19m 6s logged

8/10/2026 - 1st Update!

yes, im sure you have tons of questions lol

disregarding the overarching question that every first log has to solve (what is this?), i do know that river is incomplete as of now. i havent really had any motivation to finish it, but i do plan on it, sometime this week. but for now (and a while now), i feel like its progress is currently slowing us down a bit. regardless, im gonna complete it, but i have a ton of ideas i want to write down and document, so that i actually have a readable progress update, instead of coming in with a full design (because, after all, that’s not as interesting or as educational as seeing designs converge into an idea!)

one more note, it’s currently 2:03 AM on 8/11/2026 right now, but i’ll push this for 8/10/2026!

so, the question you’re probably wondering now, what is fermion? well, it’s technically a successor to spark, which was more of a learning opportunity, looking at it retrospectively, and it’s not easy or expected to get everything correct first try, so here we go, spark v2! with, a different name! ok, skip that, we got branding made already (yes ive been busy lol)

similarly to last time, after just around 2 weeks, i have returned to present you the raw concepts of fermion, tihs being arc 3 of year 3, following spark (build) and river! here we go

compact. like, really compact
- way back when, i came across alex’s (qcoral) project neutrino, which i later discovered was inspired by positron!
- both are meant to be compact printers that fit in a standard filament spool box
- spark needed a whole new suitcase to travel to open sauce
  - it was also a huge suitcase and would barely close unless the top bit was moved and held in a certain way
  - basically, not very convenient to travel with
tool changing
- of course, with such a small form factor, this is gonna be the bulk of the issues, aka, smart and compact design
- just like spark, triple nozzle is the plan, maybe a fourth tool for z probing, which we should try to get

this thing, if those two are done, might make this the world’s smallest (to my knowledge) folding (ill get to this) tool changing 3d printer, which would be insane (it might also be the first to fit in a filament box upon compacted)

of course, im getting ahead of myself (cant wait to realize the overscope), how are we pulling this off?

that’s for the next commit to answer lol

ok so im back after a quick second, this time on github mobile, so where was i? oh right, the architecture! whatever we do, we have to have an incredibly compact extruder setup and xyz motion. unfortunately, i dont have all my ideas anymore, but heres the roguh process. (im actually out of words, see the picture!)

now, a quick search shows that this idea has been done before, which is a good sign (both because of design convergence and that it’s been proven to be possible). yes, its a little sad that it’s not super unique of an idea, but hey, corexy isnt exactly a new idea, the innovation comes in execution! (and the idea of course) (additionally, there arent many scissor lift 3d printers antways)

point is, imo this is the best way to compact it, espexcially because of size constraints. only issue i have is that the design needs to be very rigid somehow…

anyways, electronics go below the build plate, tools on the top in a row, gantry can fold there (hold on theres no way it can get there, actually nvm), dokcing areas are there too, print area is more of a rectangle, scissor lifts on the side

exact numbers and more ideas soon, just scribbling stuff down, but it’s 3:01 AM, so yeah, good night!