2026-06-19 10:00:36
Generally the idea with photopolymers as used with resin 3D printing is that the process only works in a single direction as with all thermosets: after polymerization under influence of UV light they become an inert lump of plastic. Being able to turn these lumps back into resin would of course be ideal, as it would make recycling incredibly easy. Here depolymerizable resin turns out to be a thing, with 3Dresyn being one company that sells additives and resin which enable this (found via Fabbaloo).
These additives and resins come in essentially two flavors based on which temperature they depolymerize at, which can be at either 80°C or 150°C. This comes at a cost, of course, with the ready-to-use resin coming in at an eyewatering €833.00 for a 1 kg bottle, a factor only slightly helped by the reusability aspect.
From a more technical perspective this depolymerization feature is fascinating, as it addresses the one aspect of thermosets (like SLA and epoxy resins) that thermoplastics have as advantage, especially from a recycling view. This type of circular photopolymer appears to be quite novel, with an article by [Machado] et al. from 2024 claiming to have demonstrated the first resin that can be photopolymerized, depolymerized and subsequently again photopolymerized in a closed loop.
In the demonstration by [Machado] et al. the depolymerization is achieved using dynamic disulfide bonds, with the pulverized printed samples put into a 2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) solvent. After heating at 80°C for 3 hours with an inert atmosphere, most of the photopolymerized material had returned to its original, pre-printing state. In a more recent 2025 study by [Bo Yang] et al. an approach using catalytic thermal dissociation of dithioacetal bonds was explored.
Based on the available information by 3Dresyns it would seem that their product is closer to this latter approach, with depolymerization requiring putting the part into an oven at the target temperature for up to an hour, presumably in some kind of suitable container. This is said to target elements like sacrificial molds, reusable tooling and jigs that would otherwise be discarded, or need to melt like a thermoplastic instead of acting like a thermoset. Whether a solvent like MeTHF is required as in the two cited studies is sadly unclear based on a quick scan of the site.
Thanks to [SpillsDirt] for the tip.
2026-06-19 07:00:44
There are a million and one cheap OLED display modules out there. Only, the problem is, they’re all assembled on bare PCBs and they’re all slightly different, and that frustrates efforts to mount them in a clean and tidy manner. [Galopago] decided to build a small OLED module that solved this frustrating problem.
The idea to pursue this came from off-the-shelf panel displays commonly used for power supply builds and other such equipment. These come in relatively standard sizes and are designed from the outset to slot neatly into a panel with a bezel that covers any ugly edges or awkward gaps.
The build began with a 48 x 29mm enclosure grabbed from an off-the-shelf power panel meter. There are two PCBs—one holding the regulator and other equipment to run the display, the other carrying a set of screw terminals that make it easy to wire up the display to a piece of equipment. The SSD1306-copmatible OLED screen itself connects to the first board with a flat flex cable, as is the norm.
If you find yourself often wanting to pop a small display into a piece of custom test equipment, this might be relevant to your interests. Files are on Github for the curious.
We’ve featured some other fun OLED hacks over the years, like this interesting effort to whip up displays from scratch in a home lab. If you’ve got nifty usability hacks of your own in the works, don’t hesitate to let us know.
2026-06-19 04:00:30
Do you have a ZKETECH EBC-A20 battery tester? Perhaps you don’t like the default software used to control the device. In that case, you might like the alternative whipped up by [Kazhuu.]
A reverse-engineering effort targeted at the EBC-A20 served as the basis for the work. The battery tester is ultimately controlled by a simple serial interface, running at 9600 bps, 8 bits, with odd parity. Armed with a relatively complete understanding of the commands used to control the device, [Kazhuu] was able to whip up a simple web app to control the device instead, using WebUSB to access the device over a USB-to-serial converter, though a desktop version for Linux and Windows is also available. If you’ve got one of these battery testers sitting on your bench, using the app is as simple as pointing your browser here with the device plugged in via USB. Then you can run basic load tests on battery cells and graph the results right on your computer without having to deal with the proprietary software.
Of course, if you don’t like the EBC-A20 battery tester, you could always build your own. If you’re whipping up your own test hardware on the lab bench, don’t hesitate to notify us on the tipsline.
2026-06-19 02:30:13
Holographic displays sound very fancy but you can build various simple types yourself at home. [Julius Makes] whipped up a neat design that shows a different image depending on the position from which you view it.
Running the show is a Wemos D1 devboard equipped with the ESP8266 microcontroller. It’s hooked up to a pair of OLED displays over I2C. The displays are placed in a 3D printed assembly that aims each one at a beam-splitter cube. This bounces light projected into one face through 90 degrees, and out another face. By leveraging this, it’s possible to aim each display at one face and bounce it out another, such that looking at either side of the beamsplitter cube shows a different image. Since the beamsplitter cube also allows some light to be transmitted directly through as well, the image from each display appears to float in space.
[Julius] notes that this setup is being used in a puzzle box game, while wondering whether there’s any other fun ways to leverage this technique. We’ve seen some other neat holographic displays before, too, like this neat Holochess build.
2026-06-18 23:30:21
Billions of people use GPS on a daily basis, along with the various other satellite navigation systems available today. But few of us spend much time contemplating the fleet of satellites above us that actually makes the system work. [Robert Wolf] has, though, and he’s built a simple visualizer that displays just what those space birds are doing at any given time.
The visualizer runs right in the browser, and displays a cluster of GPS satellites in a 3D view around the Earth. The tool also offers a list of satellites and related data, including signal-to-noise ratio of the received signals from each one, and the ability to play back satellite positions from previous days. The satellite positions are captured from a GPS receiver that [Robert] operates in the UK.
The view isn’t global or complete, since the receiver can only see a certain number of satellites from its location, but it nevertheless gives an idea of where a subset of GPS satellites are flying above the globe. Depending on the selected view, it’s possible to see the satellites superimposed over the world map itself — or from a distant observer’s perspective, as if looking at the Earth from a distance, among other options.
If you’ve ever wanted an intuitive idea about where the GPS satellites live, this tool is a great way to understand it. We’ve also previously discussed the wide range of GPS alternatives that have been developed over the years. If you’ve got your own GPS hacks brewing in the home lab, don’t hesitate to let us know on the tipsline.
2026-06-18 22:00:14
There was a particularly tense moment aboard the International Space Station earlier this month, with NASA directing their astronauts to secure themselves in the Dragon capsule and prepare for a potential return to Earth while their Russian counterparts engaged in what we now know to have been some impromptu demolition work on their side of the orbiting complex.
Despite objections from their American partners, Roscosmos had given their cosmonauts the go-ahead to drill and cut into the walls of the Zvezda module — one of the core components of the ISS which has been in orbit since 2000 — to try and identify and ultimately repair persistent leaks that have been venting the Station’s atmosphere out into space for several years. We may never know the exact nature of the behind-the-scenes communication that went on between the two space agencies, but in the end the Russians abandoned their plan and NASA’s personnel were told to resume their normal duties.
But where do things go from here? Although it’s true the International Space Station is entering its final years, the mission isn’t over yet, and that means the two countries need to continue to work together if they hope to get any science done in the time they have left.
At this point there hasn’t been any official word from either agency, but sources that wish to remain anonymous have been dropping hints, and that’s got the rumors swirling. With the understanding that anything is still possible, at this point it looks like Russia is going to abandon any further attempts to repair the leak and instead seal off the crippled compartment of the Zvezda module. This won’t solve all the problems, and in fact will create some new ones. But if that’s what it will take to keep the peace with NASA until Station operations wind down, it’s apparently a bargain they’re willing to make.
It probably goes without saying that the best kind of leak on a space station is no leak. Having breathable air is rather important when you’re trying to live and work in space, and while the life support systems on the International Space Station are robust enough to compensate for the steady loss of atmosphere they’ve been experiencing up to this point, there’s always a possibility that the rate of loss could increase and put that balance in jeopardy.
There’s also a chance that the leak is a harbinger for something far more serious — a structural failure of the pressure vessel itself. Even with advanced warning, it would be an existential threat to the entire program if one of the ISS modules literally cracked open. We don’t need to go into details about the potential for tragedy should it occur without warning.
All that is to say, if your orbiting laboratory does have to spring a leak, you couldn’t ask for it to be in a better place than where it is on the ISS. After the Station started losing air back in 2019, the crew was able to narrow it down to the Transfer Chamber at the aft end of the Zvezda module.
Known as the PrK by the Russians, this small space is a sort of vestibule that connects the inside of the module to the rear docking port, which in turn allows access to visiting spacecraft. The PrK is unique in that it traverses an unpressurized equipment bay; think of it like a tube within a tube. Cracks in the walls of the PrK have been allowing the atmosphere inside the Station to leak out into this unpressurized space even though the external hull of the module hasn’t actually been breached so far as anyone is aware.
The good news is, the easiest and most immediate way to stem the loss of air is to simply close the hatch leading into the PrK. Of course, that means abandoning the docking port on the other side of it.
The Russian section of the Station has multiple docking ports which can be used to transfer crew and cargo, so while having to abandon one of them is hardly ideal, it’s a survivable scenario. It’s fair to say that this would have been a far less palatable solution a decade ago, but now it’s the sort of compromise that you’d expect when working with hardware that’s been in space for more than 20 years.
Shuffling spacecraft between the various docking ports on the ISS has become increasingly common as the fleet of vehicles that can visit the orbiting complex has grown over the years. With more cargo-carrying craft set to come online before the end of the decade, things will only get busier. Losing a docking port would add to the logistical challenge, but there’s no question it will be manageable.
Plus, it’s not as if they would have to stop using the port entirely. While sealing off the PrK passage means crew and cargo will no longer be able to pass between a visiting spacecraft and the Zvezda module, the same isn’t true for deliveries of gasses and liquids. The plumbing that moves water, oxygen, and the propellants for the Station’s thrusters over from the Progress resupply spacecraft is all run on the outside of the structure and is linked up automatically through connectors in the docking port.
Since crew members don’t need to access the inside of the Progress vehicle to transfer these liquids over, the port can still be used for at least some resupply activities.
While crew and cargo transfers can be performed on an alternate docking port, and Zvezda’s rear port can still support transferring water and other fluids with the PrK hatch closed, there’s still the question of reboost maneuvers.
Normally, a Progress spacecraft docked to the rear of Zvezda would use its own thrusters to change the velocity of the entire complex. This is most commonly used to counteract atmospheric drag and keep the Station in the intended orbit, as it would otherwise slowly fall back down into the atmosphere and eventually burn up. This maneuver must be done from the rear docking port of Zvezda as that allows the visiting spacecraft to push along the center line of the Station.
While these reboosts could still be performed without opening the PrK hatch, there’s a question about whether or not it’s safe to continue putting so much stress on the surrounding structure. In fact, though there has been no official determination made, some believe that the repeated stress of performing the reboost maneuvers from that specific docking port could be one of the factors that lead to the cracks forming in the PrK to begin with.
If NASA and Roscosmos determine that continuing to push the entire mass of the ISS through this structure is no longer safe, their only alternative is to do it from the US side. The Space Shuttle was used to reboost the Station this way before its retirement in 2011, and more recently, a Cargo Dragon specially modified to carry additional propellant demonstrated it could fill this particular role if need be.
If you’ve been following space news for a bit now, this might all sound a bit familiar to you — that’s because this isn’t the first time Russia decided that the best course of action was to simply close the door on the PrK. Going back to at least 2024, the official procedure was for the crew to keep the hatch closed unless they were actively loading or unloading a docked vehicle.
That greatly reduced how much air was leaking out, but as long as crews were occasionally opening up the PrK and moving through it, there was a risk of something going catastrophically wrong. Should the rumors prove true, the difference this time is that the door would stay shut and the PrK would remain undisturbed for as long as the ISS remained in orbit. It’s not exactly a fix, but it’s good enough for an aging space station that’s only got a few more years on the clock.
