The eufyMake E1 UV printer is genuinely one of the compelling merchandise to hit the market this 12 months, as a result of it brings UV printing to hobbyists at a comparatively accessible value. And other than upkeep complications associated to printhead clogging and the excessive price of ink cartridges, it’s excellent for makers. Nevertheless, it doesn’t essentially scale to manufacturing very properly and that may be a drawback for anybody seeking to produce lots of and even hundreds of equivalent objects. Robin Reiter discovered himself in that state of affairs when labeling SMD part cartridges, so he hacked a eufyMake E1 to enhance automation.
Whereas the eufyMake Studio software program is way, far extra intuitive and nice than typical UV printing software program, its workflow clearly wasn’t meant for high-volume manufacturing. Every time the person needs to print one thing, they’ve to start out the job within the PC software program (or smartphone app), wait a couple of minutes for the file switch, after which go bodily press the beginning button on the machine. It won’t sound like a lot, however that point provides up quick whenever you’re repeating the identical steps time and again all day.
There isn’t any revealed API documentation and so Reiter needed to get his fingers soiled to beat the issue in a extra roundabout style. That mentioned, his “hack” doesn’t require any modification to the printer itself and needs to be fully secure — nothing right here would void a guaranty.
This hack has two elements: the {hardware} and the software program. The {hardware} is fairly easy, with a unit on the eufyMake E1 that has two buttons and a second unit that comprises a servo to faucet the E1’s begin button. The primary unit comprises a Solder Celebration RP2040 Stamp growth board, an ESP32 performing as a WiFi adapter, two key switches for the buttons, and RGB LED standing lights. Urgent one of many buttons begins a print job, then the software program takes over. When the machine is prepared, the servo faucets the beginning button.
Reiter’s software program is a bit like a complicated auto-clicker constructed with OpenCV and PyAutoGUI. Not like a “dumb” auto-clicker, it will possibly acknowledge what’s on the display and act accordingly. As an example, it will possibly see when a job is able to begin and can inform the RP2040 to maneuver the servo. The eufyMake Studio software program runs in a digital machine on a PC and Reiter’s software program makes the mandatory clicks to start out a job.
The SMD cartridges match right into a 3D-printed jig and eufyMake Studio’s “zero level alignment” characteristic ensures that designs are printed in the suitable location each time. Now Reiter can label lots of of SMD cartridges with out a lot effort whereas working in his store.
With Kickstarter backers nearly to obtain their eufyMake E1 machines, this hack will seemingly show to be widespread with others searching for related automation.
