Want a fun reminder every time your print is complete? This dashboard in the shape of a mini Form 2 3D printer communicates printer status using LEDs.

To help you celebrate every time your 3D print is finished, engineers from the first Formlabs hackathon have developed a brillant little gadget: A miniature Form 2 communicates the status of your printer using LEDs. The best part of the hack is that when your print finishes, a celebratory song will play.

The mini printer connects with the Form 2 Dashboard API using Particle’s Photon board. This retrieves the current status of the 3D printer and the LEDs flash colors correspondingly. So you will be able to tell whether your printer is offline, idle or currently printing – just check the LED colors of the dashboard.

If you’re intrigued and have time to build your own 3D printer accessory, check out the materials you need below.

What You Need to Build a Visual Dashboard for Your Form 2?

First of all, you need a Form 2 3D printer – otherwise polling the API for printer status will not be possible.

Next, download the .STL files for the mini Form 2 body, cover, tank, and build platform. These are all available from Pinshape.

Formlabs recommends, you select these resins: Grey, Clear, and Black. Of course, you’ll also need a Particle Photon board. To charge the board you can choose between a Micro-USB cable or a 3.7V 1000 mAh LiPo battery and charger.

• In order to play your celebratory tune, you’ll need
• a small speaker
• a 110 Ohm resistor for the speaker
• 22 AWG wire
• a LED Ring (NeoPixel Jewel) is required for the flashing lights
• a paperclip which will later be used as a hinge.
• some programming code (available on the Formlabs webpage with full instructions – see below).

Once you’ve collected everything you need, simply follow the Formlabs instructions. You’ll get your own dashboard in just six steps.