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August 11, 2026August 11, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

PewCB One Desktop PCB fabrication system enables rapid prototyping at home

PewCB One is a desktop PCB prototyping system designed to accelerate hardware development by manufacturing PCBs at home or in the office in a few hours or less, instead of waiting days for a PCB to come back from the factory. Unlike desktop fabrication methods that rely on chemical processing, the PewCB One is more akin to a fully enclosed laser engraver housed with an integrated air filtration system. Users can perform the full process from double-sided PCB blanks to a complete PCBA at home. PewCB One highlights: Laser Wavelength – 1064 nm Average optical power – 20 W Pulse duration – ~100 ns Spot diameter – 35 μm PCB Blanks Double-sided PCB blanks with vias and plated through-holes Made of copper-clad alumina and zirconia ceramics Dimensions – 23 x 23mm to 84 x 80 mm PCB traces – As low as 0.1mm; formed using laser ablation, a process that removes […]

August 3, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

ChronoWatch X2040 – A DIY watch with off-the-shelf Raspberry Pi RP2040 round display, 3D printed case, and custom firmware

If you’ve ever wanted to build your own watch, the ChronoWatch X2040 DIY watch allows you to do it the easy way with a Waveshare RP2040-Touch-LCD-1.28 touch LCD board, a 3D-printed case, a 3.7V LiPo battery, a few screws, and firmware using the Pico C/C++ SDK. When Vishal Soni decided he wanted to build a watch, he initially planned to design a custom board, but since there are already several round LCD boards based on Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU, he went with a Waveshare board, preferring to spend more time on firmware programming. ChronoWatch X2040 parts: Waveshare RP2040-Touch-LCD-1.28 with Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU and 1.28-inch round touch display – About $23 to $29 on Amazon, AliExpress, or the Waveshare store. 3D printed case designed with Tinkercad 3.7V 950mAh Lipo battery (35 x 25 x 10 mm) M2 4mm screw M2 heat inserts 2-pin MX1.25 connector 1mm heat shrink sleeve tube […]

August 1, 2026August 4, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Creality Falcon T1 review – A 5-in-1 modular laser engraver tested with 20W fiber and 40W diode laser modules

Creality Falcon T1 5-in-1 Laser Engraver review

Creality sent us a sample of the Falcon T1 5-in-1 modular laser engraver for review. The company describes it as the world’s first 5-in-1 laser engraving and cutting machine that supports five types of laser modules in a single unit: 20W diode laser 20W, 40W diode laser, 20w fiber laser, 60W MOPA laser, and 5W UV Laser 5W. The laser heads can be swapped tool-free in just 15 seconds. It works with an HD camera and AI system and can engrave and cut a wide range of materials including wood, leather, acrylic, metal, glass, crystal, and plastic. Diode laser modules are ideal for cutting and engraving wood, leather, and acrylic, the fiber laser module is better suited for marking and engraving metal, the MOPA laser module supports color marking on metals such as stainless steel and titanium, and the UV laser module uses cold processing for high-precision work on glass, […]

July 29, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Sovol M1D hybrid IDEX 3D printer features 6 interchangeable toolheads for multi-color and multi-material prints (Crowdfunding)

Sovol has launched the M1D, an open-source IDEX (Independent Dual Extruder) 3D printer with a fixed dual-extruder architecture and interchangeable toolheads that support up to seven independently heated toolheads (one fixed and six swappable). It comes in two variants: the open-frame M1D Essential and the M1D Advanced, which adds a full enclosure and a chamber heating module capable of reaching up to 60°C. The M1D uses a patented automatic tool changer for swapping print heads in as little as five seconds and supports Single, Multi-Head, Copy, and Mirror printing modes. It enables multi-material or/and multi-color prints, including adding water-soluble support to a print to remove the need to manually remove support (see video at the end of this post for demo). The printer targets makers, engineers, prototype development, and small-scale production by reducing purge waste while improving printing efficiency and material flexibility. Sovol M1D specifications: Printing technology – FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) Storage – […]

July 26, 2026July 29, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Creality Pika review – An affordable, portable 3D scanner with infrared and blue laser modes

Creality has sent us a sample of the Pika portable 3D scanner for review. In some ways, it shares some of the features of the high-end Sermoon S1 3D scanner, like blue laser and NIR structured light scanning modes, but it’s more affordable and compact, works out of the box through USB or WiFi, and is offered in a design and form factor similar to an action or point-and-shoot camera. In this review, I’ll start by listing the specifications, then go through an unboxing, and test the Pika with an (underpowered) Android phone, before spending more time testing the portable 3D scanner on a powerful mini PC connected to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB GPU dock. Pika 3D scanner specifications and host requirements Pika (CRS15CPK) specifications: SoC – Unnamed octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz Display – 3-inch touchscreen display Scanning Modes 7 Parallel Blue Laser Lines Working […]

July 22, 2026July 22, 2026 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Arduino UNO Q Arcade bundle lets you build a custom retro gaming console for about $90

Arduino UNO Q Arcade bundle is a kit designed to build a custom retro gaming console. The bundle combines the Arduino UNO Q 4GB SBC with a set of daisy-chainable Modulino I2C modules, allowing users to create a custom game controller without requiring complex wiring or breadboards. The kit relies on Qwiic connectors to daisy-chain the input modules, whose data is then processed by the UNO Q to emulate standard HIDs for gaming or development. The plastic parts can be 3D printed by the user. Arduino UNO Q Arcade bundle contents: Arduino UNO Q 4GB – A Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 SBC with an onboard eMMC, running Debian Linux Modulino Joystick – An I2C node configurable for simulating D-pad inputs or mouse cursor movements Modulino Buttons – An I2C node for mapping single keystrokes, multi-key shortcuts, or mouse clicks Modulino Movement – A 6-axis IMU node for motion-based mouse control Note: […]

July 3, 2026July 3, 2026 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

HALO TOUCH V2 – A customizable desktop USB hub with rotary encoder fitted with round touchscreen display

Designed by Innoelement in Guangzhou, China, the HALO TOUCH V2 is a multifunctional desktop USB hub with a round touchscreen and a rotary encoder designed as an interactive desk companion. It integrates system monitoring, media playback, and productivity features for workstations, home offices, and desktop setups. The device features a USB 2.0 hub with two USB Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port, two microSD card readers, and a 100Mbps Ethernet port with per-port power monitoring. Its 360 × 360 IPS touchscreen supports a Pomodoro timer, photo and animation viewer, MP3 player, audio spectrum visualizer, and an AIDA64 system monitoring dashboard. A rotary encoder provides Microsoft Surface Dial-compatible controls on Windows, while 2.4GHz Wi-Fi enables clock synchronization and OTA firmware updates. It also supports USB PD power input and customization for themes, media, and animations using files on a microSD card. MAHOGANY HALO TOUCH V2 specifications: MCU – Unspecified (potentially ESP32-S3) […]

June 22, 2026June 23, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Optocam Zero – A Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-based DIY digital camera

Inspired by Kodak Charmera and similar toy cameras, the Optocam Zero is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-based DIY digital camera made of off-the-shelf components and 3D-printed parts. It connects the Pi Zero 2 W SBC with a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3, a 1.3-inch LCD, a 14500 Li-Ion battery holder, and other components. The camera supports autofocus, eight photo filters, USB-C charging, and lasts 70 to 80 minutes on a charge. Optocam Zero camera key features: Based on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W SBC Display 1.3-inch LCD with 240 x 240 resolution 15–20 FPS camera preview on the screen. Screen dimming when inactive to preserve battery Camera features 2592 x 2592 JPEG image capture. GIF recording and playback support. Autofocus support 8 photo filters included. Misc Image transfer through custom hotspot interface. Fully 3D printed case parts 3D printable TPU protective sleeve and lanyard design is available. 22-second boot […]