The new design allows both analog output as well as digital, through USB serial or via and I2C interface. The board firmware can be programmed using the Arduino IDE using the Pro Micro 5v 16MHz board settings.
The newly designed kits are for sale again.
What's new:
What's the same as the prior version:
What's lost:
The new design is complete and we got the first batch back from the fabricators this week. I found a bug in the code with serial communication and am testing a fix. I will be posting the design in the next week as well as the code and should have some board kits for sale following that.
I am retiring the existing design, since a major component is no longer available. Since we started selling the sensor kit in 2014, there has been consistent interest in it from makers and researchers working with 3D filament. Commercial and Industrial sensors that do this cost 10X more, and so I want to continue to provide this option to makers out there. Over the years customers have shared a number of requests for improvements, so I am working on rolling as many in as I can, while keeping the design relatively low cost. The new design will be Arduino compatible to allow custom programming, and also provide digital I/O, in addition to the standard analog output. I will also work on whether it's feasible to measure the diameter in two dimensions. I am currently researching new linear array image sensors to replace the existing sensor (TSL1401CL) and building some rough prototypes with two candidate sensors. My goal is to have the new sensor ready by early 2021. We've got some more inventory, but unfortunately we have had to raise the price $1 to pay for the new trump tariff that's slapped on our manufacturing orders. Shipping has gone up a bit as well this year. Same good product though.
The first prototype for the filament sensor was built in April 2013 and has evolved to the current design over about 1 1/2 years. Its held up pretty well and gives a level of robustness and precision that even surprises me. Only 1 has been returned as not working, and I use that one on my own printer because it was working fine. The design is starting to show its age, though. 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:
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... We ran out of stock a couple days ago, but I have more boards on order. I did not expect to run out so quickly. They should be available in April. Here is a photo of what I hope to be getting soon - a batch of boards ready to test. We are moving the Objects with Intelligence store to this site (on Weebly) in order to save our customers from an additional fee that is coming to the existing web store platform (Storenvy). The new store will reopen in September, with the arrival of a new batch of product. Thank you for your patience.
Hackaday provides a good description about how the filament sensor works. The eyeball people are a little creepy though...
http://hackaday.com/2016/02/05/filament-thickness-sensors-what-are-they-and-what-are-they-good-for/ Check out the new FILAFAB winder on Kickstarter. Edward Clifford has incorporated the filament sensor into his offering to control winding speed based on filament diameter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1574214560/filafab-first-professional-filament-extruder-and-w
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AuthorMaker of the Filament Sensor and other curious gadgets Archives
October 2021
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