Truly Open Source!

If you are looking to build your own Traffic Monitor, you are going to need to print that enclosure!  I updated the repo to include all the parts needed (finally, the mounting board!) and the Air Quality enclosure.

Get the open source models here:  https://github.com/greendormer/tm-enclosure-3d

Get the TM OSS: https://github.com/glossyio/traffic-monitor

Follow our newsletter: https://trafficmonitor.ai

I thought folks, especially on Hackaday.io, would appreciate peering into my 3D printing Home Assistant. I have a 3D Printer set up in my garage to print the Traffic Monitor 3D Enclosure.  I am new to 3D printing as of a few months ago, so I had no idea when something would go wrong or what my settings needed to be for a successful print. 

I also wanted local control and monitor, because I am very conscientious about privacy and security--which I hope is reflected in the open source TrafficMonitor.ai project. 

Software and Hardware

Some pieces I used to make this work:

• I set up the Moonraker HA plugin to tap into all the sensors and controls for my Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus (moonraker on klipper, right??).
• I used a couple TP-Link Matter plugs (and block internet access to those plugs at the router-level!!). 
• I had to install the Matter HA plugin to gain control of those plugs, but they are now completely within my control within my network.
• Ecowitt Wi-Fi gateway for temperature/humidity monitoring (I have some moisture sensors in my plants outside, so I just moved this gateway into my 3D chamber instead of my living room. 😆)
• Cheap USB webcam attached to the Neptune 4 (enabled via SSH, beyond the scope here). 
• Heater is just a small space heater I pipe into the custom-made chamber.
• Custom-made chamber for the Neptune 4 Plus (I'll post on this another day).

HA Dashboard

Besides the obvious Neptune sensor cards I created power control and consumption monitoring cards.

• Power control toggle switches (that are also the power meters) for each the printer and chamber heater.
• Heater-control toggle to tell it to use the automation to keep it between the set high and low temperatures.
• Keepwarm toggle to tell it to run the heater automation script to keep temp even when the printer is not printing. (I use this for pre-warming it on those very cold days).

I had to utilize the Utility Meter helpers to calculate the KWh from the meters, but that worked like a charm!  Now I can tell exactly how much power I use (and money I spend) to print each component.

HA Automations

I created settable Helpers to set the high and low temperatures for those scripts (those slider bars). I then used the HA GUI to create a couple automation scripts:

1. to turn on the heater; when it dropped below temp AND (status == printing OR keepwarm == true) 
2. to turn off the heater; when it reached high temp

Conclusion

This setup has really helped me become more comfortable with the 3D printer and helps control the conditions (e.g. chamber temp), so I can figure out and control the environment to make the best prints.

Although I use the Home Assistant dashboard primarily to monitor. When I need fine-tuned control or understanding of what's going on with the printer, I use the Klipper fluidd dashboard.  I will typically keep both windows up next to each other.

As a side-note, tale of caution: I am sure this will resonate with folks interested in the recent news from Bambu Lab's attempt to "secure" your printer firmware. Last year, after I left my Chamberlain garage door openers connected to the internet and lost my local control and monitoring because they locked local MyQ API access after an unannounced firmware update, I am particularly caution about manufacturers doing this to equipment I have purchased.

Cheers!

3D printing is quite the science! 🧑🔬 In a past life I worked in a biochemistry lab, so I learned a few tricks I wanted to share. 

I keep a lab notebook to better capture and analyze all the research and engineering that goes into it.  It requires a lot of attention to detail and rigor that is not my strong suit, but I feel like the very least I can do for myself is collect the details.  That way if I finally get it "right", I can see what I did. 

The part of the science I really fail at is that I modify many variables at the same time ("Oh... let's change the Speed, temp, and while I'm at it Z-offset"), so I have a hard time telling what changes I did improved or hurt the print.  🤦🏼

Notebook Template

Job printername-nn

**Settings**
Started:             
Total Duration:         
Name/Model:            
Slicer:                 
Printer:                
Filament:            
Chamber Temp:        
Chamber Temp Graph:        

**Outcome**
Quality (1-4):             
Sellable?            
Image(s):         

**Observations**


**Diagnosis / likely problem / explanation: **


**Next steps / changes / corrections / improvements: **

Sample Entry

Here is what an entry looks like: