pd_aw_fbt_147_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0VVW3METQ8CTCDQ0DN3C

The bearings went out in mine and I replaced it with a silent running fan. I can't tell if it's audibly running while it's idle now.

Scythe Mini KAZE 40mm Silent Case Fan (SY124010L) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LB0M8S?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Edit: a word

Oh those things are so cheap. Bad bearing. I swapped out with these. Literally all of the fans on this machine have failed on me. But no fear! They're cheap! And these new ones are super quiet. I have a couple more just in case I need them but I haven't had one of the new ones fail yet.

Solved my airplane sounding control box too.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LB0M8S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_5AoPybFFKDR8Z