X1Plus expansion board for X1 Carbon

Hi all,

Wanted to share something the X1Plus team has been working on recently. We’ve recently fabbed out a prototype of an expansion board that adds a handful of features to the X1 (Ethernet, two USB ports, I2C, and a bunch of other GPIO). Some of the cool stuff that I hope to do with it (some of it implemented already, some of it still to come…):

  • neopixel / programmable LED light bar control (display status for print farms, add extra chamber light when appropriate, etc)
  • external sensor monitoring (direct humidity monitoring inside the AMS, temperature/humidity monitoring inside of a filament dryer, light sensors to turn the chamber and toolhead lights off when the room lights go out, etc)
  • provide a shutter release control for timelapses on a DSLR
  • write recordings to external hard drives, etc

The hardware is all open source but we’re hoping to manufacture more of these and maybe sell a few of them if there’s interest, and, of course, it all runs on the AP board as part of X1Plus – no external processors required. Does this seem like the sort of thing that would be interesting to this community?

Here’s a quick demo video of it that I shot the other evening, and below are a few blurry iPhone photos of how it goes together:

Regards,
joshua

50 Likes

:clap:

You question about market.
I don’t know, but I want one already. Take note :wink:

9 Likes

I would be interested in one just for the Ethernet alone.

13 Likes

Add me to the list for one for sure :slight_smile:

1 Like

Count me in for one for sure!

Amazing!

I’ll buy one right away without any hesitation.

Respect for the amazing job around X1Plus fw.

4 Likes

If this could work with the P1S id buy one in a heartbeat. I want it, purely for the wired ethernet. Everything else is a bonus (well, the ambient temp would also be amazing).

10 Likes

Yes please. I think this will help a lot with my actively heated AMS project I’m working on.

Nice work. It has a lot more features than I was expecting, and maybe more than some of us would need. Consider an stripped down version with only an Ethernet port, or maybe Ethernet and a USB port.

I know this is a just a prototype, but I’m not in favor of locating this behind the screen, as running multiple cables to the top front of the printer is going to be difficult (and ugly).

8 Likes

I definitely would buy this if it is not too overpriced

1 Like

Thanks for great news X1Plus Team. I’d definitele like this addon for my X1C! Thanks!

Yep you had me at the moment you mentioned gpio functions. immediately popped in my head I can now trigger stepper control for my poop conveyor belt. I would buy one
Nice work

2 Likes

Sign me up! As mentioned a couple versions (fully featured like this and one for ether et alone) would be awesome!

Yep count me as a buyer. Happy to have LAN capability for sure. Will buy when I see it come up for sale.

Yes, absolutely, I’m in. Any idea on an ETA for when we can purchase?

2 Likes

Ill take one please. Thank you

our network restrictions don’t allow for wifi connections to external devices on the main network. an ethernet connection is a requirement to get the full functionality.

1 Like

I would love to see a version of this for the P1S

3 Likes

I would be interested in the Ethernet just by itself but the other stuff is cool too.

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Please give an idea of what you expect for cost? I would definitely want one of these. I will also want one for every future bambu printer I buy.

1 Like