The line image sensor used in this design is no longer being manufactured, and so I am reviewing some options on how to proceed. I still have a decent inventory at the moment. There is a replacement sensor, so the design change is not a big deal. The challenge is its sold in batches of 2000, which is 10x more than the yearly sales.
Some options:
- Drum up sales of the filament sensor - so far sales have been direct to users, and no printer manufacturers have been interested, but that could change.
- Sell a breakout board for the replacement image sensor, to recoup costs of buying larger quantities. Not sure if there is enough demand here.
- Redesign for another image sensor. There are ccd modules that are getting cheap, but this would be a significant redesign.
- Other??
I want to be able to keep supplying these things for all the makers out there, since there is really nothing like it for under 100 bucks. I am looking for input on this - please send me any suggestions...