iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andrey @spirit.re · 14/10/2026

As it turns out, the Spacemouse makes a pretty decent controller for flying in games. I made a small app to emulate a full HOTAS kit using the mouse. If you have one and like to play games with aircraft, try it out - it's free and open source, works pretty well. github.com/Spirit532/Sp...

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Andrey @spirit.re · 11/10/2026

Designed a small passive marker(retroreflector balls) optical motion capture camera. FPGA-based, image to rays+stats at 120Hz. Daisy-chaining PoE+ & GigE to reduce the cable mess. Starter system of 8 cams + extras should be ~$2k, sub-mm accuracy in 6x6x3m. Would you buy one?

A rendering of a low cost optical motion capture camera. Lens in the center, two strips of high power infrared illumination on the sides. A large status light strip sits below, with the camera name, PebbleTrack, below it. Two gigabit Ethernet ports with PoE+ for daisy chaining on the bottom edge of the camera. All aluminium enclosure.

Back view of the camera. 1/4"-20 UNC tripod/camera mount for attaching to walls or trusses, back plate. No other features. Bottom view of the Ethernet ports.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 10/08/2026

Sneak peek of a small side project: The world's highest resolution, highest frame rate thermal imaging phone-attach camera: 640x512 at 60Hz(!), in a tiny 25x25x38mm package. Radiometric w/ recording, focuses from ~8mm macro to infinity. Works on Android&iOS + Windows/MacOS/Linux.

Render of a 640x512 thermal imaging phone dongle

Real photographs of the 640x512 phone dongle prototype. No label engraving. Real lens visible.

A superresolution capture(real thermal data, higher than 640x512 native pixel size) from the camera prototype, produced in-software, then upscaled another 2x for pleasant viewing.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 29/07/2026

During the process of cleaning a capillary used to feed and bond the wire onto the chips, I had a small intrusive thought... and it may have won...

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Andrey @spirit.re · 28/07/2026

I'm working on retrofitting a wire bonder with custom electronics as part of a small side project(yes, to also make them cheaper). I think it's neat how the electric flame-off(EFO) gold ball forming system works when viewed at high magnification. Here's a short video about it.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 01/07/2026

A little sneak peek of another project I'm working on. Can you guess what this is? :)

An uncommon object that involves ruby, sapphire, stainless steel and gold.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 29/06/2026

I got one of my high speed cameras to try filming an ozone generator's dielectric barrier discharge, but the camera wasn't sensitive enough. Can't put a high speed camera away without filming something, them's the rules, so have a can of brake cleaner spraying at 895fps instead.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 06/05/2026

Decided to try a little experiment - zooming in from 15x to 100,000x in smooth progression. The SEM isn't particularly well calibrated so the result is only ~30-40nm resolution, but I think it's still pretty neat. Working on making SEMs so affordable you could have one at home :) 🧪 HQ link in reply.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 12/04/2026

Tungsten & oxides deposit on the Wehnelt and anode of SEMs as filament evaporate and gunk in the chamber hits it. Abrasives are used, but I found an alternative: 1:1 solution of 10% ammonia to 3% H2O2! If aluminium is present, oxides grow and a 5% phosphoric wash is needed after. 🧪

A heavy oxide and tungsten metal film is visible deposited in a rainbow pattern on the filament side of the wehnelt cup of an electron microscope.

The same Wehnelt cup, after cleaning with a 50:50 mix of 10% ammonia and 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, as well as a 5% phosphoric acid rinse due to the presence of aluminium.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 24/02/2026

Tinkering with electron optics simulation this evening, came up with a little test software for boundary element method simulation and particle tracing. So far so good, and I think it has potential as an educational & low-complexity pro design tool. Would you want to use this? 🧪

Screenshot of a work-in-progress charged particle optics simulation software, showing traces of electrons being emitted from a narrow bar's surface, traveling between and being deflected by two charged squares, accelerating into a cylinder at high potential.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 05/01/2026

Neat paper I missed in 2024 - these guys took an ultrasonic wedge wire bonder - the kind that's used to attach wires to chips - scaled it up by 15x, and used it to 3D print aluminium! Pretty cheap to implement, not much to it. Pretty cool. Open access, DOI: 10.3390/ma17102188 🧪

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/11/2025

One of the more unusual workplaces for an engineer to be. Plugging something you designed and built into an obsolete avionics system that would cost more than your entire net worth to replace is... one of the feelings of all time, for sure. The jet is a Cessna Citation Bravo.

An overview of the cockpit of a Cessna Citation Bravo in the middle of an overhaul, with a custom diagnostics instrument attached to the avionics.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 04/11/2025

Built a small optical coordinate measurement machine and wrote a basic but mostly feature-complete software for it. Telecentric optics, so no perspective error. Resolution ended up at ~4µm for this ~30mm FOV. Would you want a nicer version of this(housing, lights) for ~2.5k? 🧪

An optical CMM based on a telecentric lens and a high resolution camera, mounted on a large and high precision vertical translation stage. Flat backlight visible below.

General macro overview of the scene being measured by the CMM. 0.5mm pitch connector, M3 screw, glass calibration scale.

Screenshot of the user interface with feature recognition enabled and a few measurements added.

Second screenshot of the user interface, measuring thread parameters.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 13/10/2025

Sipeed sent me their new SLogic16U3 USB3 logic analyzer to review(free, no obligation). Inside is just a tiny Gowin GW5AT-LV15 FPGA doing softcore USB3(!!!), which is how they made it so cheap. 800MHz@4ch is quite impressive. My verdict? Definitely going in the tool box. 🧪

Inside the logic analyzer. Gowin GW5AT-LV15 FPGA.

Underside. Power supply and miscellaneous.

Sigrok PulseView software showing 800MHz sample rate on 4 channels.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 29/09/2025

Have you ever wanted to see a 90 second abridged explanation of how diode lasers work? Here it is. I took some pictures of a laser under my SEM, and it kind of just scope crept into a whole video. Not perfectly accurate, but it's hard to squeeze 100 books of info into 90 seconds.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 13/09/2025

Ever wondered how infrared thermometers work? By connecting over 100 thermocouples in series, all on a MEMS chip, floating in a vacuum! The cold side is connected to the base, thermal radiation is focused onto the hot side, and the Seebeck effect gives us a proportional voltage. 🧪

This image shows an infrared thermometer, also known as a pyrometer. Inside is a small hermetically packaged metal can containing a thermopile. There are two images showing the thermopile as a general overview and up close. A reference thermistor that measures the base temperature is visible on top.

Two scanning electron microscope images of the device, much closer in magnification. Top shows the positive and negative wires, and the bottom shows the structure of multiple thermocouple junctions around an absorber.

Two scanning electron microscope images, showing a closeup of how the thermocouples are connected in series around the cold side, the substrate.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 29/08/2025

First handheld laser welds, cuts, some cleaning. What the internet says is true this time - compared to regular welding(MMA/MIG), this is, no exaggeration, a point&click tool. 10 minute learning curve. Some nuances like penetration and fillet size, but overall just spectacular.

First handheld laser weld between 2.5mm thick square tube and 5mm thick plate. Both carbon steel.

Triple pass weld with the same settings to fill out the joint. Needs more filler wire or a slower run.

Aluminium tube cut freehand at 1.5kW power with a ~250µm wide kerf and near zero dross. Incredible maneuverability, like butter.

Closeup of the cut pieces, seen from the inside. In the background, a laser cleaned section of the plate, shiny finish.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 21/08/2025

And of course, we need a little lens mount to test with.

Custom C&CS lens mount attached to the board

Lens mount with lens, nicely fitting directly on the sensor

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Andrey @spirit.re · 21/08/2025

Design, reality. Looks pretty accurate :) High speed imaging will be affordable, and hopefully soon.

An image sensor test board, designed in KiCAD. 3D render.

The same board, but manufactured and assembled in real life.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 06/08/2025

I've made a big step and finally touched an FPGA on a personal level. Fighting the development environment was 90% of the effort and only 10% was learning how this whole HDL/constraint thing works. Now to draw the rest of the owl. In my case, a high-speed camera shaped one.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 31/07/2025

Did I *need* to create an extremely detailed 3D model of an image sensor, down to the bond wires, overlaid sensor structure and modeled pads, just to put it on a PCB design? No. But did I spend quality CAD time doing that and then rendering it out for fun? Absolutely.

Accurate, realistic 3D render of a high speed CMOS image sensor in its package. Bond wires, pads, and clear chip outlines are visible, as well as some of the PCB layout.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 10/07/2025

Some incredibly cool pre-production silicon just showed up in the mail: >2K resolution at >600 frames per second, >10kfps with windowing, global shutter, HDR. This may be the first image sensor to make high speed cameras truly affordable for *everyone*.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 24/06/2025

Got some 1.5kW and 2kW air cooled laser welder+cutter systems in to try a distribution model(EU & US). Very clean builds inside - DC PSU, nameless laser source, OEM control panel, minor gas handling. Simple, but affordable and effective. Also going to mod cleaning mode into it ;)

A 1500W air-cooled laser welder, hand next to it for scale. Wire feeder in the background.

Inside the 1500W air cooled laser welder. Power supply visible in front, big laser source in the back, small power supply below and control electronics above. Also some gas handling hiding behind the small power supply.

Inside the 2000W unit. Same thing, except bigger, and slightly more advanced gas handling. Notable is the Huawei cell tower equipment power supply.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 18/06/2025

Helped with a bit of repairs on a Mooney M20M(Bravo) recently, then went up in it! General aviation is really fun, and if you ever get the chance to go flying, you should definitely say yes!

A Mooney M20M(Bravo) single-engine, 4 seat, low-wing airplane.

Inside the Mooney M20M in flight. Modernized glass cockpit.

View over the right wing while flying low over a city on a clear, mostly cloudless, hot day.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 18/05/2025

Is there any commercial interest in a desktop-ish full-cycle PCB "printer"? I proved out all the processes for fully automated, mostly chemical-free production of 2-layer PCBs with trace/space/via as small as 75μm. It could be relatively affordable, but not quite hobbyist-priced.

Complete single-layer PCB without silkscreen, made by a fully automated system.

A relatively large plated copper via made by a fully automated process.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 26/04/2025

Ever wondered what TIG welding with neon gas would be like? No? Anyway, here's TIG welding with pure neon instead of argon. Video from Zerg Labs' archive.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 03/04/2025

Everyone posts videos from these at infinity, so here's something you'll rarely see: thermal macro! The phone dongle will have manual focus, so you'll be able to do this out of the box. No denoising or post-processing applied, so it's a bit fuzzy.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 03/04/2025

Got this very neat radiometric 640x512 thermal imaging core. Miniaturization is wonderful, it's just the WLVP image sensor directly wire bonded onto the board, with an ASIC on the back to crunch data. There are no affordable phone dongles with this resolution, so I'll make one.

Thermal image core with the lens and lens mount removed. The shutter assembly is visible in its retracted state, with the sensor visible through it.

The lens assembly on its own, showing the back element and design simplicity.

Back of the main thermal sensor board. An ASIC(supposedly) is visible in the middle, right below where the sensor is mounted on the other side. Some power supplies, flash memory, and other minor components.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/02/2025

Someone asked whether it's possible to build a DIY backscattered electron detector for a SEM. Yes, it's pretty easy! You just need bare PIN photodiodes, a trаnsimpedance amplifier, and a signal input. S=SED, R=BSED. Sample: rock section, ~nm of Au on top. Some charging visible.

A small collage showing the detector as-built, the photodiode, where it's installed, and a schematic for replication.

Secondary electron image. Some charging(full white spots) is visible due to the poor gold coating.

Backscattered electron image, better showing compositional contrast.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 26/01/2025

Here's a soviet K573RF2 EPROM under the newly repaired SEM.

Soviet K573RF2 EPROM scanning electron microscope image

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Andrey @spirit.re · 26/01/2025

After removing the cover and manually returning the stage back within the correct range of travel, replacing the stage controller with a 3D printer board running grbl, and messing around with software(upgrading the OS too), everything worked! See next post for imaging results!

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Andrey @spirit.re · 26/01/2025

When I powered it up, something was very wrong. The motor controller caused the software to hang with a nonsensical error. Investigation revealed that the table was very hard crashed during transport, and that the controller board was fried.

Sample stage with visible signs of overtravel damage

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Andrey @spirit.re · 26/01/2025

The electronics are quite modern for its time. Three FPGAs handle imaging, with a Hitachi SH2 processor handling the config, all connected via FireWire, except for the motor control board, which has a separate USB interface. And of course, Apex opamps for raster scanning.

Main control board with FPGAs, DACs, CPU, and everything else. Mostly digital, some analog.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 26/01/2025

It's a fairly simple SEM in terms of construction. I would say a bit too simple. There's only 3 valves, none for isolation - one on the forepump, one to slow the turbo down, and one to quickly vent to the atmosphere. No vacuum gauges - it just guesses based on the turbo's speed!

Inside the microscope, with the top cover removed

Back side of the microscope, turbomolecular pump visible

Electron gun chamber open, cathode visible

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Andrey @spirit.re · 26/01/2025

Oops! All electron microscopes. I have another patient in the lab, this time it's a Keyence VE-7800 from the early 2000s. Let's dig in and take a look at the insides to bring it back to life! Lots of pictures in the thread.

Keyence VE-7800 scanning electron microscope, face on.

Keyence VE-7800 scanning electron microscope, view from the side. Extra ports are visible.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 25/01/2025

Here's a reconstructed CT scan of a SEM filament. The disk on top is the Wehnelt... disk, I suppose, that serves to create the crossover pinch and adjust emission spot size. The four screws are used to center the filament within the cartridge.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 24/01/2025

Video of the pump silencer and vibration isolation box from the previous post. Simple, but works very well.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 24/01/2025

Loud vacuum pump, air compressor, or similar device that drives you crazy? Build a suspended vibration & noise isolation box! All you need is wood, rebonded sound absorbing foam(not cheap low-density sponge!), bungee, and fans. Sound levels drop by as much as 12dB! Video below.

Pump vibration and noise isolation box, lid open

Inside, showing a closeup of the floating platform

A drawing showing the dimensions and internal construction, to replicate for yourself

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Andrey @spirit.re · 21/01/2025

If you use rotary vane vacuum pumps, here's a neat trick: you can use 0.1-0.5um polypropylene water sediment filter cartridges(not wound rope!) as dirt cheap oil mist eliminator filter replacements. Optionally some activated carbon around it, to stop any smells. Works great.

Ulvac OMT-200A oil mist trap. Original cartridge visible.

DIY replacement cartridge with activated carbon

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/12/2024

And, of course, being in FA-FO's lab, we had to test the Gardena High Vacuum System for performance. The results being good makes it just that much better.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/12/2024

I didn't just get the helium leak detector to play around with, so let's put it to use. This whole repair ordeal happened in the FA-FO lab(fa-fo·de), where the goal was to test their JEOL JSM-T330A SEM. This video shows the same eyelash, and a massive travel time through the SEM!

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/12/2024

After fixing all the connectors, reassembling everything, and trying again - it lives! The setup gets even jankier - using the speaker bar from an old monitor as the leak rate audio alert. The video shows how huge of a leak a tiny eyelash can create in a high vacuum system. 🧪

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/12/2024

The teardown showed copious amounts of mostly non-serious damage - a ripped ribbon cable connecting to the sector mass analyzer(how!?), connectors ripped off the boards, some dirt. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a couple hours of work. 🧪

Leybold UL500 mid-teardown. On the left is the sector mass analyzer, in the middle a turbopump, and on the right the valve and vacuum gauge block.

Teardown, continued. The main analog(HV PSU and readout) circuit board is visible, unfolded. The motherboard has been removed.

Another angle of the internals, damaged connectors more visible

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/12/2024

After very jankily connecting my new helium leak detector to the forepump using the world's most inconveniently sized bellows hose, I was presented with a very unhappy device - incorrect operation, max pressure shown. Which meant a teardown investigation was in order! (thread) 🧪

Leybold UL100 Plus helium leak detector being very unhappy and showing incorrect readings

Service panel of the UL100 Plus showing bad readings and a missing status indicator

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/12/2024

In my search of a suitable forepump, I managed to acquire this Ecotec 500. I didn't actually know what it was - it turned out that it's a sniffer-type gas analyzer for some kind of industrial process. But I got the pump that I really wanted out of it, and an RGA/turbo as a bonus! 🧪

Leybold Ecotec 500 sniffer thing, missing some parts.

Inside of the Ecotec 500. A residual gas analyzer, or RGA, is visible.

Sniffer capillary connection, vacuum gauge, and a turbomolecular pump peeking out at the back.

A Leybold D1.6B forepump, factory modified for extra functionality with additional valves.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/12/2024

So I managed to acquire this Leybold UL100 Plus helium leak detector through a happy accident. It's old, made in the 2000s, but it was supposedly in good condition, just missing the forepump. Last service date shows 2021, and it has a 1993 test leak, refilled in 2021 as well.

Photo shows a Leybold UL100 Plus helium leak detector from the front. Black and white box with a control panel and KF25 test port.

The internal service control panel of the UL100 Plus, showing a diagram of its internal workings with status lights, some switches for manual control, and test points.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 15/11/2024

Playing around with a low-cost helium stirling cryocooler. Not sure what to make of it yet, performance is... interesting. But it does make cold.

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Andrey @spirit.re · 27/07/2024

But, with some additional manual resin filling, sanding(lots of sanding) and a few hard pigmented epoxy coats, I am left with something that looks and functions like a really nice, lightweight headband. What I would do differently: more and wraparound layers, better resin supply.

Finished headband, with the elastic strap wrapped around it

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Andrey @spirit.re · 27/07/2024

After infusion, both supply and vacuum are clamped and the mold is left to cure. Either at room temperature, or in an oven, depending on the resin. When it's cured, the result can be disassembled and easily peeled out, thanks to the plastic & peel-ply. Some voids, so not perfect.

Voids in resin wetout visible in the resulting headband

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Andrey @spirit.re · 27/07/2024

I used some tacky butyl tape to create a "dam" for the wires to remain dry in the mold, and then I encased it in a vacuum bag, using the same tape. There is a layer of peel-ply on top of the stack, some mesh, and perforated tubes on either end to supply resin and pull air out.

A strip of butyl tape with all the wires passing through it, creating a resin barrier

The entire layup, consisting of the kevlar, peel-ply, lots of butyl tape, distribution mesh, and resin/vacuum tubes, all encased in a vacuum bag

A different view of the entire layup, consisting of the kevlar, peel-ply, lots of butyl tape, distribution mesh, and resin/vacuum tubes, all encased in a vacuum bag

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