RE: ESP32Cam -- Software and lighting options
I may just try to order a heatsink if in can find one separately next time I order something on amazon. Should be inexpensive and would be great if it works.
The tricky part is what to attach the heatsink to. Most ESP32 modules have a metallic shield over the core circuit; I don't think the ESP32 chip is thermally coupled to that shield. You would either have to remove the shield to couple a heatsink directly to the plastic chip package, forfeiting its RF certification and possibly making Wifi performance worse. Or maybe there is good thermal coupling between the chip and a copper surface on the PCB, and you could heatsink that?
And then there is the camera chip itself, which has also been reported to be temperature-sensitive. That one is at least freely accessible. But if you have to attach heatsinks to both, the ESP32 (for stable Wifi performance) and the camera chip (for stable images), that makes the physical arrangement a bit tricky.
RE: ESP32Cam -- Software and lighting options
I may just try to order a heatsink if in can find one separately next time I order something on amazon. Should be inexpensive and would be great if it works.
The tricky part is what to attach the heatsink to. Most ESP32 modules have a metallic shield over the core circuit; I don't think the ESP32 chip is thermally coupled to that shield. You would either have to remove the shield to couple a heatsink directly to the plastic chip package, forfeiting its RF certification and possibly making Wifi performance worse. Or maybe there is good thermal coupling between the chip and a copper surface on the PCB, and you could heatsink that?
And then there is the camera chip itself, which has also been reported to be temperature-sensitive. That one is at least freely accessible. But if you have to attach heatsinks to both, the ESP32 (for stable Wifi performance) and the camera chip (for stable images), that makes the physical arrangement a bit tricky.
Ah, thank you for that. I didn't realize this and you saved me a few bucks and some wasted frustration. I'll take it apart and examine it, but I'm by no means an EE so I'll mostly take you at your word. Short of being able to add a heatsink, not much else I can do with it being mounted inside of the Core One case.
RE: ESP32Cam -- Software and lighting options
Here's a teardown video which illustrates the issue. At around 0:30, after the shield has been removed, you can see that the ESP32 is actually not the tallest chip under the shield, and is not thermally coupled to it with any kind of thermal pad. Hence, attaching a heatsink to the shield will not achieve much at all. (Notwithstanding the fact that many vendors offer such heatsinks. Snake oil in my opinion.)
Instead, the bottom side of the PCB shows a square metallic area with many vias. That will be contacted to a corresponding pad on the top side of the board, and to a ground & cooling pad on the bottom of the ESP32 chip. Hence, a heatsink coupled to the bottom side of the PCB would probably be meaningful. But the typical ESP32Cam modules have a carrier board there which gets in the way.
RE: ESP32Cam -- Software and lighting options
Is the general consensus here that the ESP32 in most of its forms will overheat and ultimately fail inside the chamber? I have one that I've used reliably with my MK4S for quite some time now (without an enclosure). After finishing my conversion this morning, Rainer's enclosure was one of the first things I printed so that I can hopefully get back to some remote monitoring.
If it's likely to quickly kill the camera I might just plan to order the prusa camera and be done with it. 🤔
-J
RE: ESP32Cam -- Software and lighting options
Is the general consensus here that the ESP32 in most of its forms will overheat and ultimately fail inside the chamber? I have one that I've used reliably with my MK4S for quite some time now (without an enclosure). After finishing my conversion this morning, Rainer's enclosure was one of the first things I printed so that I can hopefully get back to some remote monitoring.
If it's likely to quickly kill the camera I might just plan to order the prusa camera and be done with it. 🤔
-J
Prusa just released the files to convert the stand alone Buddy3d cam into the core one version and I just did the conversion. I do have to say that I am much happier with the Buddy3D cam in its performance, picture, and reliability over the ESP32 cam I was using, especially now that they updated the Buddy3D cams software.
RE: ESP32Cam -- Software and lighting options
Is the general consensus here that the ESP32 in most of its forms will overheat and ultimately fail inside the chamber? [...]
If it's likely to quickly kill the camera I might just plan to order the prusa camera and be done with it. 🤔
From what I have seen in various reports, the camera will "fail" in the sense of loosing functionality while it is too hot. (Unstable WiFi connectivity and/or image artifacts.) I have not read about permanent damage to the camera. So I think there is no harm in trying, beyond the time and filament you invest.
RE: ESP32Cam -- Software and lighting options
Ive been running my esp32 that came without the esp32 cover case (with a small heatsink) for a while now and it seems pretty stable with pla/petg temps.
Temperature is definitely an effect but I also need to have a look at the old one I had (esp32 ai thinker cam, the super cheap version) as i think it might have been at its limits at the best of times.
RE:
Thank you both for the useful info. It is one of the cheap ones, so I don't mind sacrificing it for testing. I only have one printer, so if it's not going to work I have little use for it. It looks like for about $55 shipped, it's probably worth springing for the core one buddy. I'll chew on it for a few days before deciding.
-J