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 looking forward to watching this follow-up. The program video convinced me to ditch dishwasher pods and use powder. I even 3D printed myself a double sided spoon that has an optimal-ish volume for both the main wash and pre-wash receptacles of my bottom dollar apartment dishwasher.
A blue spoon with a scoop on each side. The spoon was 3D printed with PETG filament. The spoon has a "Dishwasher" label, and labels for each of the spoon sides of 24mL and 4mL respectively. There is a container of white dishwasher detergent powder behind the spoon.
November 5, 2025 at 4:50 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
As a closing note, please enjoy this jank hack of a solder job I did to connect the JST-GH to JST-PH cable for the SEN66 to my breadboard for testing. Works fine, would not recommend.
A 6-pin 2.4mm header soldered to a 2mm pitched JST-PH connector. This is an extremely jank hack that you shouldn't ever do. Just buy a breakout, or just put some breadboard header pins onto a cable.
September 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
While this has been a fun project, the price of the SEN66 just spiked due to tariffs, which might push the final per unit cost out of reach for some hobbyists. Not even a month ago, the cost of the sensor was $44.26, plus another $8.85 in tariffs. Now it's $55.32 plus a $24.34 tariff.
Mouser order receipt showing the cost of the SEN66 sensor as $44.26, plus $8.85 in tariffs as of 20 August 2025. Order was shipped 9 September 2025. Screenshot of Mouser website showing the cost of the SEN66 sensor as of 16 September 2025 as $55.32, plus $24.34 in tariffs.
September 16, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I'm currently in the process of designing an enclosure for it to house the sensor and a microcontroller for it, with the eventual goal to also hook in fan control for my Bento Box filter and enclosure lights. I plan on releasing the full design eventually.
CAD model mockup of air sensor enclosure (right), including a spacer on the bottom, the enclosure for the sensor itself in the middle, and the microcontroller and interface boards above it. A Bento Box air scrubber is shown to the left of the sensor enclosure, for both scale and to demonstrate intended use.
September 16, 2025 at 1:48 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
My mistake! I didn't see Grit and Glamour's profile when I went to identify her.

Speaking of unidentified cats, who is this playful little kitten I met yesterday?
A black and white tuxedo kitten looks out from a tube. A black and white tuxedo kitten looks at the camera while playing with a rainbow string toy.
May 4, 2025 at 3:23 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
Florentina saves the chaos for playtime!
Florentina the calico cat moving quickly to attack a rainbow colored teaser toy.
February 15, 2025 at 10:21 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
Meanwhile, Cassia was hanging out on top of the cat tree, away from the hustle and bustle below. She and her sister Florentina are adoptable! www.petfinder.com/cat/cassia-w...
A calico cat sleeps on top of a wooden cat tree.
February 3, 2025 at 5:58 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
There's a small amount of play in both the fit of the PCB and the stencil, but that's nothing a small amount of tape can't fix. Can't wait to get the rest of the parts and start assembling boards!
A seafoam green 3D printed rectangle with inset slots designed for a specific circuit board and stencil to fit in. The metallic stencil is shown fitting in the designated slot, The underlying PCB's gold pads are shown aligning with the stencil.
January 24, 2025 at 4:25 PM