Reviewing 3DMakerpro’s Seal 3D scanner. I have mixed feelings about 3D scanners in general, but this one works relatively well. Let me know if you want an in-depth guide on how to get the best results from 3D scanners like this!
Specs of the PC I ran JMStudio on:
I think escape rooms are really neat, but my interest is more in the puzzle design than in solving existing puzzles. So I decided to build my own!
This is a “lock” that players open by rotating the dial to different cardinal directions, following a sequence hidden in a clue.
Full build instructions are here: https://www.hackster.io/cameroncoward/compass-lock-escape-room-puzzle-055aff
Do you want a way to leave messages for your loved ones, but you’re actively boycotting 3M and can’t use Post-it Notes?
Then this is the solution for you!
LuvNoots is a wall-mounted display that shows text messages on a large ePaper screen. It also shows the weather, because IoT.
Any plain SMS text message sent to the device’s phone number will show up, so you can give that number to a spouse, family member, or friends and they’ll be able to leave messages.
Build instructions are available here:
Years ago, I designed this adapter so that I could use a reproduction ZX Spectrum case to build a RetroPie gaming console. Fast forward a couple of years and I had a roommate that thought it was really cool.
That former roommate (now a former friend) had a birthday coming up, so I made him his own RetroPie system called TurboNES.
On the hardware side, this is very straightforward. It is a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B running RetroPie, with the top 100 ROMs for a variety of consoles. Two wireless SNES controllers (Amazon affiliate link) plug into the USB ports.
Most of my time went into designing the enclosure, which I think looks pretty nice. It hides everything but the USB-C power port and the micro HDMI port. My friend isn’t very tech savvy, so I wanted it to be foolproof. Using my Bambu Lab P1S with AMS, I was able to get a nice two-tone color scheme.
There is an approximately 100% chance that you own an Anker smartphone charger, but did you know that they also have a 3D printer brand called AnkerMake? Last year, they released their first 3D printer: the AnkerMake M5. Today I’m going to review their newest model: the AnkerMake M5C.
When the AnkerMaker M5 launched on Kickstarter, I wrote an article for Hackster.io expressing my skepticism. AnkerMake made a lot of claims in the campaign marketing that I found farfetched.
Some of those claims, like the “5X faster printing,” were simply misleading. Others, like the advertised AI camera, seemed to be overly ambitious.
It turns out that I was right, because many reviewers felt that the AnkerMake M5 did not live up to the marketing. Sean Hollister of The Verge, for example, said that the AI camera was a joke. AnkerMake didn’t even enable that feature until well after the release of the printer, and most said that it still doesn’t work as advertised.
So it would be fair to say that I had a low opinion of AnkerMake. Then they reached out to me and asked if I wanted to review the new AnkerMake M5C and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
The AnkerMake M5C seems to be a stripped-down version of the AnkerMake M5, with some of the expensive features removed. That also has the benefit of omitting features that never worked, like the AI camera.
The basic specs are typical for an entry-level 3D printer of this price: it has a 220×220×250mm build volume, a direct drive extruder with an all-metal hot end that can reach 300°C, dual Z axis lead screws, a heated bed that can reach 100°C, and automatic mesh bed leveling.
But there are a couple things that set it apart. First, AnkerMake claims that it can print at 500mm/s and that is very fast. It also has a custom aluminum alloy frame that is very attractive. And finally, it has a “play in one click” control interface that AnkerMake seems really proud of.
AnkerMake’s videos seem to treat the “play in one click” feature like something really exciting, but I dislike it.
The AnkerMake M5C does not have any kind of control panel or screen built into the printer. The only control on the printer itself is the play/pause button. Users can configure that button’s functions, with different actions tied to a single-press, a double-press, or a long-press. You can, for example, set it up so that a double-press reprints the last job.
I don’t like this at all.
Why? Because it means that you have to use the smartphone app or the desktop software every time you want to do anything. Want to change the filament? You need to use the smartphone app. Want to print a new file? You need to use the desktop software.
That’s particularly annoying because you have to use both the smartphone app and the desktop software. The desktop software cannot control the printer, so you have to use the smartphone app to move the motors or set temperatures. But you can only slice a new file with the desktop software.
That back-and-forth is annoying. I would have been much happier if the desktop software provided full control over the printer. I would have also liked a conventional control interface on the printer itself.
The AnkerMake M5C is actually capable of very good print quality. The only issue I ever encountered was some stringing. Because it doesn’t have an enclosure, I performed all of my prints using the PLA+ filament provided by AnkerMake.
But though the print quality was good, using the AnkerMake M5C wasn’t always pleasant. It has silent stepper drivers, so there is almost zero motor noise. But the printer’s fans are very loud, which got annoying and mostly defeated the purpose of the silent drivers.
Thankfully, the frame of the AnkerMake M5C is very sturdy and that helps to produce nice prints at fast speeds. The base of the printer is a big hunk of milled aluminum. That looks nice and provides a lot of rigidity. It is clear AnkerMake put a lot of the budget into that base—money that might have been better spent elsewhere.
AnkerMake advertises the top printing speed of the AnkerMake M5C as being 500mm/s, with 5,000mm2/s acceleration and 35mm3/s extrusion flow. Those are very impressive numbers, but they’re also misleading.
The “fast” slicer profile does, indeed, have a max speed of 500mm/s. The problem is that it really only uses that speed for travel. All of the actual printing operations happen at much slower speeds.
Infill speed, for instance, is 270mm/s. Outer wall speed is 150mm/s.
Those are still respectable numbers and they’re very fast for a bed-slinger printer like this, but I don’t like the exaggerations in AnkerMake’s marketing.
I’m a little torn on this one. The AnkerMake M5C is a decent printer, but I find the marketing to be distasteful.
I also think they made a big mistake with the “play in one click” feature and would have much preferred a conventional control panel. Similarly, I didn’t like having to switch between the smartphone app and desktop software.
At $399, I think the AnkerMake M5C is a questionable choice. You can find printers that work just as well, but that cost significantly less. However, the AnkerMake M5C is very well-built and that price is probably reasonable given how much this printer costs to manufacture.
I wouldn’t recommend the AnkerMake M5C, but those who do end up with this printer will probably be happy with it.
Comparatron won the Grand Prize in the Instructables Reuse Challenge contest!
Many of my projects interface with existing devices or items, which means that I have to obtain accurate dimensions of those objects to ensure a good fit. That’s easy to do with calipers if the object is simple, but it is very difficult when the object has a complex shape.
Back when I was a mechanical designer, I worked for a medical company where my job involved reverse-engineering tiny medical devices (like bone screws). To get precise measurements, I used an instrument called an optical comparator that lets you measure distances and angles through a microscope.
Optical comparators are very expensive instruments (easily tens of thousands of dollars), so I decided to build an affordable version that I’m calling Comparatron.
Building this requires the following parts:
Good news! The folks at iDraw liked this project so much that they’re giving everyone 15% off their pen plotters. Just go to their store (https://idrawpenplotter.com/shop) and use the coupon code “CAMERON” to get the discount.
Full build instructions, 3D-printable files, and software are available on Instructables here: https://www.instructables.com/Comparatron-an-Affordable-Digital-Optical-Comparat/
Additional information and a standalone executable version of the Python software is available on GitHub here: https://github.com/theserialhobbyist/comparatron
But here is a basic breakdown:
Print the two parts on any 3D printer. Then remove the iDraw Pen Plotter’s pen lift mechanism and attach the microscope mount, and press-fit the spur gear to the motor shaft.
Connect the USB cables to your computer (a USB hub makes things easier).
Launch the software (either the Python script or the standalone executable) on a Windows PC, connect to the pen plotter, then move the microscope over your part and start marking points.
When you’ve marked all of your points, export the DXF file. Then import that DXF file into the CAD/design software of your choice and use the points as references for your design.
That’s it! I think this is a very useful tool and I’m quite proud of it. If you decide to build one, please let me know!
I recently wrote a how-to guide on multi-color resin 3D printing. As soon as I saw that that technique was a success, I knew I wanted to try it with different material types as well.
There are several kinds of photosensitive resin available for 3D printing, which mimic different kinds of engineering plastics. For instance, you might have seen some labeled as “ABS-like.” But for this proof of concept, I wanted wildly different kinds of resins, so I chose a flexible resin and a standard rigid resin.
You can use pretty much any rigid resin you like, but the stuff linked above is what I used here. There aren’t as many flexible resin options on the market. Siraya Tech’s Tenacious is probably the most well-known, but I used 3DMaterials’ SuperFast SuperFlex resin and was very impressed with it. It printed well on my ELEGOO Saturn 2 and was quite flexible.
As with the multi-color resin 3D printing technique, the idea here is to print an object in your primary material first. In my case, that was the flexible resin. That object should have modeled-in cavities that you can then fill with your secondary resin (the rigid resin).
When you shine a 405nm UV flashlight on the liquid resin you just poured in, it will cure and harden. It will also fuse to the original print. Theoretically, you could fill several different cavities with different resin colors and materials. The result is a multi-material print.
Obviously, this does have some restrictions. Namely, your model needs to have accessible cavities for your secondary resin. This will limit the geometry you can print, but I think this technique could still be very useful.
My original guide on multi-color resin 3D printing goes into far more detail on each step, but I’ll cover the basics again here.
First, print your object using flexible filament.
Then, using a blunt syringe, fill the cavities with your rigid filament.
Use the UV flashlight to cure the new resin.
Refill and cure again until the cavities are full.
That’s it!
With filament-based 3D printing, you can get multiple colors with additional extruders, manually swapping filament, or with something like a Mosaic Palette device. But one of the disadvantages of resin 3D printing is that it is very difficult to change colors during a print.
In this article, I’ll walk you through a technique that lets you get multiple colors in a resin print and that is easy to do. Redditor u/ChinchillaWafers suggested this technique in this post and I decided to give it a try. It worked quite well, so I’m sharing it with you all.
To do this, you’ll need the following supplies in addition to your printer:
You can use as many resin colors as you like, but I suggest using colors that contrast well. Gray on white, for example, won’t show up very well. But black on white will.
The idea here is to leave debossed letters or other spaces in your printed model, such as text inset into a surface. You can then fill those with your contrasting liquid resin and use the UV flashlight to cure it.
A 405nm UV flashlight will cure liquid resin just like your MSLA resin 3D printer does. Other UV wavelengths might work, but these resins are meant to cure with 405nm, so it is best to stick to that.
Because you’re pouring liquid resin into cavities in your print, you need to make sure you model can be physically oriented so that those cavities are level. Otherwise, it will be hard to keep the resin from spilling over the edges before it cures and hardens.
Step 1:
Start by printing your model like you normally would. For my test, I printed a simple sign with debossed lettering that says “Cameron & Maria” (me and my girlfriend). I printed this in white so that most other colors would contrast well.
Step 2:
Remove supports, then rinse and cure your part. You can also finish curing the part after adding the contrasting resin, but I chose to cure it first since I would be handling the part.
Step 3:
After putting on gloves, choose a contrasting resin color (or multiple colors) and pour it into a small, disposable container. Paint cups work well for this. You could try to pull the resin directly from the bottle, but it would be difficult to reach your syringe inside.
Step 4:
Make sure your print is level, then carefully fill a syringe with contrasting resin. Try to pick a syringe needle size that is a bit smaller than the smallest portion of the debossed letters.
Then very slowly squeeze the syringe to fill your letters with the contrasting resin. You can either do all of your letters at once or do them one at a time (curing each before starting the next).
I recommend doing them all at once in order to avoid yellowing the original print with too much UV exposure. You can see at the top left (by the “C”) that I made that mistake when I first started.
Step 5:
If any resin spilled over the edges, use an paper towel wetted with IPA to wipe it away. Try not to soak up the resin inside the lettering.
Step 6:
Turn on your UV flashlight and shine it over the lettering to cure the new resin. Depending on the depth of the lettering (mine was 2mm), curing can take anywhere from 3-15 seconds.
Safety warning: 405nm UV light is bad for you! Avoid shining it at anything living, especially your eyes! Seriously, I take no responsibility if you blind yourself or develop skin cancer.
Step 7:
Repeat steps 4-6 until your letters are completely filled in. If you end up with spilled-over resin that cured, you can lightly sand the surface to remove it.
And that’s it, you’re done! This is an easy, affordable way to add more color to your resin prints. It works especially well for debossed lettering, so I will almost certainly use it in the future for projects where I want to add a name/logo to enclosures.
It seems like it might also be possible to mix materials, such as a flexible resin with a rigid resin. I’m hoping to experiment with that in the future.