The maker faced soldering difficulties during construction, which is a notable point of attention for anyone looking at this project. Despite that hurdle, the resulting device offers a clever way to monitor extruder performance while a print is active. The build utilizes a small rectangular digital display, which is clear and simple. It is attached to the top of an Original Prusa i3 MK2 printer extruder carriage. To power the unit while printing, the maker spliced into the print head fan’s 12 V DC wiring. The design incorporates a black casing and an orange panel. Inside, the device uses a Digispark ATtiny85 microcontroller. Mechanical parts involve two miniature ball bearings press-fitted into 3D-printed rollers. Furthermore, rings cut from a latex balloon were utilized to provide grip on the roller surface. The movement of the filament rotates a slotted wheel positioned between the LED and the LDR. This movement changes the optical signals, which the screen flickering confirms. The system alerts the user with the status CLOGGED! if the filament stops advancing for seven minutes or longer. It is interesting that the maker plans to design a future version that includes PCB and Octoprint connectivity.
Project by Elite Worm. Watch it on their YouTube channel: