Experimenting with Thermistors

Experimenting with Thermistorshttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/In this competition, participants will incorporate thermistors from Molex into their original experiments and designs, documenting their progress and findings along the way.en-USTelligent Community 12<link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/using-multiple-thermistors?CommentId=ad7a800a-97c0-4628-84d5-c5e3dc75073b</link><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 01:22:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:ad7a800a-97c0-4628-84d5-c5e3dc75073b</guid><dc:creator>ABEngRRR</dc:creator><description>Hello, Im Regan and I’m interested on this project. May I request for your code if possible. It would be a great help for my school project. Thank you so much.</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/blog-7-characterising-thermistors-boiling-freezing-and-zapping-the-truth-out-of-them?CommentId=35f03607-1ee5-4d43-820a-87c82930e0a3</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:55:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:35f03607-1ee5-4d43-820a-87c82930e0a3</guid><dc:creator>andrewgoh0</dc:creator><description>thanks, I'm thinking along similar lines too, hotend temperatures are probably, 'emprically' determined. e.g. in a sense that instead of bothering about the actual temperature, to test prints at different temperatures and simply stick to one that apparently works best for a particular material/filament. what this means is that this step is after all essential for *each* printer if after all the thermistor varies in properties between one and a next. '3950' thermistors materials seemed to be based on this patent https://patents.google.com/patent/US4347166A/en https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/a7/25/80/a0c9f97b10fffe/US4347166.pdf table 4: oxides of %atom (i'd guess weight / molar mass is good) maganese (oxide) - 77% nickel (oxide) - 20% aluminium (oxide) - 3% fired at 1250 deg C for 2 hours Thermistor constant (K): 3950 ! this seemed to reflect in your 'crushing' tests :) Blog #12: Characterising Thermistors – Sticking Rings on Tabs & Sinks, Absolutely Crushing It! blurb: if after all '3950' thermistors are 'made in the same way' , then the variances can come partly from manufacturing variances, e.g. different composition ratios, the firing procedure, and possibly other manufacturing variances, impurities etc (this means variances between batches) - they probably just 'hide' it in the 'tolerance' specs say 5%</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/blog-7-characterising-thermistors-boiling-freezing-and-zapping-the-truth-out-of-them?CommentId=1aff3347-7e75-45fe-9a14-f7831faa05c3</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:34:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:1aff3347-7e75-45fe-9a14-f7831faa05c3</guid><dc:creator>Gough Lui</dc:creator><description>I suspect that the thermistors are categorised as beta=3950K thermistors based on the material system in use. However, variances in quality of material and manufacturing will affect their accuracy. While they claim 1% (presumably resistance) tolerance, this could be a little optimistic, but having not sampled these and not having the time to do so right now, I can't be sure. That being said, the final accuracy of the system depends on a number of things - for example, how the thermistor values are being digitised (i.e. resolution/noise/resistor divider or current source method/values of resistor or current drive) and the temperature range which is being measured. Resistances generally change more at low temperatures and less at higher temperatures, making high-temperature measurements with thermistors more challenging and less accurate. Another thing to be mindful of is that thermistors can age after being exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time. It wouldn't surprise me andrewgoh0 if there were about 5-10 degrees Celsius error in hot-end temperatures across units as a result. This is often evident in the fact that numerous people may print the same type of filament and determine wildly different optimal print temperatures to avoid clogging (too low) or stringing/burning (too high) effects. How well the thermistor is mounted and how well the temperature conducts from the hot-end to the thermistor will also affect its accuracy and response time. However, I suspect that such error isn't necessarily catastrophic for the application as each user can "tune" their materials (assuming initially it is within the ballpark) to determine the optimal temperature and the thermistor's job is more to maintain the same temperature (as long as the measurements are repeatable , then it will do). Out of the box, many printed materials have relatively wide temperature windows (e.g. PLA can span from about 180C to 220C). However, changing the hot end with thermistor or just the thermistor itself may result in a sudden shift in (displayed/inputted) optimal temperature. - Gough</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/blog-7-characterising-thermistors-boiling-freezing-and-zapping-the-truth-out-of-them?CommentId=fb597df5-3b26-4db9-afc1-67e2744c5170</link><pubDate>Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:39:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:fb597df5-3b26-4db9-afc1-67e2744c5170</guid><dc:creator>andrewgoh0</dc:creator><description>hi I'm late to the party, but that your blog is about the 'most comprehensive' one yet characterizing thermistors. these days there are so many 'flea market' 3950 thermistors https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-3950-thermistor.html would you try 'calibrating a sample of them' to see just how '3950' are those ;) lol it would be a *real* problem (for the world) if after all they don't match that '3950' labels considering the huge number of 3d printers out there, which probably used these 'no name flea market' thermistors</description></item><item><title>Forum Post: RE: Thermistors Tutorial by Adafruithttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/f/forum/51449/thermistors-tutorial-by-adafruit/203298Fri, 02 Dec 2022 17:15:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:4d7696f3-8d1c-494b-814a-8a7e60e3e5barobogaryWow, thanks Nico ! I was using an excel spreadsheet to plot the thermistor resistances VS temperature, to create an equation to fit the curve. This is so much easier.<link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/received-finisher-prize-for-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=ebfa464d-39da-441c-b69c-034bdf989202</link><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2022 15:49:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:ebfa464d-39da-441c-b69c-034bdf989202</guid><dc:creator>misaz</dc:creator><description>Yes, wire stripper is very low-cost part in this kit, but most other parts are very valuable and I think it is good kit in overal.</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/received-finisher-prize-for-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=0c7fd8fc-1f55-4d4d-901a-d39085f4f5b0</link><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2022 15:14:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:0c7fd8fc-1f55-4d4d-901a-d39085f4f5b0</guid><dc:creator>baldengineer</dc:creator><description>Every once in a while, I try to use that style of wire stripper and then wonder why I don't just throw them away.</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/received-finisher-prize-for-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=8e8f44b9-0235-463e-ae92-c43e7ab3c1d2</link><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:07:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:8e8f44b9-0235-463e-ae92-c43e7ab3c1d2</guid><dc:creator>mp2100</dc:creator><description>That's a nice kit, congratulations. This is such a nice part of the e14 community. (but that wire stripper, no fault of e14, but the kit makers throw in various tools, when I was young I had one of those wire stripper, but I don't like how they work.)</description></item><item><title>Blog Post: Received Finisher Prize for Experimenting with Thermistorshttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/received-finisher-prize-for-experimenting-with-thermistorsSun, 27 Nov 2022 13:58:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:7a04bd5c-4a17-4dca-80e3-0333d483b9dcmisazHello everyone. About three weeks ago I received prize for my three blogs as part of Experimenting with Thermistors. I was busy so I write about it now. I originally plan to post more blogs as part of competition, but I wrongly estimated time complexity and decided to rather spend my free time with other competitions. As part of Experimenting with Thermistors I posted following three blogs: Blog #1: Introductory Blog to My Thermistor Experiments Blog #2: Thermistors Minitutorial Part 1 - Measuring temperature using thermistor and multimeter Blog #3: Thermistors Minitutorial Part 2 - Measuring Temperature Using Thermistor and Arduino Because number of written blogs (three) is more than required (two) for finisher prize, I received it. Duratool 129 pcs Tool Set For my three blogs I received 129 pcs tool set with box. Buy Now Contents Datasheet lists content of the box as follows: And here it is: Kit is very comprehensive. I did not find anything missing in this kit for any general-purpose work. It is nice kit. As far, I have used several tools. Quality is very high, and I am satisfied with it. Last words At the end I would like to thank Element14 for sending me this reward. It was nice time spend with thermistors and this finisher prize is also very nice. Both things I received for free. I also gained lot of experiences even I terminated my journey with thermistors soon. I consider these experiences more valuable than the reward. They are not experiences with just only thermistors, but most experiences which I gained apply to all resistive sensors in general. I also learnt from blogs of other challengers a lot.molexprize'Experimenting with Thermistors'experimenting with thermistorsForum Post: RE: Finisher's Prize - Duratool 129 PCS tool sethttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/f/forum/51916/finisher-s-prize---duratool-129-pcs-tool-set/201739Mon, 31 Oct 2022 07:58:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:b6d52e9f-0f24-419f-a2a8-3b945d0dc289rsjawale24Yes and it's easy to carry around too!Forum Post: RE: Finisher's Prize - Duratool 129 PCS tool sethttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/f/forum/51916/finisher-s-prize---duratool-129-pcs-tool-set/201730Sun, 30 Oct 2022 16:53:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:7b6cb931-be98-4985-a340-4e926a8432e5colporteurNice selection of tools in the kit. A kit to keep in the car for those times when a quick fix with a tool is what you need.Forum Post: Finisher's Prize - Duratool 129 PCS tool sethttps://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/f/forum/51916/finisher-s-prize---duratool-129-pcs-tool-setSat, 29 Oct 2022 15:45:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:fd3d07e3-f258-4fd9-ba0a-93c04563145crsjawale24Today I received a package from element14. The box contained finisher's prize for the Experimenting with Thermistors challenge - A duratool 129 PCS tool set. I'm thankful to Molex and e14 for organizing the contest and providing prizes. One can never have enough tools. The tool set consists of useful tools as shown in pictures belowprizefinishers prizeexperimenting with thermistorsthermistors<link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=650d6f29-29ca-4317-8ab3-32f61a964ff5</link><pubDate>Mon, 17 Oct 2022 17:54:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:650d6f29-29ca-4317-8ab3-32f61a964ff5</guid><dc:creator>redcharly</dc:creator><description>Congratulations to the winners, very interessting projects.</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=cac51c1c-e2f8-4a28-821f-f98bb371baf9</link><pubDate>Sat, 15 Oct 2022 10:57:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:cac51c1c-e2f8-4a28-821f-f98bb371baf9</guid><dc:creator>hitesh.boghani</dc:creator><description>Congratulations to the winners and well done all!</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=03595ad4-8544-4177-a622-65b1ed2f8190</link><pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2022 22:15:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:03595ad4-8544-4177-a622-65b1ed2f8190</guid><dc:creator>ntewinkel</dc:creator><description>LOL I didn’t realize I was a shark maybe top left is most accurate? I feel more closely aligned with hedgehog…</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=81e2adcd-84ca-4095-b644-8d971f3b61b4</link><pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2022 17:48:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:81e2adcd-84ca-4095-b644-8d971f3b61b4</guid><dc:creator>scottiebabe</dc:creator><description>Aww thanks for the shootout, your the sweetest shark ever! I asked AI to draw a a shark wearing a hat: I think the AI is still a work in progress! lol Congrats on your experimental success it is well deserved Take care!</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=d0a7daf5-7d02-4cf6-b002-4af31cc0c3d2</link><pubDate>Thu, 13 Oct 2022 22:18:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:d0a7daf5-7d02-4cf6-b002-4af31cc0c3d2</guid><dc:creator>ntewinkel</dc:creator><description>Wow! Thank you for selecting me for runner-up! This is going to up my coffee-game to a whole new level! I think my wife may be more excited than me - she’s been telling me to upgrade my little Disney-Frozen themed 1-cup machine ever since, uhh, ever since I bought it I think Congratulations, Gough Lui ! I was blown away by your experiments and blog posts, and learned a lot from you while we were experimenting. Thanks again for looking into the esp8266 ADC multiplexing options as well Also congrats and thank you to everyone who was part of this challenge. I enjoyed reading everyone’s posts and learned a lot! I also want to give an extra tip-o-the-hat to scottiebabe for all of the extra experimenting and helpful guidance posts in the challenge forum.</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=01efaeaf-f20a-4fab-b63e-923c18b5ab1a</link><pubDate>Thu, 13 Oct 2022 16:42:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:01efaeaf-f20a-4fab-b63e-923c18b5ab1a</guid><dc:creator>dang74</dc:creator><description>Congratulations to the winners and participants. I'll have to dive in and read some more of these blogs. Lately I've been suffering from "So many blogs, so little time", but that wonderful photo of the humming bird has peaked my interest.</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=b8757091-8c1d-4ab5-ad1c-8228cb3d851a</link><pubDate>Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:54:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:b8757091-8c1d-4ab5-ad1c-8228cb3d851a</guid><dc:creator>kmikemoo</dc:creator><description>Great job, Gough Lui and ntewinkel !! Incredible write-ups. Fun to follow. Thank you to the other participants as well. It was awesome to have your work as a reference while playing with my thermistors.</description></item><item><title /><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/experimenting-with-thermistors/b/challenge-blog/posts/the-winners-of-experimenting-with-thermistors?CommentId=b5c0d323-c5a5-4523-bb48-373f328445ef</link><pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2022 22:22:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:b5c0d323-c5a5-4523-bb48-373f328445ef</guid><dc:creator>Gough Lui</dc:creator><description>Well this was great news to wake up to! I didn't realise until misaz tagged me that this was announced. It was an interesting journey for me, for what seemed like such a simple component conceptually. I hope you enjoyed the blogs and learned something as well. Thanks genebren and DAB as well for volunteering their time to judge and for choosing me!</description></item></channel></rss>