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At the moment there are two tags related to fans:

If you look at the topics there is no distinction which fans are meant, this must be read in the questions.

Should we create separate tags for specific fan applications?

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  • $\begingroup$ Ok, I see what you mean... If both tags have just been used at random and neither are consistently used for one type or another, then it would seem to make sense to either: merge them all together under fans, or; separate them out, as your answer suggests. Looking at it, fans seems to be a random tag, with no description and only has 3 questions $\endgroup$
    – Greenonline Mod
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 21:19

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There aren't that many topics labelled with either one of the existing tags, so re-tagging will not be a problem.

Indeed these tags are generic tags and do not cover the range of fans specifically for the application they are used for. There are 3 types of applications for fans in 3D printers,

  • electronics cooling fans (board/stepper/stepper drivers cooling),
  • part cooling fans (filament cooling after deposition), and
  • cold end cooling fans (extruder cold end cooling).

How about making 3 categories and re-tag? (in the same order as the previous list)

Alternatively, we could just use a single tag and let the poster make sure that he explains clearly which fan is used.

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    $\begingroup$ It seems like a very good idea, but I can't help worrying if it is making things over complicated. Although, if all of the fan questions just end up getting jumbled together under fans, or the more restrictive print-fan, then that would seem quite messy too, and not very helpful... Let's see if we get some more feedback before changing anything just yet... Also, print-fan seems to be only for cooling electronics, so a "print cooling fan" specific tag seems sensible - if there are any printed part cooling fan questions? "Extruder-fan" seems sensible too. $\endgroup$
    – Greenonline Mod
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 21:17
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    $\begingroup$ part-cool-fan would be for printed parts, yes? Sounds good. What would the electronics cooling fan tag be called? Currently it is print-fan, which is neither here nor there really. electronics-fan might be a good name. So what would plain "fan" be a tag for? $\endgroup$
    – Greenonline Mod
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 21:27
  • $\begingroup$ @Greenonline With the last I meant electronics cooling fans, I'll update the answer and make the 2nd list in the same order as the first list. $\endgroup$
    – 0scar Mod
    Commented Jul 18, 2018 at 8:53
  • $\begingroup$ @Greenonline print fan was, I assumed, incorrectly described. I updated the wiki to describe it as part cooling. $\endgroup$
    – Sean Houlihane
    Commented Sep 4, 2018 at 10:10
  • $\begingroup$ @SeanHoulihane - Yes, good move. I must admit I was confused initially, upon seeing your edit, as I thought that this (the fan tags) had been all sorted out, but obviously not :-) $\endgroup$
    – Greenonline Mod
    Commented Sep 4, 2018 at 10:35
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3 tags is probably overly complex. I've not looked at the question list but I expect that these questions should also have a print quality or electronics tag, making the categorisation of the question fairly clear. The problem to me of having several tags is choosing which one would be relevant to a question, and also having to literally look through all the individual tags if you were looking for a question that matches a certain type of issue.

Looking at the questions so far, the vast majority are discussing the part cooling fans, or the distinction between part cooling and extruder/heatbreak cooling. I don't see any questions about specifically cooling the circuit board as was indicated in the tag wiki for .

Given the potential confusion about what a fan is for, and the lack of a need so far to identify questions about PSU cooling, a single tag still makes sense.

Tags can be combined as , or , but tags can't rely on being combined to make sense.

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  • $\begingroup$ I'll look into the list and report back in chat for a discussion, nice to bring it up as I was about to blow new life into this question, thanks! I like your idea of having a single fan tag and a second tag to specify the fan, problem is that people need to add the extra tag, or the community needs to pay attention that a second descriptive tag is added. $\endgroup$
    – 0scar Mod
    Commented Sep 4, 2018 at 10:06

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