If you’ve ever had a 3D print run fail and have experienced this occassional frustration then you might be interested in this new sensor. Dyze Design of Montreal, Canada, have launched a Kickstarter to give Makers a SENTINEL for their 3D printing filament – and end situations where if the filament runs out, the print job carries on regardless. In other words with SENTINEL the printer cannot pass on the print.
The SENTINEL sensor is about the size of a double A battery, and sends a signal to the printer to pause the print and move to the park position so it can get a refill.
How it works: the SENTINAL uses an LED to signal when the filament is out. Gif via: DYZE DESIGN on Kickstarter
The neat little device also has foam inside to keep filament dust-free, and is linkable with other SENTINELS so it can work with more than one filament at a time.
That’s great but…will it work with my 3D printer?
The whole point of Dyze Design’s 3D printer parts is that they are compatible with as many printers as possible, and easy to install. 2 screws attach the SENTINEL to the 3D printer, and there is no additional coding required by the user. If needed, additional support will be provided by a dedicated Dyze Design programmer, and the team are continuing to work on extended firmware compatibility.
From looking at the Kickstarter its clear the team are passionate about making their hardware accessible to everybody, and have a good history of making compatible extruders, nozzles and other 3D printing tools and accessories.
Background of Dyze Design
The company operates with a core set of five 3D printing enthusiasts with shared expertise in computer algorithms marketing, research and design. Dyze Design were founded in 2015 and have already received recognition from the National Bank of Canada’s accelerator award. With their existing kit, the team also managed to 3D print a working replica Toyota 22RE Transmission which, we have to say, is pretty cool.
Gif via: Dyze Design on Facebook
Demand for their latest product is strong and the SENTINEL fund has already met its initial goal of $5,000 CAD for production, but there’s still time for you to get your hands on one as it will stay open until Christmas Day. The discounted Kickstarter special price is $39 CAD and is likely to go up after the project closes. We wish them the best of luck, and look forward to hearing from readers about how you are using this and other tools in your 3D printing.
Featured image shows a digital render of the finished SENTINEL. Image via:Dyze Design Kickstarter
