Well this weekend was a lot of work without a lot to show for it. The printer filament shelves are done and I'm giving them some cure-time before loading them up.

View attachment 1436701

I also got a little more of the resin side set up, but a Wham Bam flexible magnetic build surface is to be installed before the first Saturn test print. The accessory adds 2.3mm thickness to the build plate and can damage the printer if not accounted for. Some people simply attach the plate and re-level the printer (which may work, but Elegoo doesn't recommend this). Some people use a Z-stop extender which can be found on Thingiverse, but after consulting with Elegoo they've recommended to me the optimal way to modify the printer. I'll need to design a part for printing on the Pharaoh to implement Elegoo's suggestion.

The big news for me is there's now "auxiliary power" on the workbench for other devices:
View attachment 1436702

Next on the agenda is getting both printers set up and calibrated, which means designing that custom part for the Saturn.
First of all, your room is awesome! I have enjoyed watching your progress.

For your Saturn:
With resin printing (like most things), you will get 50 different answers to a single question. I just re-leveled my built plate after installing the wham bam plate, and I have seen no issue. You may want to consider protecting the LCD print screen. I bought a kit from Mach 5 (Mach5ive) but there are other solutions out there. One other thing to look into before you start is the resin print settings. There is a FB group that has good info on this. Its a great printer once you get it dialed in.
 
First of all, your room is awesome! I have enjoyed watching your progress.
Thanks. It's moving along quite slowly at the moment. "SpeedPak" from China has proven to be not so speedy.

I just re-leveled my built plate after installing the wham bam plate, and I have seen no issue.
I have seen other people do the same, but when I inquired about this with Elegoo they were pretty firm about "not recommended". Following Elegoo's suggestion, I opted to install a spacer on my printer to offset the Z-stop for the Wham Bam plate's thickness. I'll research an LCD protector - I haven't printed anything yet with the Saturn because first I'm wanting to get a curing box and vat drainer built.

Sound modules arrived today so now I'm just waiting on the LED switches. Also today while buying bolts for a garden bridge project I happened upon a spray paint that's nearly an exact match to the Pantone color:
GrayPaint.JPG


If it works out, then this will be the color of the curing box and a desktop monitor iPad holder.
 
You may want to consider protecting the LCD print screen. I bought a kit from Mach 5 (Mach5ive) but there are other solutions out there. One other thing to look into before you start is the resin print settings. There is a FB group that has good info on this. Its a great printer once you get it dialed in.
I checked out the Mach 5 protector and am slightly discouraged by "filters about 5% of the light". Not having used the printer yet, I don't know anything about exposure settings and as Scotty would say, "the more pipes you add to the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the drain". Meaning, the more deviation from a manufacturer's designed operation, the more potential for those trans-warp engines to fail. I've heard the LCD screen will need replacing periodically (similar to nozzles for a FDM printer), so adding a screen protector would mean each time replacing that as well. I'm going to consult with Elegoo about this before placing a Mach 5 order.

I don't have a FB account, nor do I want one. There are already not enough hours in each day.
 
I checked out the Mach 5 protector and am slightly discouraged by "filters about 5% of the light". Not having used the printer yet, I don't know anything about exposure settings and as Scotty would say, "the more pipes you add to the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the drain". Meaning, the more deviation from a manufacturer's designed operation, the more potential for those trans-warp engines to fail. I've heard the LCD screen will need replacing periodically (similar to nozzles for a FDM printer), so adding a screen protector would mean each time replacing that as well. I'm going to consult with Elegoo about this before placing a Mach 5 order.

I don't have a FB account, nor do I want one. There are already not enough hours in each day.
It's (Mach 5 protector) basically a second FEP over the screen. I installed it before I began printing, so I can't say what the affect on printing is from the light loss. Similar to what you have found about the Wham Bam matt, I purchased it after seeing some of the issues people had with the FEP in the resin vat leaking and damaging the LCD screen.

The LCD is considered a consumable on the printer. I am currently replacing the one on my Mars.
 
Well, hearing about leaky vats is a little scary so I went ahead and ordered one of those screen protectors. Thanks for the tip!

The first set of LED tactile switches arrived today. I had ordered a bunch of different switches for comparing their sizes against the Star Trek resin replica buttons figuring I'd use all the "extras" later on model kit display bases. This first size is practically an exact fit to the resin "gumdrops":

WrongSwitches.JPG


That's the good news. The bad news is I screwed up and got SPST instead of DPST switches. I meant to get DPST for being able to trigger a sound effect with each function (different voltages) and didn't even pay attention when ordering. Oh well, these will certainly get used later for bridge-styled control panels on model kit bases, but I'm now on the hunt again for the "correct" switches.
 
Well wait a minute, I examined the timer's PCB and apparently the functions are switching from the negative bus:

Timer.JPG


Since the timer runs at 3v, its signals should be compatible with the Adafruit FX sound board and I might be able to use the SPST switches after all. The Adafruit board is rated for 3.3-5v, so I'll need to test whether a 3v signal from the timer is enough to trigger sounds. (Probably, since the IC pins simply need to be pulled low.)
 
Testing one of the switches lit up with one of the resin button replicas really highlights (no pun) all the defects in the resin. Unfortunately, all the resin buttons have one defect or another in them. I suppose from a further distance they won't look as bad.

ResinButton.JPG


The iPhone is washing out the color, and it's worse when trying to take a straight-on photo (the button ends up looking all white instead of the glowing colors seen in-person).
 
It's (Mach 5 protector) basically a second FEP over the screen. I installed it before I began printing, so I can't say what the affect on printing is from the light loss.
I heard back from Elegoo and their recommendation is to increase exposure time 1-2s when adding a second FEP (screen protector).
 
Here is a small update for anybody who might be interested. It might seem as though I have been skipping around to different things (well, that's because I have been!) but there is rationale for this:
  • The closet doors floor guide is modeled and ready to print, but I want to print this in nylon which should have a special setup for ideal printing (a fully-enclosed filament path). I've got my PrintDry filament dryer upgraded to 3 polyethylene chambers and to each one I've attached a 48" bowden tube, and next is to connect the other end of the tubes to the back of the Pharaoh. For this I've modeled a special rubber grommet holder to 3D print from PLA and then attach to the back of the printer. I just haven't gotten around to printing those yet because I've been working on a UV curing box.
  • The desktop rocker switches cannot be painted yet because it's still too cold and wet outside, and enamel spray painting simply is not being done indoors.
  • The desktop intercom is to be printed in resin on the Saturn, and that printer isn't ready to go yet. Technically, yes I could power up the printer today and start printing, but that's not how I operate. I'm in agreement that a screen protector would be wise to have on the printer, and my Mach5ive protector arrived just yesterday. But I still prefer to have a UV cure box and vat drainer ready before the first resin print.
  • The red alert panel and wall intercom combo are waiting for resin-printed parts, and I haven't finalized the electronics yet for this (not because they're complicated - I simply haven't started thinking seriously on it yet).
So, that's why I've been focusing lately on the UV curing box, but even that is getting dragged out due to waiting on component shipments. It's all fine though because before the box can begin having electronics installed it will be painted, and again spraying is not happening indoors so I've got time to work through design refinements whilst waiting for warmer weather.

The box's "control panel" switch placements have been revised to accommodate dry-transfer labels, which the closest font match I could find is Futura Medium. It's not an exact match for every character but it's very close, especially for the characters I'll be using. The revised box layout (with increased dimensions) now looks like:
UVboxV2.png

No, it's not a canon design, it's intended to have the "ambiance" of TOS Trek and coordinate with the room's theming. The resin buttons are replicas from TrekPropsAndStuff, which come in a random assortment of 50 round and 50 square:
ResinButtons.JPG


The batch I received contained a lot of opaque ones and there are inconsistencies in the colors. Also, as seen in the photo above, several of the buttons have air bubbles, scratches, defects, and inconsistent height (they're not cast very well) so I've got two more sets ordered. With 150 round buttons to choose from, I'm hoping to pick out 6 that pass my inspection. The rest will probably get used on future projects.

I bought a shuttlecraft-load of sound boards from BigDawgs Greeting Cards initially planning them for the sound effects, but each board has only 1 or 3 buttons (depending on the board) so it would take at least two boards to handle all the buttons. I want only one speaker on the box and don't want to mess around with an audio mixer for just button sound effects (its function is UV curing, not sound playback) so these will just end up getting used with future model kit builds:
BigDawgs.JPG


That brings me to the present state of the electronics, with a couple of the components still not yet finalized (and I see now I've got the timer's box upside down in the photo, oops):
UVbox5.JPG


These parts are:
  • 7" battery-operated turntable from Amazon (upper left). It features two speeds, a slow speed and an even slower speed. I will be connecting the battery terminals instead to a 3VDC supply (shown right of it).
  • Digital kitchen timer from Amazon (upper center). This has been disassembled and its battery terminals also connected to the 3VDC supply (shown beneath it). The tactile switches will be removed from the board and the terminals instead wired to push-button switches on the control panel.
  • 12VDC UV LED strip lights, 24W, 600 lights from Amazon (lower left). These are powered by a 12VDC AC adapter (lower center) and will be distributed around the interior behind mirror-chrome vinyl (with holes for the LEDs cut out with our Silhouette Cameo). The LED "map" is already drawn up in Silhouette Studio.
  • 12VDC-to-3VDC converter. This will convert the 12VDC AC adapter output to 3VDC for the turntable and timer.
  • 8' power cord (lower center) because I'd rather have the wall-wart inside the box and a more-robust power cord coming out the back of the box. It will connect to the box using a strain-relief cord buckle (shown left of it).
  • Button sound effects will be provided by an Adafruit FX Mini board (upper center), the same type of board that will be used for the wall intercom. This doesn't have enough power to drive a speaker so an Adafruit Mono 2.5W Class D Audio Amplifier is shown above it. Both of these boards run on 5VDC, so a 5VDC regulator board from Amazon (shown below it) will supply power from the 12VDC adaptor.
  • I've narrowed the speaker selection down to two Adafruit products (upper right), a 40mm 4 Ohm 3W metal speaker or an enclosed 4 Ohm 3W speaker. One of these will be chosen after hearing how each sounds.
  • A black toggle switch from TrekPropsAndStuff will turn the turntable on/off (upper right). There is no need for two speeds, so this flat-handled toggle switch will simply turn it on and off.
  • I was originally planning to use LED tactile switches behind the resin button replicas (upper right), but they are made only as momentary switches and one of them needs to turn the UV LEDs on/off. I don't want to mess with a custom flip/flop circuit to turn the lights on/off from a momentary switch when there exists maintained push-button switches (center right). The first batch of "regular" push-button switches that arrived were 12mm diameter because it was the largest I could find, but after contacting the seller I've now got 16mm ordered which is a better fit for the resin buttons. (It turns out the switch diameter spec is referring to the panel hole size and not the button size.) The switch LEDs run at 12VDC with a resistor already built into the switch body, so these will be powered off the 12VDC supply. Both momentary and maintained switches are ordered, so all 6 buttons will have the same body type.
  • The main power switch comes from Auber Instruments and features an illuminated red ring powered by 110VAC (center right), which is another reason for having an AC line into the box so the wall-wart can be switched on/off from the house power.
  • The control panel will be attached by magnets at the corners so it's removable if any components need replacing later. For increased convenience, all the panel's wiring will use PCB connectors (lower right) and for mounting the various electronics boards inside the box I also got a set of nylon stand-offs (lower right).
So as you can see, a lot of different components needed to be sorted out for building an appliance-like curing cabinet. A red acrylic lens has been glued into the control panel and first pass of filler putty sanded smooth. Holes for the switches are drilled, but the resin button's holes still need enlarging to 35/64" (and the bit for this has been ordered):
UVbox7.JPG


Parts are installed on the door's backside for sliding in a red acrylic panel, but holes for the handle still need to be drilled:
UVbox8.JPG


The turntable took some figuring out to learn how to open up without breaking it, but that's been sorted out and now it will be easy replacing the switch and changing the power source:
UVbox6.JPG


Next up will be getting the sound effects added to the Adafruit board and checking that all the parts "play nice" with each other. I've already tested everything separately, so I'm not expecting any fires when it's all connected together.

Hmmm, so much for this being a "small" update.
 
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Yes, I hope to have that available sometime later in 2021, too. These are small runs with a U.S. mill, which frankly has been busy with other projects and running at full-steam (despite Covid.)
I would be interested in purchasing several yards of the red and gold checkerboard fabric used on the STC beds etc.
 
Coming soon...
Awesome, thanks! Tackboard parts are set aside waiting on the fabric.

You wouldn't think it would be so complicated just to switch UV LEDs on/off, a turntable on/off, and have a digital timer option - and really it isn't, until the muffin-eating moose decides to include Trek sound effects on the switches. Then this happens:
UVbox9.JPG

(That's why nothing has been posted lately, been busy working all this out.)
 
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The soldering iron / rework station I bought off Amazon arrived broken and had to be returned, so that's why nothing has been happening on this project for a couple weeks. None of my irons have a fine-enough tip for the cleanliness I want to have with the soldering, so I've been just waiting here for some bloke in China to get up off their butt and package my replacement iron for shipping. (The replacement was ordered a week ago.)

In the meantime, I've been using the idle time to finally get started on a garden bridge for our Japanese garden (the starbase "arboretum"):
GardenBridge.jpg
 
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Replacement soldering station arrived today, and clearly is a refurbished unit (complete with chipped and dented metal shell) instead of the brand new unit that was ordered. For what it cost, that is not acceptable and the replacement is now also going back and I get to wait another week. If there is any issue with the third unit then I'm just getting a refund and will shop for something else (which will be yet another delay). Ridiculous.
 
Now that I think I've got all the components and tools, prototyping has begun on the UV curing box electronics:
UVbox10.JPG


I am so slow that Elegoo has already come out with a Saturn-sized wash-and-cure unit but I still like mine because it will have more UV LEDs than Elegoo's and cooler theming, and I've already got an ultrasonic cleaner for washing parts. While waiting for multiple soldering station replacements (yes, I finally ended up with a good one) there was time to finish this side-project in the backyard (er, "arboretum"):
GardenBridge2.JPG


The next update will hopefully be showing a video clip of the electronic's sound effects in action.
 
Another delay - the Adafruit soundboard isn't putting out any sound. 0V on the output while a sound is "playing":
SoundTest.JPG


I've got Adafruit tech support helping debug this, but their only support is forum-based so responses are very slow.
 
You might set the meter to millivolts AC. The audio will be hard to see in Volts DC... the averaging may smooth out the audio as noise.
 
There is some activity on the mV setting (very small readings that fluctuate) but still no sound from the speaker. If it doesn't get resolved by the weekend when I've got more time I'll try swapping out the Adafruit boards since I bought multiples when ordering.
 

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