Daniel Kent
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Daniel Kent
@danielkent.net
7 followers 8 following 40 posts
I'm a PhD student who likes to build and break things and occasionally pet nice cats and dogs.
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Huh. This is certainly one of the sentences of all time.
"The thesis office is thirsty for colons." -MSU Thesis LaTeX class documentation, June 24, 2024.
November 25, 2025 at 7:51 PM
"Yeah, I've contributed code to very popular open source projects on Github."

(this is a confession)
A GitHub Pull Request indicator showing only two lines were changed. It's me. I'm the one who made the trivial change.
November 13, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I'm finally getting my next big personal project off the ground! It's now just a matter of a few weeks before it lands in my mailbox so I can assemble and test it. What do you think it does? #pcb #opensource #hardware
A 3D render of a prototype printed circuit board.
November 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I got a SEN66 air quality sensor in over the weekend, and I've been testing it out on a breadboard hooked up to a Pico W. ESPHome support is nearly complete, and I was able to use the current PR to get a first glance at whether my 3D printer was making my office air hazardous.
A small rectangular air sensor, approximately 1 inch by 2 inches, resting in the palm of a hand. A graph showing particulate concentration (both PM<10μm and PM<2.5μm, 3D printer job progression, and VOC count) over time. Plot came directly from Home Assistant.
September 16, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Pest control came over to say hi while I was getting in my car. A bit uncoordinated, but enthusiastic despite the heat and the sun!
A photo of a light green praying mantis standing on asphalt in the sun.
August 11, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Sometimes with 3D prints, more is less.

Going from 2 to 3 walls of infill on this standing fan rear shroud I designed reduces print time by about 1.5 hours, with only a 12% increase in used filament (161.2 to 181.7 grams).
A 3D model of a standing fan shroud in Prusa Slicer.
May 23, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Bun on campus!
Photograph of a wild rabbit standing still with alert ears, standing in front of a brick wall with ivy growing on it.
May 17, 2025 at 3:34 PM
I had this idea to put the old version of my custom lamp controller boards in a shadowbox instead of letting them collect dust in a drawer, and I finally got done assembling it today. I think it turned out well!
A shadowbox containing the results of an old electronics project for controlling LED lights. The shadowbox is about 15 inches tall and 7 inches wide. Inside, 3D printed labels state what the project is ("RPi Pico CWWW Lamp Controller") as well as denote what revision each set of PCBs is. Version 1.0 has three boards: a front and back of two unpopulated boards, and a populated board in the middle including multiple bodges to fix errors in the design. V1.1 contains two unpopulated boards, as no boards of that revision were ever produced. V1.2 contains an unpopulated board showing its gruntand two populated boards, one front and one back. V1.3 has an extra placard stating "In service 7/2023 - 3/2025" as well as two populated boards (one front, one back), one (non-working) Raspberry Pi Pico W that was used, the solder stencil, two button input interface breakouts, and the button interface breakout cable. The bottom has a placard with "Designed by Daniel Kent" on it.
May 10, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Margaret says hi (and to please adopt her)! She's a sweetheart who likes getting pets and scritches. She's currently at @constellationcat.bsky.social
A light-colored torbie cat lays on a ledge attached to a window, looking directly at the camera with her ears fully forward and her green eyes wide open, indicating a friendly demeanor.
May 4, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Guinness the cat at @constellationcat.bsky.social is a sweetheart, and quite the climber! Today he climbed on top of:

- The cat tree
- All the cat shelves
- On top of White Claw's quarantine cubby
- My shoulders
A fluffy, long haired domestic cat with an all black coat and yellow eyes stares past the camera. Probably looking to climb onto the photographer's shoulders again. A longhaired domestic shorthair cat with a long fluffy black coat looks down on the photographer. Probably figuring out if the photographer's shoulders are climbable. Spoiler alert: they were.
March 22, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Looks like the P-channel MOSFET didn't quite reflow correctly on one board, but that's something I can correct with a hot air rework station, and everything else looks great! Time to solder on through-hole components on the other two and test!
Three purple PCBs with components reflow soldered onto them. There is a component near the bottom of the left board that is not quite positioned correctly from the solder reflow process. Close-up of failed solder reflow on dual P-channel MOSFET (labeled Q2). The 6-lead component is connected to the right three leads at an angle, and the bottom left two leads are soldered to the top two pads, leaving the top pin completely disconnected.
March 4, 2025 at 10:41 PM
It's PCB assembly day! I have my workspace all set up to paste, assemble, then reflow. Fingers crossed everything goes well!
A workbench with a GamersNexus blue Flux soldering mat. In the center is a PCB with a solder paste stencil on top, all in a custom 3D printed jig. Two other PCBs are to the upper right of it, awaiting their turn. Under the jig is a putty knife, to be used for applying the solder paste down the stencil. Some other parts include a 3D printed case, some rotary encoders, and a container of solder paste are to the left.
March 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Someone's Sega Mega Drive DFO modchip PCB got included in my latest OSHPark order. If you were hoping to do some modding this weekend, sorry!

At least the boards are in good company with a new version of my CWWW lamp control board, plus two Bourns dual LED rotary encoder jigs I designed.
March 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
My soldering mat from @gamersnexus.bsky.social is great, but I thought it could use a little bit more #gridfinity. So I designed and 3D printed this little two-piece part so I can put my Gridfinity bins in a nice, convenient spot when working!
February 19, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Gabrielle isn't beating the allegations that she's "food motivated" any time soon.

(Currently at Constellation Cat Cafe @constellationcat.bsky.social. She's very sweet and gentle otherwise!)
A black and white cat tries to chew open a tube of Churu treats. A black and white cat tries to chew open a tube of Churu treats.
February 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM
No one looks this cute without an ulterior motive.

(Mischief the cat, currently at @constellationcat.bsky.social)
A black and white tuxedo cat looks to the right while sitting on a wooden cabinet in front of a purple wall.
February 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This orange gentleman was at @constellationcat.bsky.social on Saturday with his brother. He looks shy but is very sweet!
An orange colored adult tabby cat looks on with some trepidation, unsure of whether to approach the cameraman. Don't worry, he got plenty of pets!
February 3, 2025 at 1:43 AM
I'm trying out this design concept for a 3D printed solder paste stencil jig. It's taken a few tries to get something that will work due to tolerances, but I think this will work much nicer than my previous approach of "tape a bunch of spare boards around it to make a flat surface."
A seafoam green 3D printed rectangle with inset slots designed for a specific circuit board and stencil to fit in. A seafoam green 3D printed rectangle with inset slots designed for a specific circuit board and stencil to fit in. A purple PCB without components is shown fitting in the designed slot.
January 24, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I spotted this Mallard with unusual plumage hanging out in the cold today.
A group of Mallard ducks standing on a partially frozen river. One duck in the middle of the frame exhibits unusual, lighter-colored plumage.
January 23, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Took a lot longer than I'd like to admit, but I finally finished my Controleo3 PCB reflow oven!
A toaster oven modified into a PCB reflow oven using the Controleo3 kit. The oven is colored brass and red. A black control box with a servo motor is attached on the right side, and the user interface says "Controleo3" with buttons that day "Profiles", "Bake", and "Settings". There is a lot of clutter around the oven, mainly tools and supplies.
December 21, 2024 at 12:04 AM
First 3D print fully designed in #freecad! I'm really happy with how well the lid fits into the main body.
A red 3D printed box and its lid sitting side by side on a desk. Box dimensions are 75mm x 75mm. The box's corners are rounded. Inside the box is a set of four mounting posts to attach a Raspberry Pi Pico. There are some holes on the front of the box. A red 3D printed box with attached lid on top. Box dimensions are 75mm x 75mm. The box's corners are rounded. There are four M2 screw holes in the corners, but there are not any screws in them.
December 16, 2024 at 8:17 PM
Grey Area surveying her kingdom at the Constellation Cat Cafe. If you're in the Lansing area, she's adoptable!
A dilute calico cat sitting high on top of a wooden cat tree, looking down.
December 14, 2024 at 5:47 PM
Working on a redesign of my Pico W-based CWWW lamp controller. Bigger footprint, but uses a push-button encoder instead of four individual buttons for control, which I think will be more pleasant to physically use.
3D rendered printed circuit board. Raspberry Pi Pico W is on the left side of the board. A rotary encoder appears near the center. The text "Pi Pico W CWWW Controller, Version 2.0, Daniel Kent, danielkent.net, December 2024" appears on the right, with an outline of the US State of Michigan and the text "Designed in Michigan" below that.
December 13, 2024 at 11:34 PM
Home automation sensors don't have to be complicated to be useful!
A Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller fitted into a purple PCB containing an optoisolator, a two pin terminal block, and empty pads for two resistors and one capacitor. The PCB has the text "RPi Pico W Isolated Analog Sensor Board Version 1.0, Daniel Kent, danielkent.net" on it, along with a graphic of the State of Michigan with the text "Designed in Michigan."
December 9, 2024 at 4:13 PM
It's hard to imagine a more cozy Saturday morning than meeting new cats at the Constellation Cat Cafe
A tabby cat lays on top of a cabinet, while a white and tabby cat looks on mischievously from underneath in a hidey hole. A dark, mostly black tortoiseshell cat laying in a cubby, looking at the camera with bright green eyes. A tabby cat sitting on a table next to a tall silver travel mug, looking at the camera with one ear swiveled to the side. A small tabby kitten sitting in a lap.
November 30, 2024 at 6:54 PM