Hands-On: EufyMake E1 UV Printer

May 27, 2025 by Tom Nardi 47 Comments

The modern hacker and maker has a truly incredible arsenal of tools at their disposal. High-tech tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC routers have all become commonplace, and combined with old standbys like the drill press and mini lathe, it sometimes seems like we’ve finally peaked in terms of what the individual is realistically capable of producing in their own home. But occasionally a new tool comes along, and it makes us realize that there are still avenues unexplored for the home gamer.

After spending the last few weeks playing with it, I can confidently say the eufyMake E1 UV printer is one of those tools. The elevator pitch is simple: with a UV printer, you can print anything on anything. As you can imagine, the reality is somewhat more complex, but the fact that you can toss a three dimensional object in the chamber and spray it with a high-resolution color image with a few button presses holds incredible creative potential. Enough that the Kickstarter for the $1,700 printer has already raised a mind-boggling $27 million at the time of this writing, with more than a month yet to go before crossing the finish line.

If you’re on the fence about backing the campaign, or just have doubts about whether or not the machine can do what eufyMake claims, I’ll put those concerns to rest right now — it’s the real deal. Even after using the machine for as long as I have, each time a print job ends, I find myself momentary taken aback by just how good the end result is. The technology inside this machine that not only makes these results possible, but makes them so easily obtainable, is truly revolutionary.

That being said, it’s not a perfect machine by any stretch of the imagination. While I never ran into an outright failure while using the eufyMake E1, there’s a fairly long list of issues which I’d like to see addressed. Some of them are simple tweaks which may well get sorted out before the product starts shipping this summer, while others are fundamental to the way the machine operates and could represent an opportunity for competitors.

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A console is shown displaying a system’s startup information, followed by “Booting from Hard Disk …”, “Hello World!” in a green font, and “The keyboard is working!”

A Forth OS In 46 Bytes

May 27, 2025 by Aaron Beckendorf 25 Comments

It’s not often that we can include an operating system in a Hackaday article, but here’s the full 46-byte source of [Philippe Brochard]’s 10biForthOS in 8086 opcodes:

50b8 8e00 31d8 e8ff 0017 003c 0575 00ea
5000 3c00 7401 eb02 e8ee 0005 0588 eb47
b8e6 0200 d231 14cd e480 7580 c3f4

Admittedly, this is quite a minimal operating system. It’s written for the Intel 8086, and consists of a Forth implementation with only two instructions: compile (1) and execute (0). It can receive commands over a serial connection or from a keyboard. This allows a host computer to load more complex software onto it, one byte at a time. In particular, [Philippe] provides instructions for loading more advanced compilers, such as subleq-eForth for a more complete Forth implementation, or SectorC for C programming. He’s also written a 217-byte port of the OS to Linux Intel x64.

[Philippe] doesn’t take a strong stance on whether this should technically qualify as a Forth implementation, given that the base implementation lacks stacks, dictionaries, and the ability to define words. However, it does have an outer and inner interpreter, the ability to compile and execute code, and most importantly, “the simplicity and hacky feeling of Forth.”

[Philippe] writes that this masterpiece of minimalism continues the tradition of the minimal Forth implementations we’ve covered before. We’ve even seen Forth run on an Arduino.

Automated Blinds Opener On The Cheap

May 27, 2025 by Matt Varian 7 Comments

We love seeing hacks that involve salvaging parts from what you have on hand to make a new project work, and this project is a great example of that. [Simon], in a quick weekend build, created an automated blinds opener using parts he had available.

The project began with the desire to have his blinds open slowly and silently, gradually letting in more light. To accomplish this, a few key components were needed, including a motor with a gearbox to provide the torque required to actuate the blinds and a magnetic encoder to track their progress. To isolate vibrations and keep the system silent, the motor is mounted using a silicone motor mount that he salvaged from a broken water flosser.

The printed holder for the magnetic encoder is a nice touch.

To mount the motor to the wall near the window, he used some 3D printed parts. A clever combination of surgical silicone tubing and silicone tape attaches the motor to the window blind shaft while limiting vibration transfer, keeping things quiet. [Simon] advises against using magnetic encoders as he did, noting that while he had them on hand and made them work, the magnetic shaft’s misalignment with the encoders makes it a less-than-ideal approach. Nevertheless, he got it working.

Automating blinds is a fairly common project around these parts, made all the more accessible with clever 3D printed mechanisms. We’ve even seen variations that can be used in rentals, dorms, and other places were permanent modifications need to be avoided.