DesicCat
Hardware
By
@salmorejo
- 5 Devlogs
- 45 Total hours
Drying and keeping dry your 3D filament in the cheapest and most efficient way I've come up with.
2h 27m 35s logged
Devlog 5: Hardware test
Just a quick update.
I’ve created this test PCB that has everything integrated; it works correctly, and I haven’t detected any errors in it or in the code during testing.
However, the results are rather disappointing…
The chamber doesn’t reach the target temperature within the required time. I’ve concluded that to fix this, I need to change how the heat is generated and distributed.
I’ll have an update soon on how I’m going to redesign it.
22h 57m 41s logged
Devlog 4: Final touches to the software (fr this time)
First of all, here’s the GitHub repository for you to check out.
I’m finally happy with the code, and now I’m going to move to the CAD design. It’s been a while since I posted a devlog because I wanted to have it almost finished before doing so.
Since I’m doing a speedrun and want to finish this as soon as possible (there are some interesting new projects coming up 👀), I’m going to give a quick recap:
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Now the interface automatically detects if it’s in DEMO mode by checking whether you’re on the GitHub link or if the URL includes ?demo.
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The physical version is fully operational, and I’m already testing it in real-world scenarios (it’s not ready to show off yet).
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It now detects your browser’s language and adjusts automatically (it’s only in English and Spanish, and, ngl ,it’s done with AI) and you can configure the lenguage in the code.
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Fixed some minor bugs and improved the overall experience.
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There’s now a functional GitHub page (I think) with a README in progress.
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Another important point is that there were no security measures. Now it detects sensor failures, thermal runaways, as well as hardcoded blocks and unusual backend traffic. Both the web version and the offline version detect these issues. These are basic measures, but they’re quite necessary.
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I’ve done some testing with cat litter, and it has potential.
I still have to finish the README and all the parts, but I’m getting closer and closer to shipping it.
For the next devlog, I’ll show a physical test of how it works.
P.S.: I hope you like DesicCat (it’s a mix of “desiccant” and “cat”, in case you didn’t get it 
), and I PROMISE you that the images aren’t AI-generated, I actually made them myself, but I lowkey suck at graphical design.
13h 17m 48s logged
Devlog 3: Final touches to the software
I’ve finished the part I like the least (I like them all, but this is the one I like the least 
), which is the programming and getting everything ready to tackle the most interesting part of the hardware.
I’ve been pretty busy these past few days, so I’ve made only minor progress, but I finally finished the following:
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The interface is now much nicer and easier to understand, since the structure has been completely overhauled and the design has been streamlined (Claude might have had something to do with that
).Now with 🆒 graphs! -
I’ve reviewed the
code for the ESP32 and fixed some security issues related to Wi-Fi credentials. I’ve also optimized some parts responsible for handling the web interface data, with a little help since I’d never done this before. 
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Now, since the web interface is much more resource-intensive, it’s not directly embedded in the C++ code that’s compiled onto the ESP32, which saves memory and frees up space for other, more important processes.
Here’s an example of how I’ve been doing it so far:
//Cpp stuff//
const char HTML_PAGE[] PROGMEM = R"rawhtml(
<!DOCTYPE html><html>
<title>Amazing HTML page</title>
<body>
<h1>Incredible Title</h1>
<p>Wonderful Paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
)rawhtml;
//Rest of the code//
Now, instead, I have the three files: index.html, style.css, and scrypt.js, and I use PlatformIO (the same tool used for Marlin firmware on 3D printers 
) to save them directly to the ESP32 without needing to compile them with the rest of the code.
- There is now also an offline version. The ESP32 tries to connect to the last Wi-Fi network it was connected to, and if that network doesn’t exist or it’s the first time it’s connecting, you can enter new credentials. If it goes a certain amount of time without connecting to any network, it switches to offline mode and is controlled entirely by hardware.
To complete the project (or at least the items on my to-do list) I need to do the following:
- Demonstrate a proof of concept showing how the cat litter is used in the project (which is one of the project’s key features, and I haven’t done anything with it yet )
- Write a proper README to make it easier to use
- Make the GitHub repository public so you can test it
- Make the hardware even easier to use by reducing the controls to two buttons
- Design the parts to be printed and put everything together
I think that’s it… I’m going to keep doing it my own way until I finish it, but if anyone is interested, I’d be happy to tell them or do whatever they ask of me!
4h 15m 25s logged
1h 43m 3s logged
Preliminary tests and other initial steps
The idea is fully developed and it’s all in my head; now I just need to bring it to life…
So far, I’ve only run a few physical tests on the ESP32, identifying some bugs that I’ll have to fix.
The web interface is fully operational and bug-free, but it needs to be improved to make it more visually appealing.
All the logic seems correct, but there are still some security vulnerabilities.
-Code: 65% -Hardware: 20%
