FibreSeeker 3: Continuous Carbon Fiber Vs Chopped CF

December 25, 2025 by Maya Posch 8 Comments

Although you can purchase many types of FDM filaments containing ‘carbon fiber’ these days, they are in no way related to the carbon fiber (CF) composite materials used for rocket hulls and light-weight bicycles. This is because the latter use continuous fibers, often in weaved CF mats, whereas the FDM filaments just use small, chopped, fragments of CF. Obviously this will not result in the same outcome, which makes it interesting that a company called Fibre Seek is now running a KickStarter for a very affordable co-extrusion FDM printer that can add continuous CF to any part. They also sent a few test parts to [Dr. Igor Gaspar] for testing against regular FDM CF prints.

It should be noted here that continuous CF with FDM is not new, as Markforged already does something similar, though at a ‘Contact us for a price quote’ level. The advantage of the Fibre Seek solution is then the co-extrusion that would make printing with continuous CF much more flexible and affordable. Based on the (sponsored) [CNC Kitchen] video of a few weeks ago at a tradeshow, the FibreSeeker 3 printer is effectively a standard CoreXY FDM printer, with the special co-extrusion dual print head that allows for CF to be coated with the target thermoplastic before being printed as normal.

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Why Chopped Carbon Fiber In FDM Prints Is A Contaminant

December 21, 2025 by Maya Posch 36 Comments

A lot of claims have been made about the purported benefits of adding chopped carbon fiber to FDM filaments, but how many of these claims are actually true? In the case of PLA at least, the [I built a thing] channel on YouTube makes a convincing case that for PLA filament, the presence of chopped CF can be considered a contaminant that weakens the part.

Using the facilities of the University of Basel for its advanced imaging gear, the PLA-CF parts were subjected to both scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Micro CT imaging. The SEM images were performed on the fracture surfaces of parts that were snapped to see what this revealed about the internal structure. From this, it becomes apparent that the chopped fibers distribute themselves both inside and between the layers, with no significant adherence between the PLA polymer and the CF. There is also evidence for voids created by the presence of the CF.

To confirm this, an intact PLA-CF print was scanned using a Micro CT scanner over 13 hours. This confirmed the SEM findings, in that the voids were clearly visible, as was the lack of integration of the CF into the polymer. This latter point shouldn’t be surprising, as the thermal coefficient of PLA is much higher than that of the roughly zero-to-negative of CF. This translates into a cooling PLA part shrinking around the CF, thus creating the voids.

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Turn ‘Em On: Modern Nintendo Cartridges May Have A Limited Lifespan

December 18, 2025 by Lewin Day 20 Comments

Cartridge-based consoles have often been celebrated for their robust and reliable media. You put a simple ROM chip in a tough plastic housing, make sure the contacts are fit for purpose, and you should have a game cart that lasts for many decades.

When it comes to the Nintendo 3DS, though, there are some concerns that its carts aren’t up to snuff. Certain engineering choices were made that could mean these carts have a very limited lifespan, which could now be causing failures in the wild. It may not be the only Nintendo console to suffer this fate, either, thanks to the way modern cart-based consoles differ from their forebearers.

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Make Your Own Tires For RC Cars

December 16, 2025 by Lewin Day 15 Comments

You can buy a wide range of RC car tires off the shelf. Still, sometimes it can be hard to find exactly what you’re looking for, particularly if you want weird sizes, strange treads, or something that is very specifically scale-accurate. In any of these cases, you might like to make your own tires. [Build It Better] shows us how to do just that!

Making your own tires is fairly straightforward once you know how. You start out by producing a 3D model of your desired tire. You then create a two-piece negative mold of the tire, which can then be printed out on a 3D printer; [Build It Better] provides several designs online. From there, it’s simply a matter of filling the tire molds with silicone rubber, degassing, and waiting for them to set. All you have to do then is demold the parts, do a little trimming and post-processing, and you’ve got a fresh set of boots for your favorite RC machine.

[Build It Better] does a great job of demonstrating the process, including the basic steps required to get satisfactory results. We’ve featured some other great molding tutorials before, too. Video after the break.

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Australia’s New Asbestos Scare In Schools

December 1, 2025 by Lewin Day 56 Comments

Asbestos is a nasty old mineral. It’s known for releasing fine, microscopic fibers that can lodge in the body’s tissues and cause deadly disease over a period of decades. Originally prized for its fire resistance and insulating properties, it was widely used in all sorts of building materials. Years after the dangers became clear, many countries eventually banned its use, with strict rules around disposal to protect the public from the risk it poses to health.

Australia is one of the stricter countries when it comes to asbestos, taking great pains to limit its use and its entry into the country. This made it all the more surprising when it became apparent that schools across the nation had been contaminated with loose asbestos material. The culprit was something altogether unexpected, too—in the form of tiny little tubes of colored sand. Authorities have rushed to shut down schools as the media asked the obvious question—how could this be allowed to happen?

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Chinese Regulators May Kill Retractable Car Door Handles That Never Should Have Existed

November 26, 2025 by Lewin Day 157 Comments

Headlights. Indicators. Trunk releases. Seatbelts. Airbags. Just about any part of a car you can think of is governed by a long and complicated government regulation. It’s all about safety, ensuring that the car-buying public can trust that their vehicles won’t unduly injure or maim them in regular operation, or in the event of accident.

However, one part of the modern automobile has largely escaped regulation—namely, the humble door handle. Automakers have been free to innovate with new and wacky designs, with Tesla in particular making waves with its electronic door handles. However, after a series of deadly incidents where doors wouldn’t open, regulators are now examining if these door handles are suitable for road-going automobiles. As always, regulations are written in blood, but it raises the question—was not the danger of these complicated electronic door handles easy to foresee?

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 346: Melting Metal In The Microwave, Unlocking Car Brakes And Washing Machines, And A Series Of Tubes

November 21, 2025 by Dan Maloney No comments

Wait, what? Is it time for the podcast again? Seems like only yesterday that Dan joined Elliot for the weekly rundown of the choicest hacks for the last 1/52 of a year. but here we are. We had quite a bit of news to talk about, including the winners of the Component Abuse Challenge — warning, some components were actually abused for this challenge. They’re also a trillion pages deep over at the Internet Archive, a milestone that seems worth celebrating.

As for projects, both of us kicked things off with “Right to repair”-adjacent topics, first with a washing machine that gave up its secrets with IR and then with a car that refused to let its owner fix the brakes. We heated things up with a microwave foundry capable of melting cast iron — watch your toes! — and looked at a tiny ESP32 dev board with ludicrously small components. We saw surveyors go to war, watched a Lego sorting machine go through its paces, and learned about radar by spinning up a sonar set from first principles.

Finally, we wrapped things up with another Al Williams signature “Can’t Miss Articles” section, with his deep dive into the fun hackers can have with the now-deprecated US penny, and his nostalgic look at pneumatic tube systems.

Download this 100% GMO-free MP3.