September 2023 UFO

Be sure to bookmark a3d.fyi for quick access to UFO reveal posts.

Filamentcolors.xyz is a digital catalog of filament from around the globe, curated with the purpose of helping people find the perfect colors for their project. We print and photograph every filament under the same conditions, allowing users to compare different colors directly. We also measure the color and report this as a hex color, and use that to calculate complementary colors, similar filaments, and even similar colors in other materials to help users perfectly plan their projects. We’re a hobby project and always growing through filament donations and partnerships, so keep checking back to find your favorite filaments!

Congrats to Jeffery W.
for winning the September 2023 Mothership Box!

This month, the Mothership prize is a Voron 0.2 Kit (Without printed parts) from LDO

SWAG & CODES

Samplin' Til I Die Sticker
Trading Cards

Please login to view codes if you received this months UFO.

Subscriber @tsiolkovsky created a neat trading card holder for the top of the printer to hold the card for the sample you're printing with!

Download Card Holder

Filament Samples

All filament samples are at least 20 meters in length (actually more, I increased the length to eat up the extra filament being left behind on the rolls)

Those looking for a sample spooler, MadMonkey designed this one and it's been my favorite so far https://www.printables.com/model/36621-expandable-sample-spool-holder

DSK has also made a sample spool specifically to fit the samples from the new machine: https://www.printables.com/model/428314-sample-spool-snap

Though 8 samples are shown, each box received 4. Not all colors were available in the quantities that I needed them, so I split each color into 2 similar colors.

Visit Filamatrix

Accessory

Feeler Gauge Set

While I've only ever used the paper method for leveling my beds, I've seen comments throughout the years about using feeler gauges... so I figured we could try them out together!

Buy on Amazon

Project!

+Nano version of the UFOs received an ESP32-WROOM

Tachomenter

I feel the need, the need for speed!

What interested me the most about this project was working with a laser and receiver. The videos show that it's as accurate as a device you could buy in the store. Theoretically you could measure the speed of your printer carriage, or play around with measuring the speeds of other things. While not practical in 3D printing, I think this is the first laser project.

I've modified the files below to fit the ESP boards that I provide, as well as provided enough space so you can use the female jumper wires on all of the pins instead of removing the pins as the original project calls for. The only soldering required is for the power button. The pinout is written out in the top of the code file for the ESP board. I'll try to figure out the fritzing program DSK uses to display a better pinout.

Original Project Files

Alien3D Project Files

ESP Board Code

Assembly Instructions PDF

Programming the ESP32-WROOM Boards:

There are 2 ways you can program the board.

Arduino Web Editor:

One way is to use the Arduino web editor. You can create a project in the online editor and copy the code into it. Just follow the websites directions on getting the needed plug in installed. The board you would select is the esp32 dev module

Locally on PC:

First you will need the Arduino IDE installed on your computer. Which you can install from
https://www.arduino.cc/en/software . If you are using windows 11 I would suggest to download and install the legacy IDE version as new one gets some access denied errors.

Once the IDE is up and running you will need to install the esp32 board.

First thing you will need is to install the Espressif esp32 board library. You can do so by following the tutorial on the website below: [Note for our board select the esp32 dev board]

https://randomnerdtutorials.com/installing-the-esp32-board-in-arduino-ide-windows-instructions/

After the board is installed you can open up the .ino file for the project.

You can the select the board Esp32 Dev Module and the correct port and click upload.

This should compile the code and send it to the board for you!

You can earn 5% of every renewal for referral subscriptions each month by referring new customers. Simply visit https://www.alien3d.us/affiliate-area/ to see access your link or code! Contact me if you'd like a custom code instead of the auto generated one.