3D Upfitters Temp Sensor User manual

Temp Sen s or / VO C S en s or
Installation Manual 2.6
August 2022
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We forgot to put something on this page.
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Thank You!
We appreciate you putting your trust in 3D UPfitters to deliver on a new concept in 3D printing.
Yeah, it's just a touchscreen data logger, but we’ve put a lot of care, countless hours, and
money into taking something we enjoy using and making it available to everyone. !
This is a work in progress, and we welcome feedback on how to make operation and
installation as seamless as possible. We depend on customer feedback to help shape this
product's future directions.!
Installation and Configuration
Power Cable
Ain't nothing gonna happen ’til you plug it in. The touchscreen comes with a USB-C to USB-A
connector. The USB-C side plugs into the bottom of the case, as shown below. We don’t provide a wall
wart as we highly recommend purchasing power strips with built-in USB power. It’s crucial that when
you start up the touchscreen, the air is clean, and no 3D prints are running. The VOC sensor will
calibrate that level of VOC as the baseline. !
!
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Mounting the Case
Installation depends on what exactly you want to do with the touchscreen. The first release has
two separate temperature sensors on long wires. The simplest thing is to lay the touchscreen
on the table for testing purposes and use a cable access port to bring the cables inside the
enclosure. However, the air quality VOC meter should be close to the top of the enclosure to
get a good reading. We’ve had good luck mounting the case near the top of the sides on the
left or right. !
If you purchase a 3D UPfitters enclosure, it will come pre-cut to place the touchscreen case at
either the top left or top right near the front.!
If you’d like to mount the touchscreen on your enclosure, the STL for a drill template is
available at the bottom of the main product page. The holes labeled S1 and S2 will enable you
to bring the sensor cables into the enclosure hidden behind the case for a cleaner look.!
Note that holes will be added to the fan controller in future versions. While we don’t like having
to drill holes, this is the least bad of the available solutions. We will make every effort not to
change the holes' location; future directions force later versions to not be compatible with this
hole pattern. If you are squeamish about leaving holes in your enclosure, you’ll probably want
to wait until later versions are released in the latter half of 2022. !
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Sensor Placement
Two binder clips are provided to help position the sensors inside the enclosure, or you can DIY
your solution. The VOC sensor is inside the case, which can be exposed to air inside the 3D
printer enclosure.!
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Basic Operation
Temperature S e n s o r s
There are two temperature sensors. The main screen shows both of the temperature values in
Farenheight. We can add Celcius in the future if people tell us they want it, but we kept the
initial release simple in case customers wanted us to go in a different direction.!
To view the historical time for each sensor, tap on one of the blue buttons:!
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VOC Sensor Calibration
Warning: Do not place touchscreen in direct sunlight! It is designed to be used indoors.
You can calibrate outdoors as long as its in the shade.
The button in the middle is the air quality reading from the SGP30 air quality sensor board,
which measures TVOC (total volatile organic compound). Typically we see values of up to 500
ppb (parts per billion) inside an enclosure when printing ABS and half that when printing PLA
depending on the particular brand of filament. !
The VOC sensor uses a MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor to track VOC levels. A MOS
sensor is a small metal plate coated in various materials which allow it to attract or repel
specific types of molecules. A constant charge is applied to one side of the MOS plate, and the
resulting resistance is read on the other side. Resistance temporarily increases as molecules
bounce offthe plate, and this change in resistance is logged and fed into an algorithm to
calculate the VOC parts per million.!
When you start the touchscreen for the first time, the VOC sensor will go into calibration mode
for 12 hours and assume that the surrounding air is a clean baseline, i.e., no 3D printing, laser
cutting, or other air pollutants. Why is the first 12-hour calibration necessary? The first time
your device is powered on, it has no preexisting baseline, so it must find one. Because each
sensor has atomic-level differences due to the manufacturing processes, each has a unique
baseline resistance. Running the sensor for 12 hours initially allows it to come into contact with
ordinarily occurring VOCs (and other molecules regularly found in its environment). So it will not
register those molecules as VOCs when logging begins.!
VOC Sensor Recalibration
Why might be recalibration necessary? Over time, as molecules bounce offthe MOS plate, the
coating slowly degrades, and molecules may become 'stuck' to the plate. The molecules
gradually increase the resistance by sticking to the MOS plate, which reduces sensor accuracy.
To counteract this, recalibration is occasionally required. By recalibrating the VOC sensor, a
new baseline will be created, and all future values will be compared to that baseline and
adjusted accordingly. Recalibration should only be run while the air is as VOC-free as possible.
To recalibrate the sensor, go to the Info Page (press the 'i' in the top-right of the screen), and
then press the "Recalibrate" button - it should flash green. For the next 12 hours, the main
page's VOC button will display "Calibrating."!
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When should I recalibrate? We recommend recalibrating your touchscreen once every two-
three weeks; however, the device can be recalibrated at any time.!
What if power is lost? If the device is powered down during calibration, the calibration will need
to be restarted (for a total of 12 hours). If the device is powered down after an initial calibration,
it will restart with the previous baseline values.!
Note: On power up, with pre-existing baseline, it may take up to ten minutes before the
VOC sensor warms up and displays accurate values.
What readings are “good” and what are “bad”? Air quality is a big subject and requires a lot of
background knowledge, and even then is pretty complicated. When we were testing the
device, the readings didn’t make sense at first, as the values didn’t seem to correlate to the 3D
printing process, and then we discovered the laser exhaust wasn’t working correctly. The point
here is that the 3D printer is only one source of poor indoor air quality, so keep that in mind
when interpreting the readings.!
When the sensor is in the fresh air, it typically reads about 50, so for us, that is the baseline of
“good air.” Some sources suggest that 200 ppb is acceptable, but it's unclear if that is for 24/7
or only occasional exposure. We prefer to err on the side of caution, but the important thing is
to arm yourself with actual measurements.!
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Optional Cable Box
If your main use case is to use one of the sensors to measure the room temperature outside the
enclosure, then an optional sensor wire box is provided. This tidies up the exterior cable AND allows
you to mount the sensor away from the enclosure, so the radiant heat doesn’t affect the reading.!
!
The provided screws fit into the square nuts, inserted into two slots in the box. While these instructions
are decidedly terse, hopefully, the pictures will give enough information.!
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Raw Data
The raw temperature data points in Fahrenheit are logged every hour to text files on the
SDCARD named “sensor1.txt” and “sensor2.txt”. To read or parse the files move the SDCARD
to your computer and view them using your favorite text editor. Temp values are logged every
hour, with T+0 (the latest values) at the bottom of the file. !
The VOC values are a bit different. The values in the graph are capped at 200 ppb, but the
actual RAW sensor values are captured on the SDCARD. Again, refer to the documentation for
the SGP30 for more information.!
Wifi/Octoprint
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The values for temperature and air quality can optionally be displayed in real-time in Octoprint.
If you want to run Octoprint, that’s beyond the scope of this manual, but there are plenty of
online resources on how to hook your 3D printer to Octoprint. These instructions will focus on
connecting this device to an existing Octoprint installation.!
The first step is configuring the device for Wifi by following the instructions on the touchscreen.
You’ll need to use your mobile phone, but it's pretty straightforward.!
Once Wifi is configured, the next step is to configure Octoprint. The 3DUPfitters plugin
depends on another plugin called Plotly. Please search for this plugin and add it to the Plugin
Manager. !
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Next, look for the link to the latest 3D UPfitters plugin on the product page and install that. You’ll need
to use the touchscreen to find the URL and then configure the plugin:!
!
!
Once you start a print, the display will include the values from the two temperature sensors and
the VOC sensor.
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