tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30252340842862455962024-03-17T07:18:33.898+00:00The Making of a MakerWisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.comBlogger336125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-67693138856233974002018-09-25T05:27:00.001+01:002018-09-25T05:27:10.895+01:00Building a Weather Station - Part 1I have wanted to build a weather station for a while but have never had a location to put one. I still don't, in fact where we are now is the worst possible location due to the surroundings, but I'm hoping that I can build one for one of the local boating places. Actually I hope I can find a home for the one I've already built!<br />
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Here is a diagram of what I have built.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghntH9KKi7TuykYXJylRFBjaoJDkNoNUip7XGKQov_GrVkm7maB6axYQoegnxL4BWOVYXBEoxkeJndJNTFXVvBJAyHJWIGNGnnRjWuREgVTeE7PWCNlSa-YIMG9o9ezHMjVlifttcRkNjB/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+5.01.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghntH9KKi7TuykYXJylRFBjaoJDkNoNUip7XGKQov_GrVkm7maB6axYQoegnxL4BWOVYXBEoxkeJndJNTFXVvBJAyHJWIGNGnnRjWuREgVTeE7PWCNlSa-YIMG9o9ezHMjVlifttcRkNjB/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-09-19+at+5.01.32+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instruments include (wind speed, wind direction), (rainfall), (temperature, humidity), and (barometric pressure). Wiring = (4 wire RJ11), (2 wire RJ11), (Grove Cable), (Onboard)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instruments are connected to a board from </span><a href="https://shop.switchdoc.com/products/ourweather-complete-weather-kit" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0097a7; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SwitchDoc called the Weather Plus</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that has a microprocessor with a Wifi adapter (programmed using the Arduino IDE).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weather data is available either via an Http interface or via a stream from the onboard serial port. I elected to integrate with both to test reliability.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Raspberry Pi Zero is used to interrogate the Weather Plus board to feed an instance of </span><a href="http://www.weewx.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0097a7; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weewx</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a popular open source weather station package.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A webcam could also be supported in a follow-on phase.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weewx integrates, out of the box, with both the </span><a href="https://www.wunderground.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0097a7; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weather Underground</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and with </span><a href="https://stations.windguru.cz/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0097a7; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Windguru</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Additional resiliency might be provided, in a follow-on phase, by adding a monitor capable of power cycling the entire platform (Arduino with a relay)</span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most challenging aspect of the configuration is building for resiliency. This is what I am testing now:</span></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Single Http (Read) Error</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wait one minute, try again</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cleared on next good read</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Five Http Errors</span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reset WeatherBoard</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sleep for five</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cleared in ten minutes</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Five more Http Errors</span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reboot</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Five more Http Errors (Phase 2)</span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Power cycle WeatherBoard</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sleep for five</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Handled by a "Monitor"</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Watch time stamp of “lastActive” file created by toWeewx on every update created</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If it does not change in 15 minutes reboot (5 for the serial interface)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #595959; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cant use the feeder file between toWeewx and Weewx as it is touched by both sides</span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-50657034166094820162018-08-08T11:28:00.000+01:002018-08-08T11:28:14.175+01:00One Project - Three Interest AreasMany of my projects combine two of my interests, 3D Printing and Micro Electronics but this one combines three! in this case the extra one is barbecuing in that I have gotten a new ceramic grill, a Kamado Joe, and am building a heat control unit for it.<br />
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The 3D printed elements of it are the enclosure for a fan and a shutter that will be used to direct air into the grill and a case for the electronics that drive the airflow. The electronics will consist of an Arduino on a custom designed circuit board that is a daughter board to a Raspberry Pi Zero. the Arduino will run firmware that will slowly restrict airflow as a temperature is reached while the raspberry will provide the graphical user interface wirelessly on the home network.Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-32580523427067718312018-04-09T14:05:00.001+01:002018-05-19T10:23:07.228+01:00N-Scale Drawbridge - Project in ProgressThis is a project in process that needs a home. I started thinking I would do a diorama but have neither the time nor the space.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNH3fYcwDVYBKcWvlyHb2CtUJg0-990L2ZPpGPJUVFLeSP-vPxPXOIwP-hTTZDIScrQ5Z7ROx-B3xjaMr-SrbRulh8tj1SWKikaO6EwcUd4v5LWbqXATgYolQ6hBhyWA3YVueAq3TcQpHA/s1600/drawing_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNH3fYcwDVYBKcWvlyHb2CtUJg0-990L2ZPpGPJUVFLeSP-vPxPXOIwP-hTTZDIScrQ5Z7ROx-B3xjaMr-SrbRulh8tj1SWKikaO6EwcUd4v5LWbqXATgYolQ6hBhyWA3YVueAq3TcQpHA/s320/drawing_large.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is loosely based on this prototype but I've taken creative liberties to make it easier to print as a 3D model. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBg17HvbNBd8DuQapWpvehnIfjK-s8geHSdrfc1dC6lfIKleTQV2a0KYJ0Z-Ern6ixj9uhbnfRKgaJSv7MzQ92nUjoGdu9-tF3MEPFNK2ua0LpOMMvM0vt3YldmjxwXn2Ty_1A1kNFDeV/s1600/Chair+-+2+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBg17HvbNBd8DuQapWpvehnIfjK-s8geHSdrfc1dC6lfIKleTQV2a0KYJ0Z-Ern6ixj9uhbnfRKgaJSv7MzQ92nUjoGdu9-tF3MEPFNK2ua0LpOMMvM0vt3YldmjxwXn2Ty_1A1kNFDeV/s320/Chair+-+2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> not printed the second tower but obviously I would if somebody purchased the model. I would provide the second tower is parts that would need to be assembled.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtwOxkT5MdMMKGZ2MhKYuoyYDsV86sPcLJCgfW3UqbjMucqgayE8bfC0ldsppMQlUaIE5ZEhCjQ-EPE_PEx5BM5JMlnMJjUtfeOxUvrEfcMeIAQdSedR94uo_SrUmxPfulzMGosEz3Im4/s1600/Chair+-+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtwOxkT5MdMMKGZ2MhKYuoyYDsV86sPcLJCgfW3UqbjMucqgayE8bfC0ldsppMQlUaIE5ZEhCjQ-EPE_PEx5BM5JMlnMJjUtfeOxUvrEfcMeIAQdSedR94uo_SrUmxPfulzMGosEz3Im4/s320/Chair+-+1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> The bridge is two tracks wide but height is closer to scale then would be necessary to accommodate some of the tallest rolling stock.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaekim4RX46Fasjce3O0ZL8NnQo49O-3FKkuxUbQF6ll4anXFaGLLMapCxvcQMPoYZEBwZM2ihddlfLzaPLIqOEsrZv1treTmVlQYuOki8K89c90ifhGpAVw4B1k1mblWOJf4Ay-zyznDw/s1600/Chair+-+3+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaekim4RX46Fasjce3O0ZL8NnQo49O-3FKkuxUbQF6ll4anXFaGLLMapCxvcQMPoYZEBwZM2ihddlfLzaPLIqOEsrZv1treTmVlQYuOki8K89c90ifhGpAVw4B1k1mblWOJf4Ay-zyznDw/s320/Chair+-+3+%25281%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> My vision was that the counterweight will rise and fall with the bridge</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOYfqW-xf94oPrn1E2kBXokA3tl2Gj9FuoAxlTsMRsqw-U686YlOxK3zF86lHO-wSn9VbQll5Kjb7FmhVfQHDrx7vYaLu_Hbr9J8SaUKB7IYTFmH91CAgwskPs0njZpbToEq9nDmtfjkg/s1600/Chair+-+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOYfqW-xf94oPrn1E2kBXokA3tl2Gj9FuoAxlTsMRsqw-U686YlOxK3zF86lHO-wSn9VbQll5Kjb7FmhVfQHDrx7vYaLu_Hbr9J8SaUKB7IYTFmH91CAgwskPs0njZpbToEq9nDmtfjkg/s320/Chair+-+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPMlX8SuDoswCIAef4ruWr2L22ohq0mxKwQX9bm9-_a14-iki7nEgLIHeiojHLDU6U2V108tkO8HoPn3SgkDgxAJEsJrhp-9B4FYIA289CbDHmI46uEYTo2QSYi3OY5sD8UQjuLKkMCcu/s1600/Chair+-+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPMlX8SuDoswCIAef4ruWr2L22ohq0mxKwQX9bm9-_a14-iki7nEgLIHeiojHLDU6U2V108tkO8HoPn3SgkDgxAJEsJrhp-9B4FYIA289CbDHmI46uEYTo2QSYi3OY5sD8UQjuLKkMCcu/s320/Chair+-+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV920QUyXQ2QmlTQHPutLORNb0SfFDZyoCkbodoWQnQ5PxxzU9Gt5JjxIEZ5yGNUR40dUapj-SLHmjXsiCMuBlI5DZJr_dVcQr978iQHEhUdFyfj44DZV6LWWXwsIkkpuwC3AfsZl70EeZ/s1600/Chair+-+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV920QUyXQ2QmlTQHPutLORNb0SfFDZyoCkbodoWQnQ5PxxzU9Gt5JjxIEZ5yGNUR40dUapj-SLHmjXsiCMuBlI5DZJr_dVcQr978iQHEhUdFyfj44DZV6LWWXwsIkkpuwC3AfsZl70EeZ/s320/Chair+-+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> here you can see the attached points for cables. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFQrLALiSKXyb60jDhPYcJeiWI6XGyMduguZ5vSML8DZwFrWSWTF-8Iris9I8L62OxK-19JtTw7aQ30KBtbs3KeGNj7-GBl_rtTtfdj6aKucX5-u7aTOX5WG14zDaxgqjCpqbwkZBd0uW/s1600/Chair+-+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="933" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFQrLALiSKXyb60jDhPYcJeiWI6XGyMduguZ5vSML8DZwFrWSWTF-8Iris9I8L62OxK-19JtTw7aQ30KBtbs3KeGNj7-GBl_rtTtfdj6aKucX5-u7aTOX5WG14zDaxgqjCpqbwkZBd0uW/s320/Chair+-+8.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Zlid9whVkR9ZttCC_h3Wemx693vmXZCsqEHtOm909I_G_lFySjWrO4-KK2TN1Xx0nbMHdY14MXOIjXIBFGhSpnxIsJO2cYiWEu-yx8hlEEbZ6rocZsIGn84KbrfEw7-ufLoBdObdgZFE/s1600/Chair+-+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Zlid9whVkR9ZttCC_h3Wemx693vmXZCsqEHtOm909I_G_lFySjWrO4-KK2TN1Xx0nbMHdY14MXOIjXIBFGhSpnxIsJO2cYiWEu-yx8hlEEbZ6rocZsIGn84KbrfEw7-ufLoBdObdgZFE/s320/Chair+-+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> My biggest regret is spending so much time on rivets and not making the line straight! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjnfIYQ4_S-wXH2TOE1GjsD-dvh6nqSDuzEcXddBGsQJCkHWUtqZiu1QxAzoFWi_7VxLC7nvl582X0DTAPOSuS4OCoyTI3qCie3VVFrRZaFoBgWZqbBgOhOT2VzY2a-6Y7Rs_0rcty4SU/s320/Chair+-+10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Girders are not through <br />
holed for Ease of printing purposes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjnfIYQ4_S-wXH2TOE1GjsD-dvh6nqSDuzEcXddBGsQJCkHWUtqZiu1QxAzoFWi_7VxLC7nvl582X0DTAPOSuS4OCoyTI3qCie3VVFrRZaFoBgWZqbBgOhOT2VzY2a-6Y7Rs_0rcty4SU/s1600/Chair+-+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR6qd1mkcfgqy4g7pt4LF8zSf5CPnNpreO6kRVhjHvENEZRWYJ8x9t9t5Iq61wpQHDu12XadEtscUHG32OmnIK28m60_fGBhZrXaveouFDts2JtgN5HmpkYN7pw7GHGHMCWQnPkqXsgnB/s1600/Chair+-+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR6qd1mkcfgqy4g7pt4LF8zSf5CPnNpreO6kRVhjHvENEZRWYJ8x9t9t5Iq61wpQHDu12XadEtscUHG32OmnIK28m60_fGBhZrXaveouFDts2JtgN5HmpkYN7pw7GHGHMCWQnPkqXsgnB/s320/Chair+-+11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Counter weight would rise and fall as did the prototype.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9VnECPk8zD5pa3Vhm7VmEfvumS7oW-etZZGyc9ZLi1OysZrnc2cfgOBAOe-EuyaZhFjZDULkCsNy8nfPwPAEpvL-WgXuaG8ITs9tjMlSHC2G2VjP0nGTn8yWbsyKqMA7VnvA1C1etiDZ/s1600/Chair+-+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9VnECPk8zD5pa3Vhm7VmEfvumS7oW-etZZGyc9ZLi1OysZrnc2cfgOBAOe-EuyaZhFjZDULkCsNy8nfPwPAEpvL-WgXuaG8ITs9tjMlSHC2G2VjP0nGTn8yWbsyKqMA7VnvA1C1etiDZ/s320/Chair+-+13.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcz3sokOqWbfKPARy_WoEZXJeYcoy17w2wcfxBRcH2bxzDjbXhF6B949ROEf9ciJP3OWGlQnjigdk-luXVCzBknDpXlMlQrmlIIe__uKZe2KO6V2OheRWGehgQZtXzNoeS7upRirVuFwE/s1600/Chair+-+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcz3sokOqWbfKPARy_WoEZXJeYcoy17w2wcfxBRcH2bxzDjbXhF6B949ROEf9ciJP3OWGlQnjigdk-luXVCzBknDpXlMlQrmlIIe__uKZe2KO6V2OheRWGehgQZtXzNoeS7upRirVuFwE/s320/Chair+-+14.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top showing what I was thinking for lifting</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28arQkUxLXYiXUdET3raZ6Bil-Pu0JcIID7JJMcXQTZ_lrWsZVA3t5XVOXVmc3cDE9LUUgfaO_sLieE_exQUyPmdmvxh5frzCG0nbxoPVDbXdkr9vi73BWNvBknMt0puYy7imHTv7skWi/s1600/Chair+-+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28arQkUxLXYiXUdET3raZ6Bil-Pu0JcIID7JJMcXQTZ_lrWsZVA3t5XVOXVmc3cDE9LUUgfaO_sLieE_exQUyPmdmvxh5frzCG0nbxoPVDbXdkr9vi73BWNvBknMt0puYy7imHTv7skWi/s320/Chair+-+15.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of what I intended for lifting</td></tr>
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<div>
I would like to see this bridge in a layout and will give it to anyone that is actively working on a layout and that will commit to using it (and will post pictures). In the ideal case I would like to see a donation to the MS Society for whatever amount a recipient of the bridge feels is worth while.</div>
Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-39213037372570065562018-04-04T06:58:00.002+01:002018-04-04T06:58:32.928+01:00Using the NanoDLP Mask Generation WizardThere doesn't seem to be a good document out there on how to use the NanoDLP mask generation wizard someone going to do a quick one that at least provides an overview.<br />
<br />
The first thing you need is a meter that can read the UV light coming from the printer. There are number of options discussed elsewhere on this blog. You can whip one up using a voltmeter, (with a battery, a resistor, and a photoresistor), you could use one based on an Arduino microprocessor (with a resistor and a photoresistor), or you could use a commercial device. As the readings are relative to each other it doesn't really matter what you use!<br />
<br />
You also need to understand the screen orientation as represented by NanoDLP relative to the actual printer. <a href="http://raspberrypirobot.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/the-nanodlp-mask-wizard-and-wanhao-d7.html">This article should help</a>.<br />
<br />
Of course you should also understand conceptually what you are trying to do! A mask is a grayscale image that evens out exposure from the less bright areas to the bright center. The mask will be clear at the edges where the light doesn't reach as well as the center where it will be dark. The wizard lets you measure points on the screen and adjust them so that they are all at the same level of brightness. It then generates a mask based on those readings.<br />
<br />
As this is just an overview I'm not going to talk about the details of creating a mask as you should be able to figure that out by messing with the wizard. In general what you need to do is display the grid of cells of the size that you will use. Find the one that is the dimmest, usually one of the corners. Adjust all the other cells to the same reading as that dim cell. Generate the mask!<br />
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I believe the new is diversion of the wizard allows you to export a CSV file that represents the mask. My D7 is currently in pieces being upgraded so I am not sure of this. If indeed it does you should save one of these exports! I would also recommend getting the image file that is generated by the wizard from the RPI and saving it on your workstation. You can then upload it at your leisure and use it only when it is needed as opposed to all the time with longer exposure that goes with it.<br />
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<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-23737831277650560642018-04-02T16:59:00.002+01:002018-04-03T15:02:01.518+01:003D Printed Tiles for Terraforming Mars GameThis is an auction for a set of 3D Printed "enhancements" for the terraforming Mars game. All proceeds from this auction will go to support my wife's run in the London Marathon on the MS Society team. I am not using the eBay charities functionality so that the donation will be credited to the right place within the MS Society.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202278173482">Link to the eBay Auction</a><br />
<br />
The set consists of game tiles, the markers for Generation, Heat, and O2, a case for all of the afore mentioned bits and a direction coin for drafting.<br />
<br />
The tiles are as follows:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>9 ocean tiles</li>
<li>16 city tiles</li>
<li>25 green space tiles</li>
<li>11 special tiles</li>
</ul>
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The special titles are as follows:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Borer area</li>
<li>Business district</li>
<li>Capital city</li>
<li>Industrial area</li>
<li>Lava flows</li>
<li>Natural Park</li>
<li>Nature reserve</li>
<li>Nuclear containment area</li>
<li>Rights area</li>
<li>Two mining areas</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtmhwhkoCg7ntnXGe7364eSsOuZoC6ag19U-tCrR7WCG6YnHWmdvu5Y7vGJm8rbdPdSpzcdlhSpu_dIc3aI5UfYJT8X4kFc4KQ2GLZqSifLDvPCNfBN0OKZmvD-wF4PvPoICN7SUFxEOw/s1600/TFM+-+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1154" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtmhwhkoCg7ntnXGe7364eSsOuZoC6ag19U-tCrR7WCG6YnHWmdvu5Y7vGJm8rbdPdSpzcdlhSpu_dIc3aI5UfYJT8X4kFc4KQ2GLZqSifLDvPCNfBN0OKZmvD-wF4PvPoICN7SUFxEOw/s320/TFM+-+7.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Complete Ready for Shipping</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ydTzh9nAvATg79OQVvZ0cH_7LBL_epRGJNlTXNRL1YHxllk3a5NRIlOtFvhGzOWuk4XCcw2U9x8qaRaS0vVSkerzhsajL6oL2kjvAPma7LlRAvsPZ2B75UcZsXJguEdacobxgKq0WdJz/s1600/TFM+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ydTzh9nAvATg79OQVvZ0cH_7LBL_epRGJNlTXNRL1YHxllk3a5NRIlOtFvhGzOWuk4XCcw2U9x8qaRaS0vVSkerzhsajL6oL2kjvAPma7LlRAvsPZ2B75UcZsXJguEdacobxgKq0WdJz/s320/TFM+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Complete Set</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteesJwOx2D7mgA_1a0BlluOSPA3nn0dI0EhdKM1-IN68siWQHk6Ohj3Wrmm0zgMyYXHwBF3BtzN2OgqokJkRxOsRWm4XPziGg1sTmCbXiukEGhRzWLJH-7Ez6FJrGtvmfq70fN5rzAqbc/s1600/TFM+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteesJwOx2D7mgA_1a0BlluOSPA3nn0dI0EhdKM1-IN68siWQHk6Ohj3Wrmm0zgMyYXHwBF3BtzN2OgqokJkRxOsRWm4XPziGg1sTmCbXiukEGhRzWLJH-7Ez6FJrGtvmfq70fN5rzAqbc/s320/TFM+-+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of Greenery Tiles (Matt PLA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB29GBaxuPdp98A2fqjFO57EXAAngmTSeXtAzIJbA7t7WfSTOVSp6yVvo6F3jYnDOf2FwXTomotcndAGRcX08_BUDjBRb7uI86ebN7ya3VP2mACV6iZyW_E4qGrIWpHZ0AfFwmNtyVfQPZ/s1600/TFM+-+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB29GBaxuPdp98A2fqjFO57EXAAngmTSeXtAzIJbA7t7WfSTOVSp6yVvo6F3jYnDOf2FwXTomotcndAGRcX08_BUDjBRb7uI86ebN7ya3VP2mACV6iZyW_E4qGrIWpHZ0AfFwmNtyVfQPZ/s320/TFM+-+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special Tiles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-dUrKm8835S0kEj1oozXgZxyj5rK2YA1L_gK6gnY_Pv6DZtPLLuuSDk0NzotBq78ADUqMspCNZlztmSakmGgTEIbgtzJg0LJ6pVPdB8gBPOKfsIuwSx1zhXfw6Wrhr1PIhulTry7-z8p/s1600/TFM+-+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-dUrKm8835S0kEj1oozXgZxyj5rK2YA1L_gK6gnY_Pv6DZtPLLuuSDk0NzotBq78ADUqMspCNZlztmSakmGgTEIbgtzJg0LJ6pVPdB8gBPOKfsIuwSx1zhXfw6Wrhr1PIhulTry7-z8p/s320/TFM+-+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closeup of City Tiles</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7A1UMVK2MMKup5nvSy2xiwZKkFzjdMCTNibEer-amMuUMlZUXVeHkMkLHQIIthB55wUzVcRICr6hD2LyQMiLbjHzTceURMHy_wsxHgBxoWBfDMlPdzyq14Hdg7Y7hyjMiTeyANKcWw6x/s1600/TFM+-+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="862" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7A1UMVK2MMKup5nvSy2xiwZKkFzjdMCTNibEer-amMuUMlZUXVeHkMkLHQIIthB55wUzVcRICr6hD2LyQMiLbjHzTceURMHy_wsxHgBxoWBfDMlPdzyq14Hdg7Y7hyjMiTeyANKcWw6x/s320/TFM+-+6.jpg" width="172" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ocean Tiles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphm-DPW7KTPmZbLgG0UcPcLo5r_H6odDxr9U8rj0W3Wi-XFf0emIggDydlP6wYzGBsjGcqjIW_whp_C9JAqN_E1SlKmlabxyhOt1dab_HBfau56M-dRH3MXQ-VFsI6kAoGD9djow6ENFN/s1600/TFM+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphm-DPW7KTPmZbLgG0UcPcLo5r_H6odDxr9U8rj0W3Wi-XFf0emIggDydlP6wYzGBsjGcqjIW_whp_C9JAqN_E1SlKmlabxyhOt1dab_HBfau56M-dRH3MXQ-VFsI6kAoGD9djow6ENFN/s320/TFM+-+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Direction Coin for Drafting as well as O2, Temperature, and Generation Markers (printed with CopperFill and then polished.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Note that this set of tiles is being sold with the full approval of the author given that the proceeds are going to the MS Society.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202278173482">Link to the eBay Auction</a><br />
<div>
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Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-49826051114440350382018-03-02T08:54:00.000+00:002018-03-02T08:54:04.776+00:00My Powered Chair and 3D PrintingI don't think that there is a mention in this blog that identifies me as being disabled. I am fighting MS and have progressed to needing a wheelchair to move around easily as muscle control and fatigue combine to make mobility a challenge. Luckily I could afford one of the best powered chairs out there, the Quickie Jive Up, to meet my needs. There is no doubt about it when I say that this is the Mercedes of powered chairs. I say Mercedes as the manufacturer is Sunrise Medical and they are in Germany. I say Mercedes and not BMW (my previous cars) as Sunrise Medical is near their headquarters and not in Bavaria. If I could drive a Mercedes I would but since I can't at least I am lucky enough to be able to afford the Jive Up.<br />
<br />
The chair is based on the Quickie Jive M which has a mid-wheel drive and an adjustable seat all controlled by a joystick and or some buttons. The mid-wheel allows the chair to turn in its own length and the suspension that the chair sits on makes for a decent ride. The seat is adjustable from sitting to laying flat. To this the JIve Up adds the ability to stand with some useful positions in between.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxyzf_ldhzz9Iy8r93cCO6elTWueyAJ3Y2GvpJYpP4KeFJUJeE3ffAd4GLQwiyBFV1nFuC6sfA9malCJnI9OVN6ee4cQBv-VCqauCIE-NmXLtOKBdvGHEK4AThnLGPSupSyYlapuNWx-L/s1600/IMG_8440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="731" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxyzf_ldhzz9Iy8r93cCO6elTWueyAJ3Y2GvpJYpP4KeFJUJeE3ffAd4GLQwiyBFV1nFuC6sfA9malCJnI9OVN6ee4cQBv-VCqauCIE-NmXLtOKBdvGHEK4AThnLGPSupSyYlapuNWx-L/s320/IMG_8440.jpg" width="146" /></a></div>
Yes, it is a monster! It looks even bigger than it actually is due to it being in a position call "transition" which helps me get out of it and into my office chair (or other chairs and seats). It can continue to raise the seat until I am standing. It is those extra servos and controls that make it so bloody expensive. It is capable of 6mph and can run on streets legally. A battery and motor upgrade allows for 8mph but at the expense of torque so I went with this one.<br />
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It has greatly improved my life already in that I can be much more useful to myself and Sara compared to being in a traditional wheelchair or on crutches. I can actually carry coffee in one had while I drive with the other. Believe me when I say that small things matter. One of the positions the chair offers is between sitting and standing and is one that I use most frequently in the kitchen. With it I can much more easily get things done that would otherwise be a struggle.<br />
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This does not even begin to touch on the ability that the chair will give me to get out and about this spring...combined with a new car to carry it.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQy9MC-h2FMAfsTLCdOMASHYLBg7yNxFVG6ktwzkGsZPLEZosPfnQVuC586JhlrDuYaLPFVNk7yU4zTTwUgWiiDbnYxLr8rg3ST7FOxBWMXAWbx0Lc8NSKbHjTt9ByUMWK3WE9mHwbv3h0/s1600/IMG_8443+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1600" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQy9MC-h2FMAfsTLCdOMASHYLBg7yNxFVG6ktwzkGsZPLEZosPfnQVuC586JhlrDuYaLPFVNk7yU4zTTwUgWiiDbnYxLr8rg3ST7FOxBWMXAWbx0Lc8NSKbHjTt9ByUMWK3WE9mHwbv3h0/s200/IMG_8443+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
This will not come as a surprise to anyone with a 3D Printer, or anyone that has read this blog for that matter, but within minutes of having it I was already thinking of how to modify and enhance it. The first thing that I designed were two brackets that can hold my grabber for when I inevitably drop something. This is a frequent occurrence as I have lost some coordination in my hands.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rtIQy2bd10nx7sbxhV_-C0jUpgcoSn4tyU8BI0YoDHrzAfqNgt15pb6wl_Fl7LJJtp2m_M8aZsqufzAE-jf40zw_rX2dbSvoJm1VNZzDlYTe8vLsFhueypLUDPxOaD2CijMMFyotOzj-/s1600/IMG_8444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1600" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rtIQy2bd10nx7sbxhV_-C0jUpgcoSn4tyU8BI0YoDHrzAfqNgt15pb6wl_Fl7LJJtp2m_M8aZsqufzAE-jf40zw_rX2dbSvoJm1VNZzDlYTe8vLsFhueypLUDPxOaD2CijMMFyotOzj-/s200/IMG_8444.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hIN4iu8LLTuM8ER2ko8vCfq0KOEcOHrqa4uN3Exf8pVKapE4yujyCHJhcSwd-By8G8OxYLWDhZJwfMHAanMvlla9rTYE7swCqhvcH0kDeNlgneTOZobIIqpnGnhyphenhyphenjniSB55U02FcBRXI/s1600/IMG_8441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hIN4iu8LLTuM8ER2ko8vCfq0KOEcOHrqa4uN3Exf8pVKapE4yujyCHJhcSwd-By8G8OxYLWDhZJwfMHAanMvlla9rTYE7swCqhvcH0kDeNlgneTOZobIIqpnGnhyphenhyphenjniSB55U02FcBRXI/s200/IMG_8441.jpg" width="150" /></a>Soon after that it became clear that the arm holding the controller could be improved. The one that came with the chair was very adjustable but came at the expense of a little added width. So I designed one that was the right length and orientation for me, that included places for the two buttons that I had purchased for the chair, and was no wider than the chair.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4S804AwQqprhiXlAIm2ybA8zSGaPBeX5_SV3PwzfmX_Xh_kAjTXINJKhXzq2S4AU_JWLfLzo0k28FhjqgQwDJhE2Zu483-hkohfRtckAif_H4NwBHJbfGgrMZ1ti19J7YYyBMKCbVDF7I/s1600/IMG_7873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4S804AwQqprhiXlAIm2ybA8zSGaPBeX5_SV3PwzfmX_Xh_kAjTXINJKhXzq2S4AU_JWLfLzo0k28FhjqgQwDJhE2Zu483-hkohfRtckAif_H4NwBHJbfGgrMZ1ti19J7YYyBMKCbVDF7I/s200/IMG_7873.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1FLU0MhPX54ybQaZV0t8GIPtHklMON229bixIzizj1pO9IkR42v0Z_E0mQvvaPvT_8lBERNsqxkd8DnBazlKpZtHTD4Vxs2o0B1rVs2ah1iknCm15YE43TWiWlXt0Ol4B2cxPHj6IhVj/s1600/IMG_7870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1FLU0MhPX54ybQaZV0t8GIPtHklMON229bixIzizj1pO9IkR42v0Z_E0mQvvaPvT_8lBERNsqxkd8DnBazlKpZtHTD4Vxs2o0B1rVs2ah1iknCm15YE43TWiWlXt0Ol4B2cxPHj6IhVj/s200/IMG_7870.jpg" width="200" /></a>Having done the controller arm I then did a mount for the other arm that I intend to be interchangeable. You can see in the photo with the controller. Right now the one inserted into the mount is for my iPhone. As you can see in the picture there is a charging cable that leads back to the chairs battery compartment where I have installed a 24v-5v voltage converter that provides the 5v power to four USB ports.<br />
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The last two additions had nothing to do with printed plastic but add convenience. First, a saddle bag that fits perfectly under the right armrest. Second, a general purpose shoulder bag that fits perfectly across the back of the chair (not shown). Third, and finally, a retractable seat belt replacing the non-retractable version that came with the chair (also not shown).Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-63107844343755446102018-02-19T05:43:00.000+00:002018-02-19T14:05:58.898+00:00Micro Studio - Photographing Tiny 3D PrintsThe level of detail printed by my SLA technology is such that a macro lens is essential if you actually want to see the finest of those details. I have been using a macro lens attached to my iPhone for this with pretty good results as described by a previous post. I may have even gone a little further than I needed to set up a mini studio!<br />
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What the iPhone solution delivers in terms of convenience though is lost in quality. Lack of depth of field makes focus across any distance problematic and the various forms of optical distortion caused by tiny lenses is not a help either. Enter my SLR. I have Canon SLR and a <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FGQCCHM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1">macro lens</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XHXHWFX/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1">macro flash</a> that I had purchased a while back. I have never really taken the time to set it up for easy capture of the small models that I print until now.<br />
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Here is the my setup:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FJ83RRhssk7eRmqztrBF7fWHU3U4NwR4BvTbaXkhQIpisnPLav_pNVS1_a4wwZB2JOU8s3XSccL8v4QbhaC92nf8PLnsn5h5q0ZR8u6b4fL2mDPGZHittE9mr_HGvCxiPkpF4A3N5pvX/s1600/IMG_8434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FJ83RRhssk7eRmqztrBF7fWHU3U4NwR4BvTbaXkhQIpisnPLav_pNVS1_a4wwZB2JOU8s3XSccL8v4QbhaC92nf8PLnsn5h5q0ZR8u6b4fL2mDPGZHittE9mr_HGvCxiPkpF4A3N5pvX/s200/IMG_8434.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woeking Bits</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<ul>
<li>3D Printed stand for the camera and macro lens</li>
<li>The actual camera and macro lense</li>
<li>Rotating platform for the object to be photographed</li>
<li>Elevator to raise or lower the floor on which the subject will sit.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:742738">Backdrop</a> holding paper that could be white or black</li>
<li>PC (or Mac in this case) running Canon's EOS Utility<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG-RVfzgLDNBXHaznUbYOKuv7hStQZK2prxYPG84P3cE8JVnBvMyY8yqlPh6Y1OVpACcoBZn4cdl4x7idesMFUPuKiZzmxkaDmbTVw9sXPsRqZdWOJhINxD4KPYWyOZmEidf_Yk1F53ZN/s1600/IMG_8436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1600" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG-RVfzgLDNBXHaznUbYOKuv7hStQZK2prxYPG84P3cE8JVnBvMyY8yqlPh6Y1OVpACcoBZn4cdl4x7idesMFUPuKiZzmxkaDmbTVw9sXPsRqZdWOJhINxD4KPYWyOZmEidf_Yk1F53ZN/s200/IMG_8436.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the working bits</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxlsjmAwvZL1L9ZNAPnAPoGjM0r6i71FHjAlytGVYaI40m3YOi21BcittkG1omyCsOJJ1pi9B5pBGP-FRcGWOo7uWuQqt5XZFH_csk9NWhvQ7-qATIzqYKL7iX9IUz9ORDfvjFa9HHgpV/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-18+at+2.40.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1226" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgxlsjmAwvZL1L9ZNAPnAPoGjM0r6i71FHjAlytGVYaI40m3YOi21BcittkG1omyCsOJJ1pi9B5pBGP-FRcGWOo7uWuQqt5XZFH_csk9NWhvQ7-qATIzqYKL7iX9IUz9ORDfvjFa9HHgpV/s200/Screen+Shot+2018-02-18+at+2.40.31+PM.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">EOS Utility Console</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfZROOHqaPnFUI1Iur5F1dduDUuzsEjlB9ai5wldHQrhazFXXLet-ei5iwM5ItD2fwcgC7-vbaBL5q3AVbpUiPVw3W53ONUN4-NEHFSXf84cuPEqneUQyPY1_6aqs7xU3TinCT3HEjXRT/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-18+at+2.40.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="998" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfZROOHqaPnFUI1Iur5F1dduDUuzsEjlB9ai5wldHQrhazFXXLet-ei5iwM5ItD2fwcgC7-vbaBL5q3AVbpUiPVw3W53ONUN4-NEHFSXf84cuPEqneUQyPY1_6aqs7xU3TinCT3HEjXRT/s200/Screen+Shot+2018-02-18+at+2.40.47+PM.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captured Image</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
</ul>
The parts that I designed for the Micro Studio are a rough work in progress but they can be found <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2799216">here</a>. Rotating stage is based on a huge bearing that I had from another project. It is really not needed for this one so I have one that can be printed but I have not tested it. The concept is here though!Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-54414717781784387612018-02-09T09:09:00.001+00:002018-02-09T09:09:10.074+00:00Leveling the MoaiOne of the two complaints that I have stated in regards to the Moai concerns the leveling process. Standing a big and heavy printer on its head does not sound like a good idea! I play with a couple of different vats and I have found that they are different enough to demand re leveling (unless you only print at 100um). This would become a pain...beyond pain even! As I worked with the printer, however, I was able to come to terms with a decent process.<br />
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The first part of the solution was <a href="http://wiki.peopoly.net/doku.php?id=moai:leveling#leveling_check">this article</a> being published on the Moai Wiki. That led to a couple of refinements.<br />
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If you are starting fresh go ahead and turn the printer on its head. Remove the four leveling bolts completely. Print four of these <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2751005">knobs from Thingiverse.</a> Note that you need to do some test prints to ensure the knobs fit the bolts securely. As in you should need to pound them on. Once each bolt has a knob put the bolts back on the printer and do the leveling with the paper sheet and all. Turn the printer back over!<br />
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The second part of the solution is to print the test file from <a href="http://wiki.peopoly.net/doku.php?id=moai:leveling#leveling_check">this article</a> (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1REhwgXPzffKO1UOH15q6oeZvWlj-A3Lv/view">here is a direct link</a>). Measure each of the cylinders and record the measurements in <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17QjFhNofO76sC_xwRhfCclRovb4vJTUr0Fw6udwobR0/edit?usp=sharing">your copy of this Google Sheet</a>. Each knurl of the knobs that you now have on your printer represents 1/8th of a turn. With practice you can turn these knobs pretty precisely just by feel. You can also do this through the opening where the vat sits and without removing a side panel from the printer!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS3aXt7ONLZiXdbxHW3CU5N7jSEcMzi2JcXa0MjIxfXCzoPT33-jAk9Pjh-dEwJJZxdtRIQwL0QIHE10Pn0N4A7rHAHdwDXQrct-VswG8bDYp2Uf2rSe8GV85WAdvxb0DnhCH5EK9s8WGj/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-02-09+at+8.47.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="696" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS3aXt7ONLZiXdbxHW3CU5N7jSEcMzi2JcXa0MjIxfXCzoPT33-jAk9Pjh-dEwJJZxdtRIQwL0QIHE10Pn0N4A7rHAHdwDXQrct-VswG8bDYp2Uf2rSe8GV85WAdvxb0DnhCH5EK9s8WGj/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-02-09+at+8.47.26+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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As always, remember to take the build plate off the printer before removing the vat!<br />
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The final part of the solution is to come up with a way to roughly level things without turning the printer over. Here is my technique. Set the Z Reset Position to something like 985 or so. Maybe even lower (which means the plate will be further from the PDMS). Let it move into position. Note whether or not the platform moved when the build plate settled. What you are looking for is the first point at which you detect movement. The Z Reset Position that I use is the one that is one lower than the first movement one.<br />
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IMPORTANT NOTE: When the current version of firmware starts the Moai it does so with a raise of the build platform and then a tilting of the vat. Why this order is inexplicable to me! It will harm your PDMS and should be the other way around. Lacking that you can protect your vat by starting a print and then turning the printer off after the initial tilt starts and gets PDMS separation. When your turn your printer back on it will be gentle to the PDMS.<br />
<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-49669189429591604832018-01-07T04:31:00.001+00:002018-01-07T04:40:20.968+00:00Printer #5 (Though Only Temporary) - Peopoly MoaiNot the printer but rather the number of them! Have added a <a href="https://peopoly.net/">Peopoly Moai</a> to my collection of printers. That means that I now have three different technologies represented. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) in the case of the Ultimaker 2+ and 3. Direct UV Printing (DUP) in the case of the two (going to one) Wanhao D7s. Now with "traditional" Stereo Lithography Apparatus (SLA) for the Moai.<br />
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The Moai was attractive to me for a couple of reasons. First and foremost because while I have enjoyed the Wanhao D7s they are not as dependable as I would like. Second, because of the positive reviews from its small but enthusiastic user community. Third, for the price point. Fourth and finally, because the laser spot size of 67um.<br />
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Following is a brief review of my experiences with this printer in three sections: the kit experience, design and component quality, and finally operation.<br />
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<h4>
The Kit Experience</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGI44JAwCjeu57pVO7E0sYddWpuPd7S80WGzzLW6q1O7iybTnBgzyJEpzdKWK2CYordSl5QPE8BbG-GCD5tvu0RPOd0e_XKNvh9xyCU46qnpas87ggAhn95Y-AsrD-B8GpT3u6tdvZaDs/s1600/IMG_7246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGI44JAwCjeu57pVO7E0sYddWpuPd7S80WGzzLW6q1O7iybTnBgzyJEpzdKWK2CYordSl5QPE8BbG-GCD5tvu0RPOd0e_XKNvh9xyCU46qnpas87ggAhn95Y-AsrD-B8GpT3u6tdvZaDs/s320/IMG_7246.jpg" width="320" /></a>I was not sure what to expect from this kit but was very pleased by the experience. The parts were all clearly labeled and the instructions were relatively easy to follow though I strongly recommend augmenting them with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5vjkL5vtcQ">this video guide</a>. A five hour assembly is promised but I did not expect that to be the case (for me anyway). It probably ended up taking me ten hours which is more to my slowness than anything to do with the kit. I have subsequently read a post where someone actually beat the five hour estimate on a first build!</div>
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<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaF0vEOAqimFuXD2W8ZETjs9kEpg2rovKJXy6RJslQQQTeK3aGBad9jPkOcDHtOMCaKuT6HQGRbqhVo8Re_5GkBRi_3RwGIFubL8KTISR1X9pvRw7mFEboRXmT3xlB0mLoo4c1wDU3mgW/s1600/IMG_7736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaF0vEOAqimFuXD2W8ZETjs9kEpg2rovKJXy6RJslQQQTeK3aGBad9jPkOcDHtOMCaKuT6HQGRbqhVo8Re_5GkBRi_3RwGIFubL8KTISR1X9pvRw7mFEboRXmT3xlB0mLoo4c1wDU3mgW/s320/IMG_7736.jpg" width="320" /></a>I think the printer looks good against a background of Ultimakers! I don't have much else to say about the Kit Experience. It was a pretty straight forward process and proof was in the pudding after doing a test print almost straight out of the "box".</div>
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<h4>
Design and Component Quality</h4>
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It is not fair to compare my Wanhao D7 experience with the Moai given the price difference but I will anyway with that caveat. As you would hope the Moai is a world apart from the D7. I would put the quality of the printer closer to that of my Ultimakers than I would to any of the three "clone" printers that I have owned. One major difference to the D7 is that people seem to be able to reliably share profiles for resins as there is not the wild variability between lasers as we see between UV LED arrays. This suggests a tighter attention to quality control for the Moai components in general.<br />
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On the hardware side, the frame is solid and further stiffened by the exterior plexiglass panels. Everything seems to be well designed and well engineered to fit together to provide a sturdy and rigid structure. The enclosure does, however, seem to be a fair bit larger than it needs to be for the size of the components stuck inside of it! This all adds weight which goes to my first concern about the Moai.<br />
<br />
Leveling the printer is slightly complicated by the process that starts with "turn the printer over"! This is a printer, btw, that weighs nearly 20 kilos. I am not sure how the leveling process should be done but it feels, to me at least, that this is a distinct area of improvement for the Moai.<br />
<h4>
Operation</h4>
</div>
<div>
Operation of the printer is very straightforward. You insert an SD card, click on print, select a gcode file generated by Cura, and you are off to the races. Beautiful print on the way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is, of course, unless you are switching resins and want to change the laser setting. You have to do this via the firmware menu? Wtf? Why does this not come to the printer as temperature on gcode is beyond my paygrade to understand at this time though I have asked on the forum. This is not at all a show stopped it just adds a cumbersome step to your workflow that does not need to be there. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The bottom line is that the firmware that drives the Maoi is not as advanced as the hardware. Don't get me wrong, it works and seems to work well, it is primitive! The above is the biggest example but there are other things that could be improved:<br />
<br />
My first wish, as stated above, would be for the laser power to be adjustable via the gcode print stream. Extruder temperature? And while that is being done do the same for the other settings that are adjustable and have an impact on print quality<br />
<br />
My second wish would be to have an estimated print time displayed<br />
<br />
Third wish would be for the knob to be reversed so that turning it clockwise results in a change up...as I believe is standard with most things?<br />
<br />
Fourth is to add a menu for printer action controls. Home, Print Position, Peel (Up and Down), Peel (Leave Down), Jog Platform Down, Jog Platform Up.<br />
<br />
Finally, given the above, a whole new menu structure would be nice! Maybe three main items, "Print", "Setup", and "Control"?<br />
<br />
<h4>
Support and Community</h4>
I will close with praise for the support that Peopoly provides and for the active, and helpful, community around the printer. </div>
Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-41984196878979464642017-11-25T10:31:00.000+00:002017-11-26T07:51:37.642+00:00Photographing Calibration Cubes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
If it is worth doing it is worth doing over the top! So it is when it comes to me taking photographs of calibration object (<a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=3dsla&sa=&dwh=175a191a8359ba6">3DSlaTest</a>). The goal is to get consistent images so one cube can be compared to another easily. My set setup is shown below. The components of this setup are as follows:<br />
<ol>
<li>iPhone6</li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1767136">Mount for iPhone6 from Thingiverse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2667889">Lighting - Strip LEDs in a 3D Printed Frame</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01J5VB8TQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1">Macro Lens for iPhone</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2667889">3D Printed Cube Stand</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2667889">3D Printed Square Mount for Calibration Cube</a></li>
<li>3D Printed <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:106568">Backdrop Holder from Thingiverse</a></li>
<li>Craft Paper for Backdrop</li>
</ol>
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Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-23711484966444859152017-11-22T08:54:00.002+00:002017-11-23T07:56:32.770+00:00What $1000 SLA/DUP/DLP Printer Would I Recommend?This was the year that you could start to buy (as opposed to build) a 3D Printer based on curing liquid resin (rather than melting plastic) for $500. Pretty amazing when you consider where the costs of printers in this technology sector have been priced. Of course at that price point you are going to have to make some sacrifices but at that price it is worth it!<br />
<br />
The printers we are talking about come in three flavours.<br />
<br />
The first, and the one that has been around the longest, uses a laser to cure the resin. They are commonly called SLA printers which stands for (S)tereo(l)ithography (A)pparatus. In reality, however, all of the 3D Printers in this category fit this title given its definition includes the following: <span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">optical fabrication, photo-solidification, or resin printing</span>! We will, however, just call the branch of the family that uses lasers to be SLA printers. Think Formlabs Form 1 and Form 2. The x/y resolution on a laser based printer will be 100um ish to 200um ish.<br />
<br />
The second flavour is called Direct Light Processing (DLP) and uses a projector. Think Moonray or B9Creator. Some of these types of printers are capable of x/y resolutions of 30um - though with a smallish build size.<br />
<br />
The third is called Direct UV Printing (DUP) and it uses UV light passing through an LCD display. This is what the Wanhao D7 uses. These types of printers are typically getting resolution of 50um on the x/y axis.<br />
<br />
Generally these printers project onto the bottom of a vat of resin with a build plate that is dipping onto and off the build surface. The z-axis will be capable of resolutions from 10um to 100um. The whole workflow process for resin based printing is very different that for FDM and is <a href="http://raspberrypirobot.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/workflow-for-3d-printing-with-resin.html">described here</a>.<br />
<br />
At this moment there seem to be four major choices for a cheap printer in the resin printing space:<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<ol>
<li>You can build one from a kit or even from scratch as the parts are pretty common and there are both kits and good DIY instructions available.</li>
<li>You can get a Wanhao D7...or any one of the numerous clones that look just like it. I am not sure who was actually first here. Wanhao is a cloner but are they also a clonee? Here is an <a href="http://raspberrypirobot.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/would-i-recommend-wanhao-d7.html">earlier article about the D7</a> ... note that a lot has improved since then.</li>
<li>You could buy into one of the already released, or very soon to be released, crowd funded printers. Two top this list, the Moai SLA 3D Printer ($1250) and the Phrozen Make DUDP 3D Printer ($980).</li>
<li>You could wait for one of the many other crowd funded projects to come to fruition. There are at least a dozen on Kickstarter with many of them having characteristics shared by the Wanhao D7 and the Phrozen Make.</li>
</ol>
</div>
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Sooooo...what would I recommend? I honestly do not know! The market will mature a lot in the next 12 months so waiting could be your best option, If you absolutely can not wait, and must be under $1000, then I would get a Wanhao D7. Quality has been improving, there is a great support community, and they are ahead of the rest of the pack in terms of release date and number of printers in the system.<br />
<br />
If you can go a little above $1000 then the Moai at $1250 is probably worth considering. I don't have any hands on experience but it has a very enthusiastic following. One slight catch...it is a kit!<br />
<br />
A printer to watch in the short term is the Phrozen Make. It enhances the basic D7 design with what looks like a better z-axis, and what will certainly be a better UV illumination for more even curing of prints.</div>
Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-85114673822005251132017-11-12T13:25:00.003+00:002017-11-18T14:15:01.294+00:00Methods for Creating a Mask for a DUP/DLP 3D Printer (running NanoDLP)As evidenced by recent posts on this blog I have been busy creating masks for my Wanhao D7 printers. I actually have masks that work but what I don't have is an easy process that can be done by anyone without a lot of extra hardware or specific knowledge.<br />
<br />
Some of the techniques that can be used to create a mask are as follows:<br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-20ffe787-b3b2-c23f-be93-7e87fd4a2d6f" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="259"></col><col width="243"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mask Creation Wizard of NanoDLP</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tools needed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Light meter</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Process</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Project a grid of cells for measurement and adjustment. Find the lowest light intensity cell using the light meter. It will be one of the corners. Note the light meter reading. Adjust the grey value in all the other cells to match that of the lowest cell just noted. Press the button to generate a new mask image.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advantages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Minimal investment in tools and/or technology (can even use a multimeter connected to a battery and voltage divider photo resistor as discussed </span><a href="http://raspberrypirobot.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/nanodlp-and-topic-of-masks-part-3.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disadvantage</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Cumbersome and extremely tedious process.</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comments: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remember that the default screen orientation in NanoDLP is not the orientation of the Wanhao D7!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="252"></col><col width="249"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Measure, Calculate, Generate Mask</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tools needed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Light meter and software to generate a mask. Note that I have developed two light meters that I need to release to the public domain. Both based on Arduino Nano's.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Process</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Measure the light intensity using either a physical grid or the grid of cells projected by NanoDLP. Use that set of measurements to model the mask with output being either an actual image file or the inputs needed by the NanoDLP Mask Generation Wizard. </span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advantages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Moderate need for additional tools and/or technology. Relatively easy process. Flexibility to use the data to generate masks for different uses of the build plate.</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disadvantage</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Thus far there has been limited success in creating a really good mask using this technique. </span></div>
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<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comments: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Garage Science has a piece of software that does build a mask but it does not seem to work for the D7 resolution. When I fed it data from a D7, but using a lower resolution in the same aspect ratio, the mask was no more effective than the Excel model that I have developed. A number of people on the Wanhao D7 FB Group has said that a model will not work but I do not understand why. I am assuming it is just a matter of my not having the right maths skills!</span></div>
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</div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="254"></col><col width="243"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Measure, Automatically Adjust, Generate Mask</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tools needed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Light meter integrated with software running on the printer attached Raspberry Pi..</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Process</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Measure the light intensity using either a physical grid or the grid of cells projected by NanoDLP. First find the dimmest corner. Then project a grid of cells, one at a time, so the meter can be placed on each cell. With the meter measuring the cell adjust its intensity using a mask value until it is equal to that of the lowest cell. Output the matrix of mask values for input to NanoDLP (or generate a mask).</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advantages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Should generate an excellent mask (though I have not had time to do so yet).</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easy to run once set up.</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disadvantage</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Fairly complex requirement for integrating a meter and software solution. </span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="252"></col><col width="239"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo Interpretation</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tools needed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Camera (e.g Smartphone) and Image Processing Software (e.g. Gimp, Photoshop, etc)</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Process</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Take a photo of the light pattern projected by the UV LEDs. Manipulate it into a mask using something like Gimp or Photoshop.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advantages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Can be done without any addition of hardware or software on the printer</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disadvantage</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Requires a very fiddly setup for the camera to be positioned above the build plate precisely. Fairly complex process of translating the image to a mask. </span></div>
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<tr style="height: 21pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comments: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think this approach is the most promising to meet my requirement of something that most people could do.</span></div>
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</div>
<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-46144607797320173782017-11-11T06:33:00.002+00:002017-11-17T07:41:28.490+00:00What Entry Level FDM Printer Would I Recommend?<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1510378442115_3197" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 0px;">
I was recently asked what entry level FDM printer would I recommend in the price point of around 300 GBP. The printer would be an XMAS present for a young lad but I think Dad might be interested in some tinkering as well.</div>
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The more I looked at this the more I kept coming back to the same printer. Obviously cost was the first filter but to that I added the following requirements:</div>
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<ul data-setdir="null" dir="" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1510378442115_3431" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px 40px;">
<li id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1510378442115_3430" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Active user community for assistance</li>
<li id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1510378442115_3430" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Open design so you it can be modified/enhanced in the future</li>
<li id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1510378442115_3430" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Not tied to a single source for filament</li>
<li id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1510378442115_3430" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Reasonably mature product (e.g. been in the market long enough to iron out the kinks)</li>
<li id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1510378442115_3430" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Sturdy construction - steel frame - for accuracy and durability</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbNUjXuc1Ae-m6rOLkDiCPeUQcaVrFzjs9BQc0xFuUVjTL7v9BS-SRzJ0y7blD-P9hvuOinXKUAyoC_6MO19r5Jow79paqaFywlnO_YoO8NCAgnZHY_NjAJGwqx-5QOtXFbSaH_bncaTl/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-11+at+5.59.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="960" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbNUjXuc1Ae-m6rOLkDiCPeUQcaVrFzjs9BQc0xFuUVjTL7v9BS-SRzJ0y7blD-P9hvuOinXKUAyoC_6MO19r5Jow79paqaFywlnO_YoO8NCAgnZHY_NjAJGwqx-5QOtXFbSaH_bncaTl/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-11-11+at+5.59.24+AM.png" width="200" /></a>When I toss all this together the printer that I come up with is the Wanhao I3 Duplicator. It comes in two versions with the Plus being 340ish and the regular version 300ish. The extra cost for the plus gives you smaller printer as they integrated the two parts of the original printer (power supply and controls were in their own enclosure) into a single part. It also gives you a larger touch screen and moves from a tiny micro SD card back to the more easily handled larger format. I think it would be a 40 quid well spent for the upgrade.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZumQ2_KC8xOPrf_KmFJjseu0D4_HdKOc8oAGaT1pzcWMjGFYpAwCSM_kF9-7gXTRj45SBADf5uCS9y8EY3U4j3YIs51Ob6KHGin68qrHbjOKsb_aExBxEiNSqiHNfwUhyphenhyphenpIZZskR8FuWe/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-11+at+5.53.13+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="256" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZumQ2_KC8xOPrf_KmFJjseu0D4_HdKOc8oAGaT1pzcWMjGFYpAwCSM_kF9-7gXTRj45SBADf5uCS9y8EY3U4j3YIs51Ob6KHGin68qrHbjOKsb_aExBxEiNSqiHNfwUhyphenhyphenpIZZskR8FuWe/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-11-11+at+5.53.13+AM.png" width="200" /></a>The printer can be purchased on Amazon where it gets very good reviews. The Plus is a fairly recent offering but the original version has been around long enough to work out initial kinks (of which there were numerous). </div>
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The printer is based on the popular Prusa I3 design which is probably the most common style of printer in the market. It was the design of the first printer that I owned, which was a kit build, and which is <a href="http://raspberrypirobot.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/what-has.html">covered in depth earlier in this blog</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCYI-f0Gix307bJisBWYq5EI2LVcJTIHWiUeP_kUTmf0-vjcvArh3nip0y6ktrdO0BqQsRKmlJ-r-aClxOi0h8fVrdQIYQZzGwpkaVUpXl92ttKb8_s-aok3gN-9vuICgpilyzdlsfx6O/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-10+at+3.13.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="448" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCYI-f0Gix307bJisBWYq5EI2LVcJTIHWiUeP_kUTmf0-vjcvArh3nip0y6ktrdO0BqQsRKmlJ-r-aClxOi0h8fVrdQIYQZzGwpkaVUpXl92ttKb8_s-aok3gN-9vuICgpilyzdlsfx6O/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-11-10+at+3.13.18+PM.png" width="186" /></a>One of my requirements for a printer is that it be open to customization. While even a closed design can be hacked going into the equation with the printer being open makes it a lot easier. One of the cool things about having a 3D Printer is being able to print your own enhancements! Searching Thingiverse for Wanhao I3 Mods makes it clear that there is a lot of opportunity for this given the number of <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/search/page:7?sort=relevant&q=wanhao+i3&type=things&dwh=885a0694db6202a">designs already out there</a>.</div>
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There are a lot of Wanhao I3s out there in the ecosystem. In the 3D Printers group on Facebook it was by far the most recommended printer when someone asked the same question that spawned this article. There is also a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/WanhaoDi3/?ref=br_rs">group on Facebook for people interested in this printer</a> with 14k members (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/i3plus/?ref=br_rs">and one for the Plus with 3k members</a>). There is also a <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/wanhao-printer-3d">forum sponsored by Wanhao on Google Groups for their I3 Duplicator (and other printers)</a>. You will not lack for community support if you own one of these printers! In fact, due to the nature of Wanhao as a low cost manufacturer, most of the support that one should expect will likely come from said community.</div>
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Finally, a note on Wanhao. IMHO, if you look up "Low Cost China Clone Manufacturing" in the dictionary the picture there would be of the Wanhao logo. I have owned three of their products, a stable FDM printer, the Duplicator 4s, and now I have two Duplicator 7s, a brand new entry of a resin based printer into the low cost market. Wanhao takes a proven design that is out in the market at a higher price point and clones it for low cost production and they do a very good job of it...in the end! In the beginning, however, their process seems to be a little rough as they release products into the wild that are, for all practical purposes, beta products. The user community then helps them debug those products. They did this with the I3 and some of the early experiences were pretty bad. They have done this with the D7, and again, some of the early experiences have been definite learnings for them. They do react with continuous improvements though. I would caution someone against buying into any new Wanhao product until at least six to nine months have gone by unless they know what they are doing! In the case of the I3, however, they are well past the intro pain!<br />
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Finally, this morning when I got up I was going to post a question to the members of the 3D Printers group on Facebook asking for opinions on the Wanhao I3 printers. Ironically, someone beat me to it with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/makerbot/permalink/1440244539426379/">this post</a> (assuming that you are also a member of the group). The feedback seems to be coming in as largely positive.<br />
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Feedback from the 3D Printing Group on Facebook<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vte5M2TlzdCi3x516kkgLPcg2afMX8q6PhtOXy_0ZVwSHhw5YFtiscWtV6J3QPIeLt2FtKRhJD5PtjcXf24qxuDJUGtI28touKlIHjfXxLB5kVFkFzp8iFjwXD8iTXlQQiQiQlfVnWbq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-17+at+7.36.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="623" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vte5M2TlzdCi3x516kkgLPcg2afMX8q6PhtOXy_0ZVwSHhw5YFtiscWtV6J3QPIeLt2FtKRhJD5PtjcXf24qxuDJUGtI28touKlIHjfXxLB5kVFkFzp8iFjwXD8iTXlQQiQiQlfVnWbq/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-11-17+at+7.36.52+AM.png" width="253" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVxhxMgghsmKgt0ps2TocCP1d1H65OTASWSBQHytz-b_7oGRen5XgyHR4g-w-Or1RdHUOhof3nSGk2Nhzf5POjT1OBNzErFBIszu2yHw5liwPmt0Puhke1Px_smhbzgQNpvPrZPTWE7ZO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-17+at+7.37.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVxhxMgghsmKgt0ps2TocCP1d1H65OTASWSBQHytz-b_7oGRen5XgyHR4g-w-Or1RdHUOhof3nSGk2Nhzf5POjT1OBNzErFBIszu2yHw5liwPmt0Puhke1Px_smhbzgQNpvPrZPTWE7ZO/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-11-17+at+7.37.35+AM.png" width="280" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28Fg9nZfEQXEHBfzyn91TSoWjmzHlfbSIPnjyhCT4Lwr8m2G_wgJjKXKhAj6rnZjNlfKy5Ox7aODe1H3LvGYBkqVBgwx9m4Hy32lLsaeETl_eIoD_8VvSAra86akeHrUGvhoDWKm1Vt7y/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-17+at+7.37.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="606" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28Fg9nZfEQXEHBfzyn91TSoWjmzHlfbSIPnjyhCT4Lwr8m2G_wgJjKXKhAj6rnZjNlfKy5Ox7aODe1H3LvGYBkqVBgwx9m4Hy32lLsaeETl_eIoD_8VvSAra86akeHrUGvhoDWKm1Vt7y/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-11-17+at+7.37.52+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-57285327656580220792017-11-05T08:03:00.000+00:002017-11-05T08:07:27.496+00:00NanoDlp and the topic of Masks - Part 6 - The End of the MeterThe meter, at least as I envisioned it, is dead. Like the dinosaurs and the dodo bird, the meter just has no future given a better way of doing a mask. That is via real time interactive measurement.<br />
<br />
This is how the NanoDlp Mask Generation Wizard is intended to work, and while it does work, it is painful and tedious. NanoDlp displays an image of squares. You measure the light from those squares to find the one that is least bright. You then adjust all the other squares to be the same light level. The mask level for the least bright cell will be unadjusted (255). The rest will be lower values as the lower the value the darker the grey and the less light is passed through.<br />
<br />
So enter a little bit of software that was what I should have been working on since I started this series of articles. Display a square at each corner of the print area and have the user move a light meter probe to each square. Remember which one is the dimmest. Then display squares across the screen asking the user to put the probe into each square as it is displayed. Automatically (that being the key!) lower the brightness of that square until it is the same as the lowest. Record the results as values for a mask (or generate the mask there and then).<br />
<br />
There are a couple of people in the Wanhao D7 group on Facebook that are already working on this and making good progress. I have been kindly given the code for one of them which is what has convinced me that my original meter concept is unworkable. I will probably do my own version now that I have come to that conclusion as it will be fun. Which is why I do any of this stuff!<br />
<br />
I can salvage the last meter that I built to be used as the probe for this solution but the more sophisticate meter is, in effect, a dodo bird.Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-61962144923494846852017-10-14T16:50:00.003+01:002017-10-28T06:57:11.584+01:00NanoDlp and the topic of Masks - Part 5 - Another MeterOne last meter! This is probably the one that I should have done in the first place but it only took today to do it while I am still perfecting the bigger one! Lot more fun that one but this one is probably a lot more practical.<br />
<br />
It consists of a 3D Printed case, an Arduino Nano, a Photoresistor, a 10K resistor, and a couple of wires. Uses a mini-USB cable for communication back to either a terminal program or the Arduino IDE running on a PC or laptop. Power is provided by the USB cable.<br />
<br />
Its output is a continuous stream of readings that represent an average light level across the past second. Each reading includes a quality (based on stability of the reading) metric where 0-1.5 is good, 1.5-3.0 is less good, 3.0 to 6.0 is bad, 6.0 to 10.0 is real bad, and over 10.0 is just plain crap.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWd8jnJ9aAV8mqHACUK_R5Z9A_4l4vIXvv-6yBtK-3UTF_iTSCOJ0wZjwONlDaj2G27jCxGZOR7j_ZES7XgBk98cyZW7nHaM2sDF8lMP3sJ-WV55KAI1bRzTWrOC3QESXRyvW10GRga9z/s1600/IMG_6772+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWd8jnJ9aAV8mqHACUK_R5Z9A_4l4vIXvv-6yBtK-3UTF_iTSCOJ0wZjwONlDaj2G27jCxGZOR7j_ZES7XgBk98cyZW7nHaM2sDF8lMP3sJ-WV55KAI1bRzTWrOC3QESXRyvW10GRga9z/s320/IMG_6772+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meter is designed to be used with a printed grid <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">which ensures good positioning</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGGpHbdfwRdNGclfght47bs6EnsvtWLm7e044N_QCBI37EyNodCIwjFhfIBfKpFSWuUf23pTD5x3HbXcGVpEVDD1MhMT5VuWB1I7-GBv5pUepuVy2NYLBAz998EAqxTH0FwdUsEMnTSi8/s1600/IMG_6771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGGpHbdfwRdNGclfght47bs6EnsvtWLm7e044N_QCBI37EyNodCIwjFhfIBfKpFSWuUf23pTD5x3HbXcGVpEVDD1MhMT5VuWB1I7-GBv5pUepuVy2NYLBAz998EAqxTH0FwdUsEMnTSi8/s320/IMG_6771.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Positioning is very important and sensor needs to be flush to the screen.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOE0V5TIXP4vSEWgOsy4dp1S7dcwFCYOH7V6ChEhAycA2oyhRFH1lkPE0fwnh8rFYI2mb0CbGdC4-Chxk0H0kEHeHQD3YMz4ISqOixdyUnz6LcOPQTfDANZDaCBEbvKHAVIwfNFZX_vf6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-14+at+4.25.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOE0V5TIXP4vSEWgOsy4dp1S7dcwFCYOH7V6ChEhAycA2oyhRFH1lkPE0fwnh8rFYI2mb0CbGdC4-Chxk0H0kEHeHQD3YMz4ISqOixdyUnz6LcOPQTfDANZDaCBEbvKHAVIwfNFZX_vf6/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-10-14+at+4.25.30+PM.png" width="147" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample output shows the readings with their quality.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxF8IoGgsWZwdDFWT1BoUnRuSlE">Here is the code for the Arduino</a><br />
<a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2585866">Here are the files for the Case</a><br />
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Note that there are two versions of the case, the one shown above, and the one shown below. The one above uses a 3D printed grid for alignment and the one below is designed to be positioned on the screen directly aiming for the calibration squares displayed by NanoDlp.<br />
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<h4>
Assembly Instructions</h4>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih00J0Y99-P0PTuWfAA4ON5octMzpbeM6XjjdbgMMITT-ptdxvRT6tT-BlOfP6XS_a0nxPl5BuydqpkA7NEZ40rBn_riSENir-68Z0op9M77LF3la93oK509vu0cinxGT_4rHuC1bxI-ZF/s1600/IMG_6791+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih00J0Y99-P0PTuWfAA4ON5octMzpbeM6XjjdbgMMITT-ptdxvRT6tT-BlOfP6XS_a0nxPl5BuydqpkA7NEZ40rBn_riSENir-68Z0op9M77LF3la93oK509vu0cinxGT_4rHuC1bxI-ZF/s320/IMG_6791+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts Needed: 3D printed case with rest button, some shrink wrap tubing, photoresistor (GL5528) and normal 10k resistor, three female patch cables, and an Arduino Nano. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_B6hdo5VjxtJ6PVtaN4kA_7N8x1L5OftfQC34Bjmf1_fzpJ5lDFbVqs5fFy9_ZRs_pSGaouIN8g4-RddIVUIeuREY-8pK0NFajU05IuXGa8Hr9creof9RJQko8kZqGWD9tMUP2j1OG90b/s320/IMG_6792+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how they need to be connected. Black will plug into the ground pin, Orange to 5v, and Yellow to analog pin 5. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_B6hdo5VjxtJ6PVtaN4kA_7N8x1L5OftfQC34Bjmf1_fzpJ5lDFbVqs5fFy9_ZRs_pSGaouIN8g4-RddIVUIeuREY-8pK0NFajU05IuXGa8Hr9creof9RJQko8kZqGWD9tMUP2j1OG90b/s1600/IMG_6792+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_B6hdo5VjxtJ6PVtaN4kA_7N8x1L5OftfQC34Bjmf1_fzpJ5lDFbVqs5fFy9_ZRs_pSGaouIN8g4-RddIVUIeuREY-8pK0NFajU05IuXGa8Hr9creof9RJQko8kZqGWD9tMUP2j1OG90b/s1600/IMG_6792+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SkBCRqBI2ifRUSwyfzZW76P104iejhpsR-jaQ8ypbKlnPLysrYd28U9FeMJjK9wexMn8D23VQaKc5TwDQ9hPSzY-k_bw7cdA7v2GQaZkmPefA8HTnJhddcgFYzsJMcYD8NdmBWonU8nj/s1600/IMG_6794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1501" data-original-width="1501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SkBCRqBI2ifRUSwyfzZW76P104iejhpsR-jaQ8ypbKlnPLysrYd28U9FeMJjK9wexMn8D23VQaKc5TwDQ9hPSzY-k_bw7cdA7v2GQaZkmPefA8HTnJhddcgFYzsJMcYD8NdmBWonU8nj/s320/IMG_6794.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished and connected to the Arduino Nano. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZefGR-AYQM69CtGyVQvXPwdL4GBsQHFeFNKT9Uz18Nos6p-sH5Gv2JEwGubbgTC6Ne6X41XOtDR97WUutfzfj_Frho-Qkkpk5WEJBR3jL5PEP8zL-GBKhNssKjS9amhC_GMh1WfAT0cQ6/s1600/IMG_6795+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZefGR-AYQM69CtGyVQvXPwdL4GBsQHFeFNKT9Uz18Nos6p-sH5Gv2JEwGubbgTC6Ne6X41XOtDR97WUutfzfj_Frho-Qkkpk5WEJBR3jL5PEP8zL-GBKhNssKjS9amhC_GMh1WfAT0cQ6/s320/IMG_6795+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom view with everything in the case.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5P3h00A6sFzOLJfsF8uFma7P2QNjBf1os_e0DpWE_lVi6JGmLH9Mllr2d5JXApmVdu9WkBNHcGBkwUJsG_xdyNJG43RzTgl2MhBOOHs737gShFtHE6WXSh7qybMlNu0Dh6nhtvCrM6xgN/s1600/IMG_6796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1546" data-original-width="1546" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5P3h00A6sFzOLJfsF8uFma7P2QNjBf1os_e0DpWE_lVi6JGmLH9Mllr2d5JXApmVdu9WkBNHcGBkwUJsG_xdyNJG43RzTgl2MhBOOHs737gShFtHE6WXSh7qybMlNu0Dh6nhtvCrM6xgN/s320/IMG_6796.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top view. The button allows you to reset the Nano. This can serve as a marker if you are using the meter to measure a matrix of cells. The USB connector is not shown but is on the left end of the case. The pins shown are for ICSP programming of the Nano (so you probably don't need to care)!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21PXSEVCPYRekLI2DRPDGL8TL2QiGJSHf496aei3sQsiWnAR93H7_G-PkubAaUTsHwiQyXmNjWGjsPed1FHiUfTM9rX4QjExeQiSRgkBhsFOI-EHc58OQKBIeyJy9kIUN9clbZZGyzE4P/s1600/IMG_6800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="1380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21PXSEVCPYRekLI2DRPDGL8TL2QiGJSHf496aei3sQsiWnAR93H7_G-PkubAaUTsHwiQyXmNjWGjsPed1FHiUfTM9rX4QjExeQiSRgkBhsFOI-EHc58OQKBIeyJy9kIUN9clbZZGyzE4P/s320/IMG_6800.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left end of the case showing access to the USB connector.</td></tr>
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<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-78241684534555679892017-10-14T10:10:00.001+01:002017-10-14T10:13:24.768+01:00NanoDlp and the topic of Masks - Part 4 - More StuffI have a couple copies of my meters out for some testing so thought that I would do an update in regards to my own progress now that I am testing in more earnest.<br />
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Summing it all up: I am a little frustrated! The meter works fine using it in the manner that NanoDlp expects...namely measuring light intensity within cells as you adjust that cell on NanoDlp. What is not working is when I take 50 readings (which I can do in minutes) and feed them to my spreadsheet to have the input prepared for NanoDlp. I was hoping to get to a 1 or 2% deviation on a verification measurement of the brightness once my mask is applied but I don't.<br />
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First a brief overview of operation of the meter.<br />
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<ol>
<li>Connect it to power using a mini USB cable attached to either a power supply or a PC.</li>
<li>If you are using a PC, and the Arduino IDE or a terminal program, to read from the meter then skip the next step.</li>
<li>Connect a terminal to the meter using bluetooth. It should advertise itself as an HC-06 and the password will be "1234". Start a capture (depending on what you are using).</li>
<li>To put the meter in a mode where it just measures continuously you need to reset it using a paperclip through the hole on the top of the case. When the meter resets you will have an option to select its mode of running and what sensor it will use.</li>
<li>Assuming we are going to measure, place the probe with the appropriate sensor on the first cell of the display (bottom right) and press the button. It is very important that the photoresistor be flush with the build surface!</li>
<li>The meter will wait for a stable reading before sending it across bluetooth/usb and putting it on the screen.</li>
<li>When the meter has confirmed the reading move it to the next cell.</li>
<li>When you have moved to the next column press the button longer, for over a second, and a new line will be sent instead of a comma.</li>
<li>Finish measuring all the cells.</li>
<li>Back on your host you should see 10 rows of readings!</li>
</ol>
<div>
When I plug these into my spreadsheet it all seems like it is going to work. I copy the data for the suggested mask and paste it into NanoDlp in hopes that I will find my readings across the mask to be flat...and they are not!<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LYa73JL2GQytTK9-5T_fBUFbgo3L6YEdW1Av2-MpFWg/edit?usp=sharing">Spreadsheet is Here</a><br />
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<div>
There seems to be a lot of variation between reads of the light levels. I am not sure if this is a factor of my printers or the photoresistor that I am using. I have been focused on the older of my two printers but now I am going to spend some time with the newer.</div>
Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-65352045300144587692017-10-08T17:24:00.001+01:002017-10-08T17:27:44.946+01:00NanoDlp and the topic of Masks - Part 3 - Assembly and Operation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/tools/voltage-divider-calculator/"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="286" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lKiL0yeNv0LlYwluajqMm76nOd1_ucy_nYMO4AmuskIWtPv6tV2eD4iR7DSsYMHsvHVcfJKepzV0bmnjj96fT-IcB_y-QO129nYdR9U6-wPyTmIriiVw4b2SOt1xbx1MDtpNz16LGpYI/s200/voltage-divider-main-circuit.webp" width="170" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/tools/voltage-divider-calculator/">Click for Article</a></td></tr>
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The voltage divider circuit this project uses is shown here. R1 is the photoresistor. R2 is the 10k resistor. Vin is the battery which in my case is a 1.5v AA battery. Vout is the volt ohm meter. In the next picture you can see the assembled circuit.<br />
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The next picture shows the completed circuit based on an Arduino Uno. The 10k resistor bridges Ground and Analog Pin 3. One end of the photoresistor goes to the 5v power pin. The other end goes into Analog Pin 3 with the 10k resistor.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgiPccHUWMNDhHvf0wc7KM49tWp5wzUB2llb0PLkD7J8RtzgeH2Ro9oKQys1L6P6JeOvEgcfavcDlFFHuebfbVJ5E7Pa_JfEsfKRIaXYPjUHah_gUKZwKZn-khmcS_XRbADzl7fz46dIl/s1600/IMG_6639+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgiPccHUWMNDhHvf0wc7KM49tWp5wzUB2llb0PLkD7J8RtzgeH2Ro9oKQys1L6P6JeOvEgcfavcDlFFHuebfbVJ5E7Pa_JfEsfKRIaXYPjUHah_gUKZwKZn-khmcS_XRbADzl7fz46dIl/s200/IMG_6639+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>The sketch for the Arduino Uno is <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxF8IoGgsWZwZExEOWtUSWNsckE">here</a>. It will output (to the serial pins) an analog voltage reading every second that is an average of twenty readings for that second. A quality metric will also be output where you would like to see a reading of 1.5 or less indicating that the input was stable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjpcsctNPZGJ4M5zKnzgfjpLf8TWy0Qj23qeG5vYJdF2smdWzpkdJPhKG_5ojZAEnSJYoVyu6hZliic9xL-7SK_D6pkzUwSJRb_7nJbigRm4tAQblDsVYATHtUjGbUNU7HYbLBhZUx1up/s1600/IMG_6637+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjpcsctNPZGJ4M5zKnzgfjpLf8TWy0Qj23qeG5vYJdF2smdWzpkdJPhKG_5ojZAEnSJYoVyu6hZliic9xL-7SK_D6pkzUwSJRb_7nJbigRm4tAQblDsVYATHtUjGbUNU7HYbLBhZUx1up/s200/IMG_6637+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>Finally, a first attempt to use the "hopefully good enough" meter! I have gone into the NanoDlp Mask Generation Wizard and changed the build area dimensions to 10 and 5 and the measurement point dimensions to 200. From here it is up to you as I am still working on my spreadsheet that I hope will simplify a slightly painful process from this point.<br />
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You need to measure the output of the cells displayed on the print surface while adjusting the mask values shown by the wizard. I would recommend that you start by ignoring the outer two rows and columns as that will shorten your task AND also shorten the additional exposure time that would be needed if you included them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlAdERCVqokjHYuz2_WxqjV_j2en8m8w7BZXUcAyVn7S0lpCF7ZNemAtjsuhEBhQd1mvqQRgIsQpJAvd1j0F1AuwyU1cp_msLLVQejXvl9Da6FYdkbDegPfMT2n20rctDAAzKYAw70Nwa/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-06+at+3.40.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1028" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlAdERCVqokjHYuz2_WxqjV_j2en8m8w7BZXUcAyVn7S0lpCF7ZNemAtjsuhEBhQd1mvqQRgIsQpJAvd1j0F1AuwyU1cp_msLLVQejXvl9Da6FYdkbDegPfMT2n20rctDAAzKYAw70Nwa/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-10-06+at+3.40.17+PM.png" width="200" /></a>Your mission is to adjust the cells such that they all project the same amount of light with the ones on the outside starting at 255 and going down with the ones in the center being somewhat lower than that and going up as you move out from the center.<br />
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This is a painful process! This is why I am working on a spreadsheet to help take some of the pain away. Unfortunately it is frustrating me at the moment as the results of the mask, when I measure light output, is not as I expect it to be!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60EkrdwQTGoDOIcydKY6nw5VtGsNyH84nSjBz44GAloybpHtysm4_JsiYUqwW_Z9tpbVf6LS0cchFdQkc_VpG93erIwEa1-k_kHnvI9NsAXSqdZ7sIlFpb7QPK-XgTrUY6MZA6b81m7QH/s1600/IMG_6664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60EkrdwQTGoDOIcydKY6nw5VtGsNyH84nSjBz44GAloybpHtysm4_JsiYUqwW_Z9tpbVf6LS0cchFdQkc_VpG93erIwEa1-k_kHnvI9NsAXSqdZ7sIlFpb7QPK-XgTrUY6MZA6b81m7QH/s200/IMG_6664.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJ5MdDHIcWbrtygt6Zg4CmsCeRUFRigJBIhy2_fGJ4O-k__G5tT4bSO-3PlJO2S8lgICnwJG4fZbTaZRcYnFBuWSCFqVYzMeg_D5Bfx60HEC1EeXtmZgSV8VghCsP5wz4IcBnv_3mdZjQ/s1600/IMG_6663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJ5MdDHIcWbrtygt6Zg4CmsCeRUFRigJBIhy2_fGJ4O-k__G5tT4bSO-3PlJO2S8lgICnwJG4fZbTaZRcYnFBuWSCFqVYzMeg_D5Bfx60HEC1EeXtmZgSV8VghCsP5wz4IcBnv_3mdZjQ/s200/IMG_6663.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-3663842192952442502017-10-06T21:46:00.000+01:002017-10-07T09:25:08.612+01:00NanoDlp and the topic of Masks - Part 2 - BackgroundObviously there are a lot of people getting great results without using a mask. There are a number of factors that can help to make this possible. Resin's, like the old days of film photography, have a latitude of exposure. Some are narrow and some are wider. Models also have a latitude within which they can tolerate under or over exposure. Some people might print primarily in the center of the build plate knowing the fringes are dangerous. But if you want to be able to rely on most of your build plate delivering as good a result as the center, or if you want dimensional accuracy for your prints regardless of where they are located in the build envelope, you need a mask!<br />
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So how do you get one and how much is it going to cost you? What I am going to describe is not the only way to skin this cat as there is also a way to use a digital image of your printer's display. The method that I will describe is using electronic measurement from the surface of the LCD.<br />
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The default setup for NanoDlp assumes that you have a radiometer that can be used to measure the intensity of the UV in each of the cells displayed by the mask generation wizard. Those puppies are expensive though you can find cheap ones aimed seemingly at the sunburn crowd? Not sure how that works for a printer!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKU4vySrMmkgOjNbOSC47csggL3Y4XoaLr-vw1oLsA5yqeoQMkxLQgUimq-JfAcW8tIwrQuw7ql8gXhnLHORZZxGQCmhmQ6Qi5kR5K2-sFlqoZ8iSJruZCkBoIzD9aafw9ddkMeLJ7NQNT/s1600/IMG_6635+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKU4vySrMmkgOjNbOSC47csggL3Y4XoaLr-vw1oLsA5yqeoQMkxLQgUimq-JfAcW8tIwrQuw7ql8gXhnLHORZZxGQCmhmQ6Qi5kR5K2-sFlqoZ8iSJruZCkBoIzD9aafw9ddkMeLJ7NQNT/s320/IMG_6635+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Super Duper Meter</td></tr>
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My thought was to build my own radiometer customized to the NanoDlp environment. I have been working on it for a while and keep finding ways to either fix something that I did wrong, improve it, or just over engineer it (some more)! I think it will be a cool thing for creating a mask, particularly if you have multiple printers or just like gadgets, but it is probably overkill for someone that wants a "good enough" mask for a $500 printer! <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWbRwA1zTg8EtPPSRZ3LBdhOumw_eItD26NhuK66BNSovTWyTUEOQ5AhRMyZwcxWzm8T2NUb2tcXK_sqRzgnORG6xTEQ4ySaI8S3UzpZaGmIpAVXdgB8eIwGCFYWWXzVs2SxV_Zq3YJlZ/s1600/UVvVL.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="606" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWbRwA1zTg8EtPPSRZ3LBdhOumw_eItD26NhuK66BNSovTWyTUEOQ5AhRMyZwcxWzm8T2NUb2tcXK_sqRzgnORG6xTEQ4ySaI8S3UzpZaGmIpAVXdgB8eIwGCFYWWXzVs2SxV_Zq3YJlZ/s320/UVvVL.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comparison of Meters Output</td></tr>
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An interesting find, however, came out of my search for a UV sensor for my meter. I finally found one that worked, a VEML6070 UV Sensor, but noticed three things. First, the light intensity levels being detected by the UV sensor were pretty narrow compared to those detected by a visible light spectrum photoresistor sensor (a GL5288). Second, the pattern of light, and more importantly, the levels of light, detected by the two sensors correlated strongly. This makes sense given that 405nm, as emitted by the Wanhao D7 UV LED array, is pretty much at the boundary of visible light. It makes even more sense that when adding the incidental visible light that the array also produces, that there would be a good reading from the GL5288. Third, and finally, the VEML6070 would have been the most expensive component of my solution compared to the photoresistor which would have been one of the cheapest!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTKqf5wQx-x9Yy8meAF_wzPYJDNcoYN-UO0_ziCmMKD2pAVBcZcCR5d6p_JKvW4Nnc1Th-okmx7N0_lzkFjy13JNc1qpw3_SrBeH2ZQRfbqZ16FLYMiSRYgx6Wr0Hqn1fsMo0exPtIQF0/s1600/IMG_6628+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTKqf5wQx-x9Yy8meAF_wzPYJDNcoYN-UO0_ziCmMKD2pAVBcZcCR5d6p_JKvW4Nnc1Th-okmx7N0_lzkFjy13JNc1qpw3_SrBeH2ZQRfbqZ16FLYMiSRYgx6Wr0Hqn1fsMo0exPtIQF0/s320/IMG_6628+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts Needed for a "Good Enough" Meter</td></tr>
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So here is what you need for a bare bones mask calibration meter. One photoresistor (GL5288), one normal 10K resistor, a battery (ideally 9v), some wire, and a digital volt-ohm meter. I am talking less than $10 here...and you may already have the meter.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgJn1subkUAGtMDAgjIJA-vNmi3S01NduFAJjdSVvSnUuX5hbsCmA44FTMlrX5sbc4xu2q23tdxDuf6NMXn0pRXK5pmBQKt9U04hcc9Bst3PGjvpyIEkNUqM1HTWBrIqHZRxGW_q6CLHg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-05+at+1.17.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1094" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgJn1subkUAGtMDAgjIJA-vNmi3S01NduFAJjdSVvSnUuX5hbsCmA44FTMlrX5sbc4xu2q23tdxDuf6NMXn0pRXK5pmBQKt9U04hcc9Bst3PGjvpyIEkNUqM1HTWBrIqHZRxGW_q6CLHg/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-10-05+at+1.17.42+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the "Spreadhseet"</td></tr>
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The photo resistor changes resistance depending on the intensity of the light it sees. There a circuit called a voltage divider that comes into play for this project. A voltage divider is one of the most simple and useful circuits out there. You can take two resistors of known values, connect them to a power source of a known value, and have the voltage divided with the outputs calculated using a simple formula. For our project we will know the power going in, we will know the resistance of one of the two resistors, and we can measure the voltage that results from whatever light level is impacting the GLS5288. This voltage can then be used as a proxy for a light level reading to generate a mask in NanoDlp (with a little help from a spreadsheet that converts the voltages into input for NanoDlp).<br />
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I struggled a little trying to decide whether to base my "Good Enough" meter on a Volt Ohm Meter or on an Arduino and decided to feature the traditional meter...because it is a traditional meter. My thought process being that most people would know what one was and how to use it. I have now decided to mention both so below you will see the parts needed if you go the Arduino route.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6E0kmOyjnp5Glc5xvtKKHROp__-zKmEfgAA2GGMEIQl3wdWeIixXHLtKgW7YRSwvSa7t7OKIbGeuQdWS1rEDJL6XZwxJcuziJLFcamczXhUAo1xFgCJ7RUU_kSBdc_N7whSZ8l2oO6Z0/s1600/IMG_6640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6E0kmOyjnp5Glc5xvtKKHROp__-zKmEfgAA2GGMEIQl3wdWeIixXHLtKgW7YRSwvSa7t7OKIbGeuQdWS1rEDJL6XZwxJcuziJLFcamczXhUAo1xFgCJ7RUU_kSBdc_N7whSZ8l2oO6Z0/s200/IMG_6640.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts Needed for a "Good Enough" Arduino Based Meter </td></tr>
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The next article(s?) will walk through creating and using this low cost mask making meter and spreadsheet.<br />
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Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-82079719252475907992017-10-06T16:11:00.002+01:002017-10-07T09:23:28.278+01:00NanoDlp and the topic of Masks - Part 1 - Introduction3D Printers that use a non coherent light source (e.g. DUP and DLP) will have an imperfect distribution of light at the printing interface. Printers like the Wanhao D7, with a single UV LED light source will be particularly bad with a significant difference in light intensity between the center and edges of the build plate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0wyDmiejtJyj0sBQHLFDD5gK4TheYmnMmBM7e1QRy_dDdy8UpHFrgc_2k9xe-u7_RqN9YPDiPHqrpvCC2zIpZ-pzDW5vn9T6h2diomAvJs9ku4_1MBHLb-MMHGCLb9P82XeFJTSbYne7/s1600/mask130.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0wyDmiejtJyj0sBQHLFDD5gK4TheYmnMmBM7e1QRy_dDdy8UpHFrgc_2k9xe-u7_RqN9YPDiPHqrpvCC2zIpZ-pzDW5vn9T6h2diomAvJs9ku4_1MBHLb-MMHGCLb9P82XeFJTSbYne7/s200/mask130.png" width="112" /></a></div>
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NanoDlp can compensate for the above "unevenness" by applying a "mask" that adjusts the exposure during the slicing process. The mask is a grayscale image that is darkest where the light source is the brightest and clear where it is the dimmest. During the slicing process NanoDlp marries the mask with the layer being sliced from the model "subtracting" light based on the contents of the mask.</div>
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It is important to note that every printer is going to have a slightly different light pattern . With some printers this may not matter and with others it will matter more. You can get improved results running with a generic mask but you really do need one for your printer that matches your light distribution!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnGTQdi4DQ1z50WnEfpZ84x22F0F3-IvO75Rz5IluZ9OdJLSb0wevpGlLPqIh6yKXZQ4nWz9H2QNmwcSwhA1Mc8PIvYqF7UaLyWhfqr5pioicW2G9QgiYvZI96Vcs853X_fQv8yDYulGK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-06+at+3.39.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="582" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnGTQdi4DQ1z50WnEfpZ84x22F0F3-IvO75Rz5IluZ9OdJLSb0wevpGlLPqIh6yKXZQ4nWz9H2QNmwcSwhA1Mc8PIvYqF7UaLyWhfqr5pioicW2G9QgiYvZI96Vcs853X_fQv8yDYulGK/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-10-06+at+3.39.55+PM.png" width="140" /></a><b>WARNINGS!</b> 1. TAKE YOUR VAT OFF THE PRINTER BEFORE USING THIS FORM! 2. GET SOME UV PROTECTION GLASSES! <b>WARNING!</b></div>
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NanoDlp provides a method for creating a mask. Under "Projector Calibration" there is a button for "Mask Calibration" that takes you to the following form. The dimensions at the top that I am using are 5, 10, and 200. Darkness of each cell of the mask can be specified or the entire table loaded via a CSV import (which is a feature added at my request).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIA9BM_HkRbzn4E2HMJXYz0RcTt9_N4pD18zFYkPwZPJHd5K-E5QV8t49Z6bWlgmNrZwiZv1FszLNX-c953Qc3QCn07_zK1uZNDLEIkg3c_DVD9RzUZT3n73zwzT9OSP3d8xNEtuNq4xMo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-06+at+3.40.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1028" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIA9BM_HkRbzn4E2HMJXYz0RcTt9_N4pD18zFYkPwZPJHd5K-E5QV8t49Z6bWlgmNrZwiZv1FszLNX-c953Qc3QCn07_zK1uZNDLEIkg3c_DVD9RzUZT3n73zwzT9OSP3d8xNEtuNq4xMo/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-10-06+at+3.40.17+PM.png" width="200" /></a>When you press the "Update Mask" the actual image used for the mask is updated from the values collected either by manipulating the individual cells or by importing from a CSV paste. Note that the created file is available on the Raspberry Pi in the printer/public/plates and is named mask.png. If pulled from the RPi it should, in theory, be useable with CW.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqtii8cIFmqf0eb9NCQwEca_ym-Y94kNfGIDNq9vewin7K1-Bf3avsTzYMYfnmYBpsRFrYt1DFpuoPMH01aP8XpsV-XDI2UCgS4ke8Xivv7L3UlkM-ZX5oG8dNlzQ3dvIDuKmigNQPKTv/s1600/FullSizeRender+%25289%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqtii8cIFmqf0eb9NCQwEca_ym-Y94kNfGIDNq9vewin7K1-Bf3avsTzYMYfnmYBpsRFrYt1DFpuoPMH01aP8XpsV-XDI2UCgS4ke8Xivv7L3UlkM-ZX5oG8dNlzQ3dvIDuKmigNQPKTv/s200/FullSizeRender+%25289%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>The other thing to note is that when you press the "Preview" button a grid of squares will be projected on the printer as shown below. BTW, the squares are 200mm in size by virtue of the change I make from the default of 100mm at the top of the form.</div>
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More about all of this in Part 2 of this article but it is well worth noting (again) that before you mess about with this particular form you should have taken your vat off of the printer!<br />
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Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-80788144622690310422017-10-05T09:17:00.000+01:002017-10-28T16:25:32.329+01:00DxP Mask Meter (DxPMM) - The MeterFollowing is an overview of the major components that comprise the DxP Mask Meter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCoP9BmwQy2WCi5TJ67yDLfAqMwnEOe0d1i_3VMUNKs2zlRWiWA72OulmLI23XWsthVA_uaEonLSGnw6u9YdaWSfH61D25lyWmtQWwirvgOdgDk4Eq8bM3gRpcIJx6hRJA0y-Dy2Eq4Tt/s1600/IMG_6613+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1168" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCoP9BmwQy2WCi5TJ67yDLfAqMwnEOe0d1i_3VMUNKs2zlRWiWA72OulmLI23XWsthVA_uaEonLSGnw6u9YdaWSfH61D25lyWmtQWwirvgOdgDk4Eq8bM3gRpcIJx6hRJA0y-Dy2Eq4Tt/s200/IMG_6613+%25281%2529.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early Prototype in Case</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgA4F1O1-PDRNypi3EltRbGZ264NHOImbX9hM80UlNFAzD0nrqTpwiNr464wh1OLH_Fhppmnl85kSU5207StQWK3Jdg4picc6l4hV5z_xA-VtkW3PFqfVNxZoMS9ulppfpQAf3N0mS6JHH/s1600/IMG_6608+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1600" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgA4F1O1-PDRNypi3EltRbGZ264NHOImbX9hM80UlNFAzD0nrqTpwiNr464wh1OLH_Fhppmnl85kSU5207StQWK3Jdg4picc6l4hV5z_xA-VtkW3PFqfVNxZoMS9ulppfpQAf3N0mS6JHH/s200/IMG_6608+%25283%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Test Platform for Componen</td></tr>
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The meter is based on an Arduino Nano that can be connected to three sensors, a VEML6070 UV Sensor, a GL5288 Photo Resistor, and an optional thermistor for measuring heat at the GL5288. The user interface is via an OLED display and two LEDs with a single push button for user input. Readings can be transcribed manually from the OLED, collected via the Arduino IDE with the meter connected to a PC, or through a bluetooth terminal session (more on the terminal options below).</div>
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The meter can be connected to one of two probes, one for the VEML6070 and one for the GL5288 with the optional thermistor. It will recognize which is attached and read from the appropriate sensor. Readings are taken every 50 milliseconds and averaged on a rolling basis over a second. A deviation is calculated that results in a quality metric from zero to greater than ten. Greater than ten will not be recorded. The deviation metric is transmitted via bluetooth and can be used to screen for data quality. The temperature reading is not used at this time.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Us8i4f0wwgPr-goDwlNYREdrocPgO6KUnT0Q6i60R2LorUOtYHttFcexTltX__vwJTdZcgYUpedT19erpip9XYOmjiANE4KaSBCsUi99vRMj1zAG8RAjjwSNSWO5N99qCSclk_m1m512/s1600/IMG_6610+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="462" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Us8i4f0wwgPr-goDwlNYREdrocPgO6KUnT0Q6i60R2LorUOtYHttFcexTltX__vwJTdZcgYUpedT19erpip9XYOmjiANE4KaSBCsUi99vRMj1zAG8RAjjwSNSWO5N99qCSclk_m1m512/s200/IMG_6610+%25283%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Initial Screen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0ZaHYR5XE-TXb6RVWo_Z2fKGOKH1KRB4Ld-gP168Xg56XGgjRpaBKRZa4phsPWg0fLRoajtNG-ahYmO9VofLII-HeoTRuj1XowJP6C6X__uZh26Tj6swdvp5oubtrqVf3HWwv4v1yJXG/s1600/IMG_6612+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="479" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0ZaHYR5XE-TXb6RVWo_Z2fKGOKH1KRB4Ld-gP168Xg56XGgjRpaBKRZa4phsPWg0fLRoajtNG-ahYmO9VofLII-HeoTRuj1XowJP6C6X__uZh26Tj6swdvp5oubtrqVf3HWwv4v1yJXG/s200/IMG_6612+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sent Measurement Screen</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s1600/IMG_6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1377" data-original-width="1464" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThZVo2QjWvccd-U8peNYSEAwXiJZf1tn6nvqE0YZx7BvrBRN85GSM8QIZ1NkkAZzxaHILaa1gSQSK5Vmqks4_9QthV2R6VSqul99SQpWNF2Q_uhA1P1cj2DFzVUnmj7jP4qSOLoIwp5F7/s200/IMG_6614.jpg" width="200" /></a>There are three jumpers on the bottom of the meter that can be used to configure its operation as below:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 000 - UV - Dumb </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 001 - UV - Auto</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 010 - UV - Manual</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 011 - Photo - Dumb</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 100 - Photo - Auto</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 101 - Photo - Manual</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 110 - Not used</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> 111 - Config via Menu</span><br />
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The configuration menu, activated when all jumpers are on, presents options that are selected by pressing the button on startup (since there is only one button)! </div>
Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-77967055215896626992017-10-04T09:14:00.000+01:002017-10-05T09:17:38.700+01:00DxP Mask Meter (DxPMM) - OverviewCatchy new name for the UV Meter to help identify it a little more closely to its intended purpose. It is, after all, not really a pure UV meter. Part of its functionality does not even read UV but uses the incidental visible light emitted by the UV LED Array as a proxy for the UV light distribution (which seems to work just fine). <br />
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My hope with this project is to have a relatively easy-to-use tool that simplifies the process of creating a mask for the Wanhao D7 as well as other DUP or DLP printers that are driven by NanoDlp. Note that the meter can be used in two different ways when working with NanoDlp. In its 'Dumb' meter mode you can use it as the designers of NanoDlp would have expected. Namely by displaying a mask preview within the Mask Generation Wizard of NanoDlp and then using the meter to adjust cells.<br />
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Here is what one version of the process flow might look like:<br />
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<li>Connect the meter to a USB power supply using a mini connector.</li>
<li>Use bluetooth on your computer to connect to the meter and start a capture to file session.</li>
<li>Place the measurement grid on top of the LCD of your printer and secure it (you can use other guide methods).</li>
<li>Display the full white calibration screen from NanoDLP.</li>
<li>Position the Photoresistor meter probe to the first cell on the grid (bottom right) and press the button briefly.</li>
<li>When a good reading has been obtained both LEDs will be lit and the screen will tell you to move to the next cell. Move up one cell.</li>
<li>When you are ready to move to the bottom of the next column to the right press and hold the button for a second. This will send a line end.</li>
<li>Repeat the above two steps until you have measured all cells. Do this quickly or in a couple of sessions as readings from the photo resistor will change as it heats up!</li>
<li>Turn off the full white display and close the terminal capture session.</li>
<li>The output captured from the terminal session should be a comma separated stream of numbers of ten rows and ten columns. Copy these to the clipboard.</li>
<li>Open your copy of my NanoDlp UV Mask Calculator spreadsheet and paste the above values into the sheet named "Paste Here" in the space provided and follow the instructions at the bottom of that page.</li>
<li>On the first sheet of the workbook you can now find the input that NanoDlp needs for a mask to be generated. Copy it and then paste it into NanoDlp.</li>
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There is a lot more that can be done to refine the mask generated above but this is a broad overview of one version of the process. You will need to do some tuning of the mask with the meter in the "Dumb" mode so you can measure and adjust cells within the NanoDlp Mask Generation Wizard. Finally, you will want to print some calibration objects!</div>
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Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-27584150520145866282017-09-19T15:50:00.000+01:002017-09-19T15:50:12.021+01:00Mask Impact on Dimensional AccuracyA number of things are going on in parallel on this project. I have the PCB coming from China, a case in draft on the printer now, the software now being rewritten as a new version with some learnings from V1, some testing of various sensors, and some comparisons of the mask in operation.<br />
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Here are the results of one of those tests. There is clearly an improvement in dimensional accuracy between the No Mask and the Mask versions of these objects from the center, edges, and corners of the build plate. I would caveat this with two observations. First that my 16quid caliper, combined with my coordination, is incapable of getting consistent readings at this resolution. Second that I am hoping to further improve the accuracy of the base data read by my UV meter to improve these results.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql4RZjQaHVR9j2SbfxltmPxEZOjuTRWBgWhO3mhcKvbUc8Sg2uT5Og_Jt1sZPMfCng9a2-3ne9w1aCJrLt06cWpxXJSCnuPIWjhgcabXvxJhA-5PCZqqw7N5Cuh3PGh4p93rnnMjfZYEW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-19+at+3.30.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="756" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql4RZjQaHVR9j2SbfxltmPxEZOjuTRWBgWhO3mhcKvbUc8Sg2uT5Og_Jt1sZPMfCng9a2-3ne9w1aCJrLt06cWpxXJSCnuPIWjhgcabXvxJhA-5PCZqqw7N5Cuh3PGh4p93rnnMjfZYEW/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-09-19+at+3.30.42+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Test Results</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45eJ7Y-VL0TlkQp98jdVkvSuub68jeznlIHLkvsnqIst5_fDmodl6VDvgc_yACBFbgvc9w3OXn6Lpro9qTShvwtq-UF4WQNqz4r8BoZOB3Cj2WP8ukReRg1PlGnd1u1sU14QjCDW9cxqX/s1600/IMG_6500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="1600" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45eJ7Y-VL0TlkQp98jdVkvSuub68jeznlIHLkvsnqIst5_fDmodl6VDvgc_yACBFbgvc9w3OXn6Lpro9qTShvwtq-UF4WQNqz4r8BoZOB3Cj2WP8ukReRg1PlGnd1u1sU14QjCDW9cxqX/s400/IMG_6500.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Calibration Objects!</td></tr>
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<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-57467430646181450342017-09-15T07:02:00.002+01:002017-09-15T07:03:59.687+01:00The NanoDLP Mask Wizard and the Wanhao D7The layout and orientation of the build plate as displayed by NanoDlp versus what is actually displayed by my printers confuses me every time I look at it. It may not be confusing for most people ... but I confess that it is to me! This has been particularly true when it comes to the NanoDlp Mask Generation Wizard.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_X7riPOGM3ac6XPYZWsV8TeML0yjR9lYYuGnqQI-QdQ2fxnFN2SxcIJpS4l-ewzGOt3cc_mVXhyphenhyphenA6Hm1lzIxWVl2b0vQ7R-6vCRzKz661MZbvj1u27Hmi8SS4ybre-_Em_ghM-xOrTw7v/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-15+at+6.37.56+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="1098" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_X7riPOGM3ac6XPYZWsV8TeML0yjR9lYYuGnqQI-QdQ2fxnFN2SxcIJpS4l-ewzGOt3cc_mVXhyphenhyphenA6Hm1lzIxWVl2b0vQ7R-6vCRzKz661MZbvj1u27Hmi8SS4ybre-_Em_ghM-xOrTw7v/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-09-15+at+6.37.56+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By default NanoDlp presents a 10 by 5 cell matrix for entry of a mask.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPPdo1nlqWBR_kkkZuMXHFTefgJVhZ4_3YDgbdB57ynIzh1ab3UaLuilORVhCpPVD6s7JwQw66fpT9qvfMW-Zn1Q6MJT6LvALGxnYSBfTPAJsJohaJL8Md3_a9Q6IzFxfx9JCxz5TBpEH/s1600/IMG_6466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1600" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPPdo1nlqWBR_kkkZuMXHFTefgJVhZ4_3YDgbdB57ynIzh1ab3UaLuilORVhCpPVD6s7JwQw66fpT9qvfMW-Zn1Q6MJT6LvALGxnYSBfTPAJsJohaJL8Md3_a9Q6IzFxfx9JCxz5TBpEH/s320/IMG_6466.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When translated to the Wanhao D7 this is what we see.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoqVO4lea4MtIWI3zF9JtUbZfzQjv-6K46_K1Vt21Q-Wg8sL82vxdQ8E_drbPriUElVhuZv2RFdBIKw_KETkwYZ9Kapf5vsehNNNcfc2TEs2PpuXOiqY6mcD8PO1x_d5aTp2o6rc2YBjg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-15+at+6.39.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1111" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoqVO4lea4MtIWI3zF9JtUbZfzQjv-6K46_K1Vt21Q-Wg8sL82vxdQ8E_drbPriUElVhuZv2RFdBIKw_KETkwYZ9Kapf5vsehNNNcfc2TEs2PpuXOiqY6mcD8PO1x_d5aTp2o6rc2YBjg/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-09-15+at+6.39.51+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When the entries are reversed for a 5 by 10 cell matrix...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2ZBGatJ3l6XfKtcAICnMFwXiRp9XmpE0NQB1XZKAAo_FxfXN-uRWP7UpnUA2PnCFI1BLZygbhfMUkopuGzFq1qX66-if5z_5IXx55DTqqtNfyah7jPo5Y3pZy16YTcL3L7mEVeJYD9gw/s1600/IMG_6467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1600" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2ZBGatJ3l6XfKtcAICnMFwXiRp9XmpE0NQB1XZKAAo_FxfXN-uRWP7UpnUA2PnCFI1BLZygbhfMUkopuGzFq1qX66-if5z_5IXx55DTqqtNfyah7jPo5Y3pZy16YTcL3L7mEVeJYD9gw/s320/IMG_6467.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...we get the result we need. It is also important to note that entry of data to NanoDlp, if doing so in the normal mode of top left to bottom right, means doing your UV readings from the bottom right corner and then up on the D7.</td></tr>
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<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-73393690718995353242017-09-10T18:13:00.001+01:002017-09-14T10:44:42.796+01:00UV Meter - PrototypeHave been making some progress on a prototype for my DUP 3D Printer Calibration UV Meter. Maybe just DUPUVM for short?<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwiONgBjEE7urYEa0Ba1TIGU0T5pBVIG9Q_MKZtddHpXq5JRrJYumm9ilL6fDA1yGWimSmo31Is0DByibGnEh-Q3B1xs1VvFnCmji16mtQwHTQGFEfPizIES_sP2l2kRpFAYwtBW6B5Ja/s1600/IMG_6419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="1600" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwiONgBjEE7urYEa0Ba1TIGU0T5pBVIG9Q_MKZtddHpXq5JRrJYumm9ilL6fDA1yGWimSmo31Is0DByibGnEh-Q3B1xs1VvFnCmji16mtQwHTQGFEfPizIES_sP2l2kRpFAYwtBW6B5Ja/s320/IMG_6419.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A breadboard prototype has been assembled and code written to drive it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVltBB0NCBmFXtDei1d3cVTqNA3V6239GS6kEEFZqNC0uolQZUbV5BvMXvyFlc-cymcAjIMPvqV2M6MvqomLbw0M5ZXmKU4TgJys3oX8UJU9QpXBDWPg6oHBEQa8bB-guJTBxcxUA3zYQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-10+at+4.58.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="720" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVltBB0NCBmFXtDei1d3cVTqNA3V6239GS6kEEFZqNC0uolQZUbV5BvMXvyFlc-cymcAjIMPvqV2M6MvqomLbw0M5ZXmKU4TgJys3oX8UJU9QpXBDWPg6oHBEQa8bB-guJTBxcxUA3zYQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-09-10+at+4.58.00+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The case design has been evolved a little to match the PCB.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKVHkNqoTuj_Xk2G0eWs_EERojB2-IEW4D_Yzd1qflzksKrA5Yh77bMkm0_OvQeaI34t8d3T2peghXrAbIx87Veo4yP7YmHC0VJfHH6OQ0WsFz0qqHjPDmUNzMeMxKWjnCUggJa_vuH7B/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-10+at+4.34.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKVHkNqoTuj_Xk2G0eWs_EERojB2-IEW4D_Yzd1qflzksKrA5Yh77bMkm0_OvQeaI34t8d3T2peghXrAbIx87Veo4yP7YmHC0VJfHH6OQ0WsFz0qqHjPDmUNzMeMxKWjnCUggJa_vuH7B/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-09-10+at+4.34.10+PM.png" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">An initial PCB has been ordered from <a href="https://www.seeedstudio.com/fusion_pcb.html">Seeed Studios</a> in China. </span></div>
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Further progress on the case will wait for the PCB. Software has a ways to go yet but is far enough along that I felt comfortable ordering the PCB. The first batch of PCBs will still be prototypes which explains some of the extra contact point you can see above.<br />
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The meter will function as follows:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Readings can be recorded from the built in LCD display or they can be captured either via a Bluetooth terminal session or by connecting the device to the Arduino development environment and using the terminal there.</li>
<li>Two LCDs display the status of data capture with solid green indicating a good solid reading, flashing green and red indicating a fluctuating reading, and solid red indicating that the reading is not stable enough to record.</li>
<li>When a stable reading can be taken a single press of the button will display the current light intensity on the LCD, broadcast it out the serial port, and the two LEDs will both illuminate.</li>
<li>A second press of the button will send a delimiter and will start the next reading cycle. Note that holding the button down at this point, for more than a second, will send a line delimiter.</li>
<li>If you are taking the data capture route the above process will result in you having a comma separated file for import into the spreadsheet that calculates parameters for generating the mask in NanoDlp.</li>
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xxWisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3025234084286245596.post-53869602773230960152017-09-07T18:53:00.000+01:002017-09-10T17:51:00.079+01:00UV Meter - ConceptIn my previous article I discussed building a mask for NanoDLP using a UV meter that was somewhat cobbled together from stuff that I had laying around. Here I present a slightly more grown up version of said meter!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGciNMMK_xej2nNK9o5qr4phwqt-qW1Qt0CL4wRmkivTGugQ609Ya98XAZDN4qgGah80WOLqsdJ1PZjR9h52nxrL7SjiSwyoZ0h5sZKgUNXPq2qEqeLPYH9ZQODbnaNBkDNDpXL7yAf4Zn/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-07+at+6.50.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="779" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGciNMMK_xej2nNK9o5qr4phwqt-qW1Qt0CL4wRmkivTGugQ609Ya98XAZDN4qgGah80WOLqsdJ1PZjR9h52nxrL7SjiSwyoZ0h5sZKgUNXPq2qEqeLPYH9ZQODbnaNBkDNDpXL7yAf4Zn/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-09-07+at+6.50.19+PM.png" width="172" /></a></div>
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This would be a fairly small package enclosing an Arduino Nano, connected to a USB power source, a 128x64 LCD display, two push buttons, one LED, a photo resistor, a 10k resistor, and a bluetooth adapter.<br />
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The LED (green) will flash when a stable reading is being obtained. <br />
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Pressing either button when a stable reading is present will cause a reading to be taken and displayed on the LCD.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2vqHuxAzTQMFmDzq-91El_GIcGZ5NRAF0LoePtP8Mb6XeqH9Kr273OVScyheMJtRjo9F8Kbj9fqQgdD_rJ85ns-V7q1L0FI1Pgqh2LefslfAg08CpGaw6ofJCN6Rzpdw29QzcaIp8JGvV/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-07+at+6.16.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="667" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2vqHuxAzTQMFmDzq-91El_GIcGZ5NRAF0LoePtP8Mb6XeqH9Kr273OVScyheMJtRjo9F8Kbj9fqQgdD_rJ85ns-V7q1L0FI1Pgqh2LefslfAg08CpGaw6ofJCN6Rzpdw29QzcaIp8JGvV/s200/Screen+Shot+2017-09-07+at+6.16.43+PM.png" width="200" /></a>The above reading will also be output to the serial port and and broadcast by the bluetooth adapter. The value output will be terminated with a comma.<br />
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Pressing both buttons will output a newline to the serial port to be broadcast by the bluetooth adapter. In this manner a CSV (comma separated values) buffer can be built for capture on the PC connected to the meter.<br />
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The photoresistor mounted on the bottom of the meter will fit into the grid designed and printed for the purpose of measuring UV output of the 3D Printer.<br />
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In operation the meter could be used either disconnected, and taking a single reading at a time transcribed from the LCD display, or connected to a computer where the entire stream of readings is buffered and captured.<br />
<br />Wisarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937457769749740121noreply@blogger.com3