Hi all, we have been working on v7 for so long it is getting a little bit silly. We have come a really really long way during this push, but it is time to actually make a release.
@WilliamW and I have made a milestone of the things we really need to get done before we release a Release Candidate. This can be found here:
Once the release candidate is out, we will ask for people to check for bugs. But we will not add any more features before the long awaited v7 release.
What needs to happen before the release?
In general, not too much still to do. Most of the outstanding issues are tiding up the documentation and a few bits of polish on some of the variations.
However, there was one huge outstanding change which we hadn’t planned to delay v7 for. One of the main goals of v7 was to stop tapping machine screws into plastic. We moved entirely to M3 nut traps or to self-tapping screws; except for the M4 screws that hold the motors.
The motor screws were a bit difficult due to the 4mm holes on the motor lugs, and the lack of space for M4 nuts in the motor lugs. I am delighted to say that @ffesti has come up with an elegant solution for using the same M3x10 cap screws for the motors. This is in Merge Request !448.
Very soon we will be at the point where we will be asking for a bit of a community push to print this new body and check for any issues.
So a huge thank you to @ffesti for this, it will make v7 so much more complete than if we had released without it. If anyone is thinking of printing a new test microscope in the next month or so, please do consider building the version from this experimental branch.
We also have some other exciting updates for you this week, so stay tuned.
This is a good occasion for less technical people to help. Some tickets just need the right piece of text for the documentation. You can just suggest the changes in the ticket or - if you don’t want to create an GitLab account - just suggest the text here. I am happy to turn both variants into a proper merge request.
So especially if you have recently build a v7 microscope you may have better insights on what the instructions should look like than even the developers.
This is probably all in hand, but if this is changing the non 3D printed parts needed, can the kit suppliers ensure the kits are updated, or at least make sure there’s some indication of which version they work with?
Yes, we have monthly calls with the kit suppliers. We are in the process of writing an MOU that just sets out some basic guidance (without the legal overhead of a contract).
Part of the MOU states that we will give vendors advanced warning, and give them time to build and test a Release Candidate before we release, with a clear release schedule so they are ready on Day 1.
Hi Julian, that’s excellent. I’m painfully aware how a trivial change can trip people up at the start of the experience. Sounds like the MOU approach covers this nicely.
for everyone else that had trouble with the holding-force of the previous v7-design: just use much longer m4-screws. it doesn’t matter if they stick out at the bottom, but screws that are ~10mm longer than in the BOM already fixed alot of issues with stability…
The new hardware is now merged into the main branch, together with updated instructions. We have quite a few other things in the Issues list that need to be tidied up before the next release.
However, if you are happy with the warning that the new parts are not fully tested, that we are still developing, so the repository may change at any time, and may be broken, then the latest version us available, as always, at build.openflexure.org/openflexure-microscope/master.
Please comment back in this thread if you do build this new revision with the M3 motor screws.
Any comments from someone who has built the new version from the master link above would be very helpful. Either post here, or if you have a GitLab account, please comment on the issue thread #421.