I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD
Here's a "behind-the-scenes" look at my development of a cool sensor during my PhD (electrical engineering). This sensor is only about 1/3 of my total research for my degree and took about a year. I've been on HN for a while now and I've seen my fair share of posts about the woes of pursuing a PhD. Now that I'm done with mine I wanna share some anecdotal evidence that doing a PhD can actually be enjoyable (not necessarily easy) and also be doable in 3 years. When I started I knew I didn't want to work on something that would never leave the lab or languish in a dissertation PDF no one…
In plain words
A researcher shares a behind-the-scenes account of developing a sensor from 3D printer filament as part of their electrical engineering PhD work. The post documents the one-year project that represents roughly one-third of their doctoral research, offering insights into the design process and methodology. Intended for anyone interested in academic research, the account serves as a case study in balancing practical innovation with academic rigor while completing a PhD program efficiently.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Here's a "behind-the-scenes" look at my development of a cool sensor during my PhD (electrical engineering). This sensor is only about 1/3 of my total research for my degree and took about a year. I've been on HN for a while now and I've seen my fair share of posts about the woes of pursuing a PhD. Now that I'm done with mine I wanna share some anecdotal evidence that doing a PhD can actually be enjoyable (not necessarily easy) and also be doable in 3 years. When I started I knew I didn't want to work on something that would never leave the lab or languish in a dissertation PDF no one will ever read. Thanks to an awesome advisor I think I managed to thread the needle between simplicity and functionality. Looking back, the ideas and methods behind it are pretty straightforward, but getting there took some doing. It’s funny how things seem obvious once you've figured them out! Oh, I love creating GUIs for sensor data and visualizations as you'll see -- it's such a game changer! pyqtgraph is my go-to at the moment - such a great library.
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