Testing Category - Page 27 of 169 - CNX Software

May 4, 2023May 4, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro review – Part 2: Engraving and 3D printing

Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro 3D Printer laser Engraver

Earlier this year, I received the Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 2-in-1 3D printer & laser engraver and in the first part of the review, I showed the package content and how to assemble the system either to use it as a 3D printer or a laser engraver, but didn’t start it at the time. I’ve now had time to play with both laser engraving (less luck with cutting) and 3D printing, so I’ll report my experience in the second part of the review. Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro laser engraving Since in the last part of the review I had the 10W laser module installed on the 3D printer, I decided to start the testing with laser engraving and cutting. Contrary to the TwoTrees TS2 laser engraver I reviewed last year, the Creality Ender-3D S1 Pro laser engraving kit does not support autofocus, so I used the provided multi-level fixed-focus bar […]

May 4, 2023June 30, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

GL.iNet Spitz AX (GL-X3000NR) 5G NR WiFi 6 router review – Part 1: Specs, unboxing, and first boot

GL.iNet Spitz AX, also known as GL-X3000NR, is a compact 5G NR WiFi 6 router running OpenWrt 21.02 on a MediaTek Filogic 820 (TM7981A) dual-core Cortex-A53 processor coupled with 512MB DDR4 and 8GB eMMC flash, as well 2.5GbE and GbE interfaces, and a USB 2.0 port. The company sent us a Spitz AX router for evaluation, and in the first part of the review, we’ll go through the specifications, and do an unboxing and a teardown, before connecting it for a first boot. GL.iNet Spitz AX router specifications SoC – MediaTek MT7981A (Filogic 820) dual-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.3 GHz System Memory – 512 MB DDR4 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot up 1+ TB Networking 1x 2.5GbE WAN Ethernet port 1x Gigabit Ethernet LAN port Dual-band IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax WiFi 6 up to 574Mbps (2.4GHz), 2402Mbps (5GHz) RM520N-GL 5G cellular modem and 2x Nano SIM card slots […]

May 2, 2023May 29, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

BIGTREETECH Pad 7 7-inch 3D printer control display runs Klipper on Allwinner H616 SoM or Raspberry Pi CM4

Yesterday, I wrote about the BTT Pi V1.2 Allwinner H616 SBC designed for 3D printers, but also mentioned I had received the Pad 7 from BIGTREETECH which is a software-compatible, but more complete solution with a 7-inch display and an Allwinner H616-powered CB1 system-on-module compatible with the Raspberry Pi CM4. The BIGTREETECH Pad 7 should be more convenient to use with its integrated 7-inch touchscreen display, and if you ever decided you didn’t need it to control your 3D printer anymore, it could always be used as a small Linux computer running Raspberry Pi OS or another operating system. BIGTREETECH Pad 7 specifications: Supported modules BIGTREETECH CB1 v2.2 (included in the kit) – Allwinner H616 quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU with Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, 1GB RAM, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 Raspberry Pi CM4 module with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 CPU with VideoCore IV GPU, 1 to 8GB RAM, 0 to 32GB eMMC […]

May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Review of TwoTrees TTC 450 CNC router machine with 80W and 500W spindles

TwoTrees TTC450 CNC router machine review

TwoTrees TTC 450 is a CNC router machine for precision cutting with a working area of 460x460x80 mm. The machine can handle 2D and 3D, 3-axis X, Y, Z movement, features a 32-bit microcontroller, a touchscreen control display, and supports WiFi network connection. The TTC 450 can also read files on an SD card for offline operation, and workpieces can be made of a variety of materials such as wood, acrylic, Plastwood, carbon fiber sheet, aluminum, metal, and various engineering plastic materials. TTC 450 CNC router specifications Work Area – 450 x 450 X 80 mm Body Material – Metal frame & Aluminium 4080U Profile Drive System – Translation screw drive with double Y-axis system Mainboard – DLC32 V2.1 (ESP32-based as found in TwoTrees TS2 laser engraver) Stepper Driver – A4988 1.3A Stepper Motors – 17HS8401S, NEMA23 20mN.m Spindle – 74W, 8000RPM Max Speed – 800mm/Min Running Accuracy – +/-0.1mm […]

May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments

BIGTREETECH Pi v1.2 – A Raspberry Pi-sized Allwinner H616 SBC for 3D printers

BIGTREETECH Pi v1.2, also known as the BBT Pi v1.2, is a Raspberry Pi-sized Allwinner H616 single board computer (SBC) specially designed for 3D printers with many of the same ports as the Raspberry Pi 3/4, but also features 12V-24V DC power input and connectors for the ADXL345 3-axis accelerometer, CAN Bus, and so on. The board is equipped with 1GB RAM, a microSD card slot to run the operating system (Debian 11 with Klipper), a 4K capable micro HDMI port, Fast Ethernet and WiFi 4 networking, four USB ports, and the usual 40-pin Raspberry Pi header. BTT Pi specifications: SoC – Allwinner H616 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.5GHz with Arm Mali G31 MP2 with support for OpenGL ES 3.2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3L SDRAM Storage – MicroSD card slot Video Output Micro HDMI 2.0a port up to 4Kp60 resolution SPI port for display Audio – 3.5mm audio jack […]

April 23, 2023April 23, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Makeblock Ultimate 2.0 review – A multi-function 10-in-1 educational robot kit

Makeblock Ultimate 2.0 is an educational robot kit that can be used to easily create up to 10 different types of robots. An Arduino-compatible Mega 2560 MCU board serves as the main controller and there are over 550 mechanical parts and electronic modules. The robot can drive up to 4 encoder and stepping motors, control up to 10 servo motors to work simultaneously, and can also be connected to Arduino and Raspberry Pi boards for more complex projects. The review/tutorial is fairly long, so if you are short on time, you can jump to different sections by clicking on some of the links below: MegaPi control board and main modules description mBlock 5 visual-programming IDE installation Programming of DC Encoder motors, Ultrasonic sensor, Line follower module, motion sensor, RJ25 adapter, and shutter module mBlock mobile app Building the ten models for the Makeblock Ultimate 2.0 robot kit (as shown in […]

April 14, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Using Pico:ed V2 board as a replacement for BBC Micro:bit

We’ve received a sample of the Pico:ed V2 board developed by ELECFREAKS and will show how to use it as a replacement for the BBC micro:bit in a project using CircuitPython. We’ve already covered the board in detail with specifications, block diagram, and pinout diagram before, and it’s basically a Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 board with BBC Micro:bit form factor including a 17×7 Dot Matrix LED display, some buttons, a buzzer, but no wireless connectivity, relying only on USB instead. CircuitPython firmware installation on the Pico:ed V2 board The board supports C/C++, MicroPython, and CircuitPython programming languages, and for this review, we’ve decided to download the CircuitPython UF2 firmware. Press and hold the BOOTSEL button after having downloaded the firmware file… … and connect the board to your computer using a USB cable before releasing the BOOSEL button on the Pico:ed V2 board, which should then show up as the […]

April 12, 2023April 11, 2023 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 8 Comments

SONOFF iHost Review – A future-proof Smart Home Hub for local control

ITEAD has sent us a Sonoff iHost Smart Home Hub for review, and this device seems to be what many SONOFF fans have been waiting for, especially in terms of local control. meaning it can work without an Internet connection. SONOFF is known for its durable devices and good interoperability, but they are still catching up with other companies in terms of local control. Finally, the iHost Smart Home Hub fills the gap. In addition to local control, it also comes with privacy features as data stay local. SONOFF plans to expand its ecosystem by including devices from other brands compliant with standards such as Zigbee 3.0. Furthermore, the iHost Smart Home Hub is more like a platform than just a product, as it has add-ons to add more capability over time. In the future, it can be expanded to support the new “Matter” standard, similar to Home Assistant. The […]