When the LED light is put on the color coat, the status of the 3D printer can be tracked in real time.

Duke University of North Carolina is one of the leading educational institutions for 3D printing technology in the United States, with more than 40 3D printers in its innovative collaborative labs launched in 2015. Users have recently been able to participate in a topic that "makes people constantly monitor these 3D printer states in a unique way" by making their own fluorescent jacket with LEDs to indicate the status of each machine.

Instructables user SallyHall posted the guide in the "Wearable Devices" category of the site, which contains many other imaginative ways to modify clothing and accessories. Her own custom coats seem to be very simple to put together, just make some changes to the fabric you need. Some basic programming and electrical engineering knowledge is also necessary, although this may be a prerequisite for the first choice of these jackets.

The PowerBoost500 charger, designed by 3D printing enthusiast Adafruit, is used to power the system and a 3.7v2000mAh lithium-ion battery. These can be easily stitched to the jacket through a pocket made of small pieces of fabric. This concealed power supply needs to be connected to a series of power rails that can be sewn to bypass the surface of the jacket.

As for the main LED display itself, the ideal solution is provided by Adafruit, as its line of FloraNeoPixels is specifically designed to make wearable devices like this. These tiny smart pixels are easily attracted to a variety of fabrics, their technology is impressive and simple to set up. They have an integrated constant current driver that is also linkable.

Once the LEDs and power supplies are connected, all that is needed is photon and photon masking to initialize the lights, and of course a data line that communicates the printer status to these outputs. The API data for the printer status of the Duke Innovation Collaboration Lab is publicly accessible online, so the jacket can be linked directly to some coding techniques.

Hall's finished jacket is a noteworthy event, with a series of flashing multicolor lights showing the latest developments in all 40 3D printers at Duke's innovative collaborative lab, most of which are Ultimaker 2FDM machines. The blue light indicates the 3D printer being used, green indicates the available 3D printer, and the red light indicates the machine that is currently offline. On top of this LED display, her coat is printed with the advice of the saint: "The job you should do is the job you should do." This shows that a person is not just a maker, but a philosopher, a life coach, and a visionary, and this interdisciplinary approach is what 3D printing technology is concerned with.

Editor in charge: Liu Yang