3d printing News - Page 4 of 17 - CNX Software

January 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

ZSWatch open-source hardware nRF52833 smartwatch runs Zephyr RTOS

ZSWatch is an open-source hardware smartwatch based on an u-Blox ANNA-B402 module with Nordic Semi nRF52833 Bluetooth 5.1 SoC and running Zephyr real-time operating systems. We’ve seen several open-source hardware smartwatches over the years, as well as open-source firmware projects such as AsteroidOS or InfiniTime with the latter used in the PineTime smartwatch, and the ZSWatch adds to the list of interesting open-source wearables with all source files made public. ZSWatch specifications: Wireless module – u-blox ANNA-B402 based on Nordic Semi nRF52833 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller with Bluetooth LE 5.1 and direction finding support Storage – 8MB flash (MX25R6435FZNIL0) Display – 1.28-inch 240×240 IPS TFT circular display with GC9A01 driver; covered with Sapphire Crystal Glass. Sensors Accelerometer (LIS2DS12TR) for step counting, etc… MAX30101EFD for pulse oximetry and heart rate monitoring Misc 3x buttons for navigation (prev, next, enter) Vibration motor (DRV2603RUNT) with haptics driver to give better vibration control. Power Management […]

January 11, 2023May 29, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Review of Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 2-in-1 3D printer & laser engraver – Part 1: Unboxing and assembly

Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer converted into a laser engraver

Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro is a 3D printer that can be converted into a laser engraver thanks to a choice of 1.6W, 5W, and 10W laser modules, making it in theory a space-saving machine that can print 3D objects and engrave & cut materials. The company sent me a full kit with a 10W laser module, so after looking at the 3D printer’s specifications, I’ll check the various packages, and report my experience assembling the 3D printer, and then converting it into a laser engraver in this article, before actually testing both functions in the second part of the review. Since Karl reviewed the Ender-3 Pro 3D printer over two years ago, I asked about the difference and was told the new model got various improvements such as a direct extruder, CR-Touch auto bed-leveling, and support for high-temperature printing. Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro specifications Technology – FDM Maximum printing volume […]

December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

LEGO brick with Raspberry Pi RP2040 runs Doom

James Brown (aka Ancient) has built a tiny computer inside a LEGO brick with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller and a 0.42-inch OLED display. And yes, it runs Doom. So finally, the LEGO minifigures have access to a computer suitable for their size :). James did not post a lot of information to reproduce the build by yourself, but he still released the “uGrey” code, written in Micropython, to display greyscale on a monochrome OLED. We can learn from the design in a mesmerizing video (embedded at the end of this post) showing how he made a Raspberry Pi RP2040 computer fit into a LEGO brick. The tiny design is comprised of five main boards/modules: Raspberry Pi RP2040 module The micro USB module Two side modules with other components A 0.42-inch OLED display with 72×40 resolution (SSD1306) Since soldering the four modules together by hand only would be really challenging, […]

November 22, 2022November 23, 2022 by Karl Johnson - 7 Comments

Creality CR-Scan Lizard Review – An easy-to-use 3D scanner

Hey, Karl here, and today we are going to review Creality’s CR-Scan Lizard. This device is a 3D scanner that uses the structured light process to 3D scan. Instead of visible light, it uses non-visible light. I have no idea where lizards come into play but here we are. I have been waiting for quite some time for a lower-cost consumer 3D scanner. I attempted a DIY structured light scanner a long time ago, with some success…..but the time it took was unacceptable. It took me hours to set up perfectly and many more cleaning up point clouds and aligning even for a small scan. Leading me to give up on the project. I search around the Internet periodically but have never found a good working DIY solution. I am glad we are starting to see some relatively good cheapish scanners come out in the past year. Creality CR-Scan Lizard […]

October 12, 2022October 12, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SBC Case Builder 2.0 released with GUI

SBC Case Builder 2.0 tool to create enclosures for single board computers has been released with a customizer graphical user interface, additional cases & SBCs, support for variable height standoffs, and more. We wrote about the SBC Case Builder tool to easily generate various types of 3D printable enclosures using OpenSCAD earlier this year. The SBC Model Framework used in the solution was focused on ODROID boards, and you had to type the parameters in a configuration file. SBC Case Builder 2.0 software changes that with a convenient-to-use graphical interface allowing for the dynamic adjustment of any of the case attributes. The new version of the software also supports variable height standoffs, multi-associative parametric accessory positioning, and offers 8 “base cases”, namely shell, panel, stacked, tray, round, hex, snap, and fitted. The solution works with 47 SBCs defined in the latest version of the SBC Model Framework. The following SBCs […]

September 15, 2022September 15, 2022 by Sponsored Post - 2 Comments

Geeetech THUNDER Kickstarter campaign starts, high-speed 3D printer up to 300mm/s from $399 (Sponsored)

3D printing has always been time-consuming and challenging. But in 2022, with the advent of high-speed printers, 3D printing enthusiasts are getting a faster and smarter printing experience. From September 15th, Geeetech’s new 3D printer THUNDER with up to 300mm/s printing speed is ready for pre-order on Kickstarter. Super early birds will get a bottom price of $399. Price and availability The retail price of the Geeetech THUNDER 3D printer is $699. The THUNDER 3D Printer has gone through thousands of tests and is currently in mass production. Shipment will start by November. After the campaign ends, THUNDER will start normal sales on Geeetech official website. High-speed 3D printing up to 300mm/s Compared to traditional FDM 3D printers which limit the printing speed to 100mm/s, Geeetech THUNDER allows users to print at the speed of 50-300mm/s with an acceleration of 5000mm/² for the X-axis and 4000mm² for the Y-axis. Depending […]

August 21, 2022 by Karl Johnson - 7 Comments

Making a DIY 10.1-inch All-in-One PC out of AMR5 Ryzen 5 gaming mini PC

Hey Karl here. The first thing I need to do is thank the manufacturer of the brand Ace Magician for sending over a unit of their AMR5 gaming mini PC to more or less play with. I did a tiny bit of benchmarking along the way. This is the last time you will see the system in this state 😀 Story time. I have been really wanting a Steam Deck. But we purchased a Nintendo Switch about a year ago and it has barely been used. As soon as my son picked it up he asked why it was so laggy and has shown very little interest in it. So that got me worried about purchasing essentially a one-trick device. There have been a couple of good attempts at a DIY Steam Deck and I wanted to experiment with a small form factor. I went into this with a general […]

June 27, 2022June 27, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Revopoint MINI 3D scanner digitizes small objects with 0.02mm precision (Crowdfunding)

Revopoint Mini high-precision 3D scanner

Revopoint MINI is a 3D scanner using high-resolution blue light that’s designed for smaller objects such as figurines, coins, jewelry, etc… that require a higher level of detail achievable thanks to the promised 0.02mm precision. The 3D scanner follows last year’s Revopoint POP 2 color 3D scanner with 0.1mm accuracy for larger objects, and the main differences are the lack of color scanning and the higher resolution most suitable for smaller objects, but also possible for larger objects while holding the scanner with one hand. It would just take longer since the MINI’s single capture range is 118 x 64mm, instead of 210 x 130mm for the POP 2. Revopoint MINI specifications: Technology – Dual camera blue light Single capture – Accuracy: up to 0.02mm, range/area: 118 x 64 mm Point distance – 0.05 mm Working distance – 100 to 200 mm Minimum scan volume – 10 x 10 x […]