More on the IOT

When I discussed the New Matter MOD-t printer, I explained a feature that allowed for remote printing and monitoring. A 3D printer connected to the Internet. A coffee maker connected to the internet. A lawnmower connected to the Internet. A thermostat connected to the Internet. These days, more and more things are getting connected. The devices and links between them are known as the Internet of Things. I recently purchased two Belkin Wemo Smart Plugs to control lights in my room. The devices plug into a socket, and you can plug anything you want into the Wemo. This allows for a lot of flexibility, because a lot of things inside your house plug into the wall. Also, you can plug a power strip into a Wemo to toggle multiple devices at once. In my setup, I have one Wemo controlling a lamp in the corner, and then another Wemo that is hooked up to a power strip controlling two lights near my desk. The setup process is extremely easy, just requiring you to connect your Wemo plug(s) to your home Wi-Fi network and give each plug a name. After the initial setup through the Wemo app, you are greeted with a screen that has switches for each of the plugs and more settings. The app is great, but for even more convenience, I linked the Wemo plugs with the Google Assistant on my Android phone. In the Google Assistant settings, I was able to set catch phrases to trigger different actions. Now I can say "Ok Google, turn on the Desk Lights," and the two lights near my desk will switch on in a few seconds. You can also get creative and make up phrases. For example, when I say "Good night" to Google Assistant, it turns off all the lights. I feel that smart plugs like these are the best way to get into home automation. You don't need much, just an Internet connection, device with digital assistant (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant) and available power outlets. Also, you pay a reasonable $30 for one Wemo. The Internet is evolving, and reaching almost everything that has electricity in it. These Wemo plugs won't start the Matrix, but are indeed a start to a new way of interacting with the things around you. The convenience of home automation is amazing, and shows how our lives and environment will be connected to the Internet.

Brief Explanation of 3D Printer Settings

In my last post, I described the New Matter online slicer program including certain settings. I mentioned raft/brim, speed, layer height and supports. All these settings are usually found in most slicing softwares. First, let's start with raft/brim. For your model to print well, it needs to stick well to the print surface. A brim makes the printer print a few layers around the base of your model to ensure that your extruder is extruding properly. This prevents under/over extrusion or small plastic blobs that can develop. Brims do not waste much material and are fairly quick, so I'd recommend using them on most of your prints. A raft in 3D printing works kind of like raft in the water. A few layers are printed under the base of your model, giving it more strength at the base and good adhesion. Rafts are good if your model only has a few points touching the bed at the start of the print, but are not necessary for models with fairly solid bases, as they can add more time to the print. Speed is self explanatory, it's the rate at which the printer extrudes plastic, and is measured in millimeters per second (mm/s). Raising speed may result in sloppy layering and weaker prints, so test speeds to see which one is best (usually stick with the default in program). Layer height is a setting that can change the finish and speed of your print. If you have thicker layers, the print will finish faster, but will have pretty noticeable ridges and won't feel smooth. On the contrary, thinner layer height will make the print look almost as one piece, but will take longer. Thinner layers will make the print weaker, and thicker layers will make the print stronger. Layer height can be compared to building a wall out of bricks. The thicker the bricks are, the faster the wall will be built, but you will be able to see the individual bricks from a distance, and the opposite goes for thinner bricks. Layer height is measured in millimeters, and is based on the printer nozzle. The most common nozzle diameter is 0.4 mm, meaning the printer can extruder at a max thickness of 0.4 mm. The thinnest layer height most printers allow is 0.1 mm. Essentially, the filament, which is usually 1.75mm in diameter, is being melted and thinned to a max of 0.4 mm and a minimum of 0.1 mm. The printer extrudes less filament to get a thinner layer height. The filament diameter, nozzle diameter, and thinnest layer height can be different between printers, but the values above are most common. Layer height can also be measured in microns; 0.4 mm = 400 microns, 0.1mm = 100 microns, 0.05mm = 50 microns. Finally, supports. If you are just starting 3D printing, you won't use supports much. They are only needed if your model has an overhang. Overhangs aren't common in the models beginners will print, but it is important to know when to use supports for the future. Supports do exactly as you'd think, they support part of a model, in this case, the part with an overhang. Support material is intentionally printed weak so that it is easy to remove after the print. Don't forget, the top of a cylinder that is laying horizontally is also an overhang. Hopefully, these basic tips for 3D printing settings can help you understand the effects of changing them within a slicing program.

New Discovery on MOD-t Online Slicer

I previously mentioned that you could only print custom .stl files through the desktop New Matter MOD-t Utility, but, that is incorrect. I recently discovered an upload feature on the online utility. 3D printer utilities can also be called slicers, because they "slice" a model file into layers for the printer to print. On the New Matter website, you can upload a file containing a custom model, thus not limiting you to the New Matter Design Store. You can also change numerous print settings, such as speed, layer height, supports, brim/raft, and more. There aren't as many settings as a dedicated slicing program like Cura, but still enough. This changes my view on the MOD-t a little bit. Before, I felt that its one-click remote printing was held back by the fact that you could only print models from New Matter (or so I thought). Now, I can print any model I want, whether it be from Thingiverse or one that I've created myself. I have been using the MOD-t for the past week and it has never disappointed.

Fidget Spinners!

Everyone seems to be on the fidget spinner trend nowadays, and with a 3D printer, you can too. There are various models online that include the spinner frame and also the caps that fit into the central bearing. All you have to provide are the inexpensive skateboard bearings that can easily be found online (I got 10 for $5). After the easy assembly process, you can start scamming your friends by selling these nervous energy revolving objects for $5 each and make some moola. The bearings fit surprisingly well into the frame, and on the MOD-t, one frame took about 2 hours on high quality settings. I also added a bit of WD-40 to the central bearing for maximum spin. If you want to go a step further, you can purchase a relatively costly ceramic bearing on Amazon for smoother spinning. I also printed a watertight twisted vase on the MOD-t as well. This print took longer than the spinner, at about 4.5 hours, but it was nearly perfect. The cool thing about this print was that the whole slicing and printing process was initiated through the New Matter website on my phone. I occasionally checked in on the print when I wasn't in the house. The website shows how far your print is and extruder temperature. It's incredibly useful especially for longer prints when you can't physically be watching the print. I've been printing so many objects with the MOD-t because of how easy the whole process is. The print surface can be completely removed from the print carriage, so taking finished prints off the machine is incredibly easy. The bed doesn't have an non-stick coating, so I would recommend applying painter's tape to the bed, making sure the strips create an even surface. I purchased a roll of blue painter's tape made for 3D printers that is about 6 inches wide, so it creates an even surface on the bed. So far, I feel that the MOD-t is an excellent printer solely based on the user experience. It may not be the fastest, most accurate, or have the biggest print volume, but printing is easy as sending an email.    

                 

                              

3D Printing and the IOT

I recently received the MOD-t 3D printer made by a company called New Matter. I was incredibly lucky, as I was able to get this printer for free. A family friend had purchased it a while ago and was upgrading to a MakerBot. Even if I didn't get this machine for free, it would still be very economical. The MOD-t only costs $300 (from New Matter website). If you've heard anything about 3D printing, you probably get the sense that the printers are very expensive and not worth the money. However, this printer could change this, making the barrier to entry much smaller than it was before. There have been past printers below the $400 mark like various models from Printrbot, but those printers usually needed a little bit of fiddling and calibrating. Printrbot printers can be bot in kit form or pre-assembled. The pre-assembled versions are calibrated and have been fiddled with already, but I feel that the MOD-t is truly ready out of the box. In fact, I owned a Printrbot Simple kit about three and half years ago. I was able to assemble the kit pretty easily, but there was one major flaw in the design: zip ties. Zip ties, zip ties, zip ties. One of the most important parts of the printer was held together with zip ties... This important part was the Y-axis assembly. The printer housing was made of CNC'd wood that press fit into other pieces. However, the bearings that held the Y-axis rods in place where secured to the wood pieces with zip ties. The design required the zip ties to be extremely tight for the printer to be accurate. If the ties were slightly loose, the entire Y-axis assembly with the extruder at the end would sag. Of course, that would create inaccurate prints. After many months of fiddling with the Printrbot, I gave up. The $349 that I spent on this printer was not actually wasted. Looking back on it, I learned a lot about 3D printers while struggling with this printer. How the motors controlled each of the axis, how the extruder worked, and the process that these magical machines used to formulate objects out of thin air. My next printer was the DaVinci Junior 1.0 made by XYZ Printing. I purchased it in the summer of 2015. This printer was the same cost of the Printrbot, but was ready to print straight out of the box. It did require a slight bit of calibration regarding the Z-axis offset, but nothing near the Printrbot. My first print was excellent for the price, and from then on, I was mostly satisfied with it. My only problem with the DaVinci Junior was the proprietary element. You could only use XYZ's filament and only use their slicing program. Going back to the Printrbot, it was actually the opposite. The Printrbot was open-source, ran on an Arduino board, accepted any filament, and worked with any open-source slicing programs. That's what I liked about it. But I was willing to take the limiting filament and software options over lots of calibration and inaccuracy. Now fast forward to today. I powered on the MOD-t, set up the software utility on my computer, loaded a filament in, unlinked that account from the previous owner, and loaded a model onto it. It printed nearly perfect. However, I didn't tell you that I printed the model remotely from a website on my phone. A connected printer. That puts this printer over a lot of others in the price range for me. There may be other printers that cost slightly more or less that have marginally better print quality and speed, but this feature pushes the MOD-t to the top of sub $500 printers for me. The MOD-t isn't perfect, but it's user experience is amazing, and is a good buy. Also, you can use any filament you want. The software is proprietary, but I've read that you can you Cura with it. The software is a very simple program that only asks for a gcode file to start printing. You can use a program like Cura to slice an .stl file with your preferred settings. There is another part to the software that is online as well. You can print directly from your phone, but only from New Matter's Design Store, which is a little bit limiting, but cool nevertheless. If you start a print from the desktop client, you can monitor the print from any internet-connected device by logging onto the New Matter website. The printer is wifi equipped and connects to your home network. The design of the printer is really interesting, one I've never seen before. Instead of using belts or rods for the X and Y axis, the MOD-t uses rods that have grooves in them that fit into the bottom of the build plate. Similar to a gear meshing. There are two rods, one for the X and Y axis. One rod is on top of the other, and the building plate is elevated on two sides on the bottom to fit the rods. When the horizontal rods rotates, it causes the build plate to move up and down in the Y axis direction. When the vertical rotates, it causes the build plate to move side to side in the X axis direction. The Z axis moves like any other printer, with a screw and two rods. The reason this design is cost saving is because the printer doesn't require stepper motors. To rotate the X and Y rods, DC motors and encoders are used, which are cheaper than stepper motors. The design of this printer makes it something you could put in your living room. It doesn't look like it costs $300 and feels like a quality machine. I feel like my progression from the Printrbot to the MOD-t represents the evolution of the 3D printer. In the beginning, companies were using open-source hardware, CNC'd parts, and Arduino boards. Every machine felt like a prototype of a product that would come in the future. In the case of the DaVinci Junior, this was the product that people in the past dreamed of. It was mostly ready out of the box, and companies started the whole proprietary trend (which I hate). Now, printers are becoming more than just machines. With the MOD-t, your printer is connected to the freakin' internet. As we progress, more and more things are getting connected to the Internet. The Internet of Things. A future when your fridge talks to your car which talks to your 3D printer which talks with your lawnmower. 

Update

As of today, Drones for Dummies will no longer be. I will be changing the name of this blog to Modyfy (modify + my last name). This blog was originally created to help and educate people about building their own drone, but now, I want to spread a variety of knowledge and experience regarding electronics, 3D printing, drones, computers and tech in general. Along with technology, you may see posts that include photography and/or poems. The goal of Modyfy is to encompass my interests as well as spread the experiences I have while doing things I enjoy. Stay tuned for upcoming posts.

Choosing a Frame, Transmitter/Receiver, and Power Distribution Board

My last post detailed the most necessary components for building your own drone. However, a drone will not function without a frame, some type of control method, and a way to safely manage power from the battery. Lets start with the frame. When I built my first quad, I thought to myself, "how hard can it be to build my own frame." It only took me two days to design, get the parts, and build a frame for my quadcopter. At the end of it, I ran into two major problems. One was a secure way of mounting the motors, and the other was how to prevent the electronic components from touching the frame which was made out of sheet metal. The insulator problem was an easy fix; I just put a foam piece under the flight control board. The motor mount problem was harder to solve. I was able to drill holes in the aluminum bars that my frame consisted of, but I'm not a very good driller. Some screws didn't line up with holes on the motors, causing some motors to get loose during flight. Of course, I could have spent more time designing the frame better to withstand more impact, but in end, I had two pieces of sheet metal sandwiching four hollow aluminum bar all held together with globs of JB Weld. This was not a great design, because JB Weld can hold a lot of weight, but upon impact JB Weld, actually most glue/epoxy, will crack or shatter. That's exactly what happened when my drone crashed. After the crash, I decided to buy a frame from Hobbyking. The frame I bought was decently strong, and this time, it had the correct mounting holes, and it was made out of hard plastic. This frame was mostly successful, but when I crashed again, this frame cracked just like my first one. The Hobbyking purchased frame was very compact, measuring 250 x 250 mm, which is almost 10" x 10". I currently use the SK450 frame in my build. The benefits of this frame are that it is larger, meaning a lot more space to install parts, it uses a combination of fiberglass and plastic, so it isn't conductive, and it's modular. All the components making up the frame are completely removable and replaceable. This is the standout feature for me. If you crash and snap something, you can unscrew it and order the replacement part. Also, 3D printing websites have lots of support for this frame, meaning that you can 3D print accessories and add-ons that will fit this frame. The decision for building or buying your frame is up to you, depending on how experienced you are with D.I.Y projects. My recommendation for beginners would be to buy a frame, because they are affordable, and with the SK450 and many others, well designed. In my mind, the easiest part of putting together a drone is picking the transmitter and receiver. While there are many fancy transmitters with screens and other unnecessary functions, the one transmitter you should get is the Turnigy 5X 5CH. The reason being that this transmitter comes with a receiver bundled in, and suits the basic needs for flying a quad at a low price. When you go to buy this transmitter/receiver, you will notice that it comes in two variants: mode 1 and mode 2. These variants are two of the four types of RC transmitter layouts. To understand an RC transmitter, you have to know the basic controls. Throttle is the level of power given to the motors, the aileron is the banked turns left and right, the elevator is the forward and backwards movement, and the rudder controls to yaw of an aircraft (circular turning motion, spinning on an axis). Mode 1 has the throttle and aileron assigned to the right stick, and the elevator and rudder assigned to the right stick. Mode 2 is not the opposite, instead, switching the places of the elevator and the throttle. There are many tutorials on how to fly your drone, but I will write a separate post detailing it. The last and most forgotten part of a drone is the power distribution system. I actually didn't know you need this on my first quad. Most people would think that the battery just has ports to plug the ESCs into and flight controller into, but it's not as simple as you would think. Basically, you need something to evenly split the power from your battery to all of your ESCs, and don't worry about your flight control board, it gets its juice from the ESC plugged into the set of the first motor pins (that's how it works with the KK2.1 board). My first quad, after realizing I forgot about it, had a wire splitter that plugged into the ESCs from the battery. This was a decent solution, but the cables were a mess. I would recommend picking up one of the Hobbyking manufactured power distribution boards (not cable splitter). The reason for this is to make connecting all the cables much easier. One thing you have to keep in mind are the connectors for the battery and the ESCs. There are many battery connectors, but the most common is the XT60. This connector is usually yellow, and has two holes at the top. It tapers slightly when you get to the top, and you can't plug it in wrong. When you choose a battery, look on the product page and find what type of discharge plug it is. Make sure that this discharge plug matches the input plug for your power distribution board. There are some ESCs that require you to solder connectors on, but most ESCs use bullet connectors. This type of connector comes in many sizes, measured in millimeters. The ESC input on your power distribution board should match the power output connector on your ESCs. Another important and usually overlooked detail is the connectors on the motors. They are usually bullet connectors, like ESCs, but just make sure that your motor and ESC bullet connectors match in terms of size. All of the information regarding connectors can usually be found directly on the product page. If the wiring seems a little complicated at this point, don't worry, I will recap what I just said. From the motors, three wires come out. One is for positive power, one for negative power, and the other is for signal, or data carried to the flight controller board. These wires will plug into your ESC. From each ESC, there with be three wires coming out. One will be positive power, the other will be negative power, and the third will be one wire made up of positive power for the flight controller board, negative power for the flight control board, and signal for the flight control board. The positive and negative power bullet connector cables coming from each ESC will then plug into the aforementioned power distribution board. MAKE SURE YOU PLUG IN THE NEGATIVE WIRE INTO THE NEGATIVE SLOT, AND THE POSITIVE WIRE IN THE POSITIVE SLOT. If you don't, something will end up short circuiting, leading to a possible fire. Just for your info, male bullet connectors look like small bullets, and female bullet connectors are the holes in which the male connectors sit in. The third wire coming out of the ESC will not be a bullet connector, instead a flat cable consisting of three thin wires. Coming from the power distribution board will be a single XT60 or other connector that your will plug into your battery. Also, any positive power wire will be represented by a reddish color, any negative power wire will be brown or black, and any signal wire will usually be yellow, or any other color besides black/brown or red. Just remember that the previous process happens four times in the case of a quadcopter, one time for each motor. Because of this, there will be many wires. I suggest buying some cable or zip ties and/or adjustable Velcro straps. One very important tip is that even if your frame isn't conductive, it could include metal screws or brackets. Make sure components like your flight controller and power distribution board do not touch any sort of conductive material. I learned this the hard way when my power distribution board shorted out and destroyed one of my ESCs, my flight control board, and my battery. If you're wondering how to mount all your components, I will have a separate post where I show you how to actually build a drone. If you're reading this, you probably came from my YouTube channel. If not, subscribe to my channel, which focuses on tech reviews. I will also be posting camera footage from flights with my quadcopter, and possibly video tutorials on D.I.Y drones to furthermore make drones as easy as making microwave mac n' cheese.