High-Speed 3D Printed Arduino Pen Plotter
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2022
- Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions! I designed this plotter in SolidWorks and 3D printed the parts. If you want to build one, all the CAD and .STL files are freely available on my GitHub page here:
github.com/IVProjects/Enginee...
Using what I learned from my last pen plotter, I wanted to design a much faster plotter using inexpensive off-the-shelf parts. The hardest part to get working reliably was the grit roller system for the Y-axis. Using rollers has the advantage of decreased moving mass, but it was tough to get working. I'm not aware of any existing DIY plotter designs that use a grit roller system, so all I had for reference were photos of vintage plotters.
I ended up using 120 grit Dremel sanding bands with a 3D printed adapter for the grit rollers. I used a small 5mm shaft as the grit roller driveshaft to keep rotational inertia to a minimum. The less mass the Y-axis motor has to accelerate, the higher higher the acceleration parameters can be.
Grit rollers also allow a plotter to feed the paper reliably without coordinate drift over time. The abrasive particles on the surface of the grit wheel leave small impressions in the edges of the paper, which then act similarly to a rack and pinion. Because the abrasive particles are irregularly shaped and oriented, the paper impressions and abrasive particles key into each other very reliably. My previous plotter design used rubber rollers, which caused some coordinate drift.
To work properly, the grit pinch rollers need quite a bit of pressure. I used a pair of 6:1 class II levers with a 0.5" steel bar acting as a weight. The lever is lifted by hand to load a new sheet of paper.
It uses 1/16th microstepped NEMA-17 stepper motors for X and Y movement as well as for pen lifting. The electronics are an Arduino Uno, a V3 CNC shield, three A4988 (or equivalent) stepper motor drivers, a 24v PSU, and a 24v 40mm fan for cooling. The cooling fan allows the drivers to run at a higher current, which in turn allows higher speed and acceleration parameters.
For software, I'm using Inkscape to generate G-code from vector images. That G-code is sent using Universal G-code Sender (UGS) over serial communication to the Arduino running stock GRBL.
I spent a lot of time trying to make the plotter's frame as rigid as possible. The more rigid the frame is, the more accurate the resulting drawing will be. A frame that's not very rigid will flex when accelerating the printhead, causing corners in the drawing to become rounded. - Наука та технологія
Maker Man Dan posted a video that explains how this plotter works in a little more detail. Go check it out:
ua-cam.com/video/yQN9Wl0xA48/v-deo.html
This might be the solution to a large scale printing issue I have. Can you please let me know how to get in touch with you?
how big?@@mattasher4306
That video shows "build". It doesn't explain anything. The link merely hi-jacks the project to his channel.
It does less than a printer, in more time, only one color, with a lot of noise.
YES I definitely need one! 😀
This is the coolest pen plotter i ever seen
Thank you very much!
But so much cheaper because of the pen ink
@@TheKitMurkit in a very long time to take these profit instead of electricity etc.
ink cartridges dont cost an arm.
@@genkidama7385 yeah yeah whatever you say rich people
This is the best plotter i’ve seen yet. High performance *AND* elegant design.
Thank you very much!
Love the design for dropping the pen. I used a servo method in the past but would definitely not be able to push it as fast. I will have to give this a go! Thanks for posting!
Thank you! Hope it works out for you.
dude this is awesome! Ingenious design and a very efficient use of 3D printed parts and space. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much!
I used one of the very first HP desktop plotters in 1985 and the very first picture I plotted was this exact image of the space shuttle.....mind blown!
I think that you more or less nailed it with this design. Simple and extremely efficient apparently. Well done sir!
Thank you very much!
I had a very expensive HP A4 size pen plotter at work many years ago - this appears to be much faster and has better output quality!
Thank you! That's great to hear.
I thought plotters were for larger sizes, I don't see the insterest of an A4 plotter, a cheap laser printer does much more. (I bought my first Laserjet in 1988 !)
Wow congrats ! This looks like a very efficient design. It is really mesmerizing to watch.
In an effort to decrease time to print even more, I think there is something that can be done as far as optimizing the toolpath. There is a lot of long move that goes back and fort between different area of the paper. G-code generation and/or post-processing (depending if you have acces to that generative code) could be more clever and pack more effectively toolpaths by area. Simply choosing the closest next possible "pen down" move after each "pen up" move could go a long way I think.
Thank you! I agree. There are probably more optimized G-code generators out there that could shave off quite a bit of time.
I was going to comment on that. The shuttle image seemed particularly bad in that regard. The pen spent half the time off the paper!
@@ivprojects8143 One simple option--considering just how accurate your system is--would be to cut the drawing up into small sections, convert them, then paste the gcode fragments together. It's not a *great* solution, but one that should be simple enough to get working until a better one comes along.
In 1993 I was on a high school internship at a company that manufactured a (multi-color/pen) plotter, and its demo drawing was the Space Shuttle. It was amazing and unreachable (despite the plotter technology was already advanced at that time). And now, I can print a printer. It continues to be amazing!
Cool experience! In 1993 I was using a plotter at work to plot large AutoCad drawings. Some engineers were still using drafting boards. A couple were using AutoCad but hadn't learned how to reduce plotter time and there would be hours of prints before mine would come up. I remember complaining they weren't using simpler fonts and limiting their use of text. But the plotter was a glorious machine. Twenty years later at another engineering company, our mechanical engineers stopped producing paper documentation. They don't even produce a drawing, only a 3D model. They forward models to the machinists with notes in the file about which surfaces require tight tolerances. This saves a lot of engineering hours and calendar time and is much faster for machinists too. Those machinists are like artists. Now I work in a factory where we use a plotter only once in a while, a gigantic inkjet machine that produces full color prints. I have only used it one time in three years. I generally use 11x17 (B4) for electrical schematics. Schematics would take an enormous amount of time in a own plot for all the little lines and lettering. But I miss the pen plotters.
I never imagined these motor could run this fast. Amazing video btw.
Thank you! When there's not much moving mass, steppers can accelerate really quick.
You printing rockets with this makes it 100000x cooler. It’s perfect for either making pictures look like sketches or printing out “hand drawn” schematics for things like pcb layouts and engineering drawings for manufactured parts
Thank you!
Built one myself, different design but also using printed parts, Grbl, UGC, Arduino shield. Will compare my Grbl settings with yours. Mine also prints fast and accurate but interested to improve where I can. Great project as it rolls several fields into one. Well done..thanks...
H
Arduino is kinda slow for tasks like those imo
Get a 32Bit board like an SKR
@@fusseldieb The Arduino isn't the limiting factor for speed here. GRBL can handle a step frequency of around 40 kHz.
thats a sweet design, looks like i can finally reuse all the old inkjet parts i salvaged.
Thank you! And have fun with the build.
Very nice design. I like the use of Dremel tool sanding sleeves for the paper grit rollers; simple, cheap, effective, and precise. We’ll done, and another new subscriber! 😊
Thank you very much!
Just as a suggestion for future ideas.
I did have the Toshiba HX-P570 pen plotter for my MSX (end '80s, begin '90s) and this one used nearly the same design principle as your plotter does. (also sold as Sony PRN-C41)
It also had a rotating bar to push the pen down (well yours does lift the pen).
The plotter had 4 very tiny coloured pens inserted in a small carrousel with a spring to lift the pens up.
This way you don't need to carry extra weight to push the pen down, which may allow for even faster prints.
However this does mean you need to push the pen down while drawing a line which may cause extra friction.
The pen change was done via a "squared" rod and a small worm-wheel inside the carrousel
I think I did print the same image of a space shuttle back then as it was the most impressive print to show friends and back then you didn't have a lot of plotter files available on BBS's.
Plotting took a lot longer on that plotter than on yours.
Thanks for the interesting comment! I can see the possible advantages of a spring loaded system versus a gravity based one. Not sure which method would end up being better suited for speed, but it might be worth a try.
Thanks for sharing this video. Congratulations on the result. The printer looks very nice, accurate and fast.
Thank you very much!
That roller system is genius! great machine.
Thank you!
This is a really cool project! Thanks for sharing your project files and taking the time to write this detailed description.
Thank you! I'm happy to share the files.
This is one heck of am upgrade from the one you uploaded a video of 10 months ago. Well done 👍👍👍
Thank you very much!
I love how this machine works. Well done!!!
Thank you!
I love the machine you built, and the space shuttle it ploted as well!😄
Thank you!
Very nice design! My favourite project this month, hope to build it myself 😍
Thank you very much!
Nice project! I have always liked to watch plotters plot. Subscribed.
Thank you!
Fantastic project! You gained a subscriber! I was looking for a plotter with this design and performance. Congratulations! Excellent work.
Thank you very much!
Really good. Amazing speed too. I think I'd go for an electromagnet for the pen lifter. One less stepper. Though I really like that lifting bar setup! That's a great way to keep the extra mass static to keep the pen inertia at a minimum.
Thank you! Early on I was planning to use a solenoid, but I found there were a lot of advantages to steppers. They're easy to control via Gcode, allow you to fine tune the distance the pen is lifted, and have 100% duty cycle (compared to the rather low duty cycle of most small solenoids).
@@ivprojects8143 how about servo? like your v2 plotter
@@rama3njoy Hobby servos are much slower.
i was about to say "yo they made a 3d printer for drawings" then i realized that's just a printer
Not just a printer. A printer that doesn’t require $60 ink replacements ever month.
But takes way longer to create the image on paper
Wish I had this for wedding invitations and thank you cards. Would've looked like I signed them with real pen and could've done it all on computer!
Hello!
Very nice design, it shows you put a lot of time and effort on the design maybe a couple of iterations.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!!
The spring from the clothespin is a touch of genius.
Thanks! I got the idea from 3D printer belt tensioning springs, but I figured I could make one instead of buying it.
very nice! surprisingly good results for the speed!
Thank you!
Great and simple work ,it gives inspirition
Thanks
Thank you!
I love it! Nice project, well done!
Thank you very much!
Great machine and great choice of drawings, too!
Thank you very much!
Oooh! Impressive! And I “need” a new project to get the parts for and then start and then procrastinate for a year or five before finishing it.
Thank you! Have fun building.
This is way cheaper than a printer, yet the quality of the rendering is superior. You can't even BUY a C- size printer at all unless it cost TEN$ of thousand$.
Excellent project idea! Thank you for this video. 👏👏👏👍
Thank you very much!
That's excellent!I've been itching to make a pen plotter for some but most are the cute floppy-servo motor kind and not this professional looking beast that's frankly worth the time and money.
(Fun extra: This was the first video that popped up on UA-cam that I tested my new ESP32 BT audio against - so double-win)
Thank you! I'm glad you like the design.
THIS. IS. AWESOME.
Thanks!
GREAT job. That is really cool.
Thank you!
As someone who built one, I'm mostly amazed by the speed of that pen. I wasn't even going too fast but I had to limit speed because the pen would dry up.
I had to test quite a few pens to find one that could keep up. It's a 0.7 Tru Red gel tip.
@@ivprojects8143 thanks for sharing!
This reminds me off the plotters at school
Cool stuff! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
Solves a problem that doesn't exist. Nice.
Beautiful job well done!
Thank you very much!
@3:11 the clothes peg spring being used as a belt tensioner is genius 🤯
Thank you!
This is very cool. CJ also supports you!!!
Thanks, I love good open source models. I recommend putting your name or something on the STEP assembly, so ppl can find you
Thanks! I may do that if I have a chance.
Awesome. Well done. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you too!
Very nice design!! Can you make a assamblage video of it?
When HP were big into pen plotters apparently a lot of the internal specifications used "attoparsecs per microfortnight" to measure speed. One attoparsec/microfortnight is almost exactly one inch per second.
That's hilarious. Certainly makes unit conversions a little more exciting.
1.0043 inch per second. Close enough for government work...
I love the belt tenstioner
Thank you!
That's awesome! A thing of beauty.
Thank you very much!
@@ivprojects8143 I can imagine it connected to a camera and taking a picture of a face and converting to grey scale lo-res to draw the image. A cyber mirror. Don't you just love electronics these days!
Потрясающее изобретение для студента;)))))
Когда курсовик от руки требуют:)))
Это единственное для чего он может пригодиться)
@@aidagamemnon ну еще когда чертеж чернилами нарисовать;)
Oooo This is awesome! Definitely earned a sub! :D
Thank you very much!
that's awesome, i will try make my own, thanks for sharing .
Thank you! Have fun building.
I love your project !
Thanks!
Ace job, mate!
Thank you!
Great improvements!
You can use Inkcut project as driver and set the shortest path to save some movements and time, or maximize X or Y travels if you want. Try it!
Thanks for the idea! I'll look that up.
@@ivprojects8143 I hope you share your experience 😉
This isn't a complaint, just a suggestion for the next version: pen changing capability.
But this is AWESOME as is! 👍😯
I would like to try that at some point! Thanks for the idea.
Very nice work. 👍
Thank you!
Hi, very cool design!
This is doubly interesting to me since I would have dismissed the idea of handling the paper like this at the concept phase: I would assume that the paper would twist and rotate ever so slightly each time so that overall after many trips it would become badly misaligned. Does this happen at all in reality? did you have to balance the forces to align the paper in any way?
Thank you! This is the advantage of using grit rollers. I explain this in a little more detail in the description, but basically the abrasive particles on the grit wheels create a meshing interface in the paper like rack and pinion gears. This lets it very repeatably index back to the exact same position in the Y-axis every time.
@@ivprojects8143 I was about to ask about that. Very interesting that this works so well, I would have clamped the paper in place and moved the whole surface back and forth. Your design is way cooler
I seriously need this for my homework 😆
very clever design! i was looking thru youtube to learn more about cnc as i plan on building my own laser cutter and i come across your video and now i think i might build this one first before a laser cutter. just a question though, what if you use a paper roller from a printer instead of the grit rollers? would be better and be able to push the plotter even faster?
btw your design is so much simpler and efficient than any others i saw here. i am inspired to scale up your design and maybe make an automated panel saw (i do woodworking on my own for a living and dont have anyone helping me around in the shop😂) or something else.
Cool project!
Thanks!
Man that is one hell of a plotter.
I'm using a terribly slow conversion of a CR10 3d printer as my plotter currently to "handwrite" letters and have been working to optimize the gcode.
I think it might be time to step up and put together some optimized hardware to go along with it.
Do you happen to have a discord related your projects or similar by chance? I'd love to pick your brain on a few items/modifications if possible.
I like this design a lot. I’m curious how it handles thicker materials; have you tried feeding through something like poster board or illustration board?
Thank you! I haven't tried any materials other than paper. I think something like construction paper would work fine, and I think the printhead could easily be modified to work with much thicker materials. I don't think the roller system would have issues with thicker materials.
Bravo! Bravo! Applause! ...sort of a ball point blended with a laser etcher. Amazing speed and results. I wonder if the ball point overheats and maybe cooks the ink if you try to print a black page...
What is the pipeline to get the pics through? What controller etc.?
I explain this a little in the second to last paragraph of the description. Basically it's Inkscape => Universal Gcode Sender => Arduino running GRBL.
I've asked this question on your another video also, please explain how to set zero position, ie. how do we determine where does it start plotting & what if I want to print on a smaller paper?
Recently tore down an old CTC 3D printer so I have a few NEMA17s, belts, bearings and rods kicking about. I was wondering what to use them for!
Have fun building!
Maker Dan mentions in his video how you use sand paper to help the y axis roll. I was just thinking that a laser printer uses a sticky rubber wheels to toll the paper through so it can print the page. I was wondering if that has been experimented with yet?
Such a plotter can be effectively used to draw clothing patterns using a long piece of paper along the y axis.
Interesting idea.
Really an awesome project, and definitely something to build using my plentiful spare parts from various builds. Would you have any assembly instructions anywhere?
Thank you! Unfortunately I don't have written assembly instructions, but the SolidWorks assembly shows how all the parts go together.
@@ivprojects8143 Awesome. How about the firmware?
@@samernajia I describe all the software used in the description. The firmware running on the Arduino is just stock GRBL.
@@ivprojects8143 got it thanks
Really great
Thank you!
Works great! I've used sandpaper-based rollers myself and they work nicely. Finer grain than yours though.
Thanks! I tried 240 grit, but 120 grit seemed to work a little better.
Nice design. Gcode could use some optimization. Vinyl drag knife add on?
Thanks! I think a vinyl knife could work. I may give it a try at some point.
Very impressive
Thank you!
GREAT !!! very nice... thanks for sharing...
Thank you!
Nice video, thanks for sharing, like it :)
Thanks!
This is awesome! I wish to repeat it some day.
I would mount it on the wall, since I don't have a dedicated desk. On the wall it would be cool!
Thanks! You would need to change the angle of the idler levers, but apart from that it should work on a wall.
Fantastique ! Tu es un génie.
Thank you!
Awesome project. Did you consider the rough rubber rollers found inside inkjet & laser printers, when looking for grit rollers?
Thank you! The grit rollers need to create tiny dents in the paper to work properly, and rubber wouldn't do that the same way. The reason rubber rollers can be used in inkjet and laser printers is they don't need to repeatedly feed the paper back and forth hundreds of times.
Really nice, I just downloaded the project files from github. I was wondering if I could use it as vinyl plotter, with a custom made holder for a vinyl cutting blade. Any sort of reply will be appreciated.
I think it would take some modifications to get it working, but it should be possible
Really cool! You should find a better stepper converting mainboard, I had this kinda noise on my old Ender 3 Pro 3D printer too...
Swapped out the mainboard to a BigTreeTech SKR Mini E3, and all the noise was gone..
Thanks! It could easily be made quiet by swapping out the A4988 drivers for some TMC drivers. I just used the A4988s since I had them on hand.
@@ivprojects8143 yeah, cuz that mainboard has better integrated drivers, instead of using attached modules it's integrated into the board with a chip.. And u can easily bootload your own grbl software into it with a usb. just a suggestion.
Could maybe also make a laser engraver version of this..
HP came up with this system for an electrocardiogram 40 years ago.
Very nice.
Thank you!
This project rips! I just finished the 3d printed components I have some questions on the size/materials for the base and writing surface was hoping to get some guidance from you - can reach out directly or correspond however convenient. Thank you for sharing :D
Hello friend, I am printing the parts right now. And I need support with the software. What stage are you at? Have you finished ?
remarkable.
Thank you!
Hello there, Can i use servo instead of stepper motor for lifting and dropping pen, with the exact mechanism? Will the servo affect its quality or speed?
AMAZING PROJECT, can I use a laser instead of a pen?
Very, very clever design indeed ! I simply wonder how the paper sheet remains flat, and what maximum width it can reach ? I looks there's no system to keep it flat, by succion or whatever.
Thank you! The grit rollers grip onto the paper preventing it from bunching up. If you wanted to make a wide-format plotter, you'd probably have to add additional rollers in the middle of the page. Check out large commercial vinyl cutter designs if you're curious.
Have a nice day. It's been a great project. Congratulations. I have a question. I also made a project like this, but the z axis does not lift the pen while drawing. ( I use Light Brun , Easel software. ) Which software program do you use?
Thanks! Check the description for some information about the software.
Hi, what camera did you use to record the project? And did you use any instructions/guide to document the whole process? It is very well put and easy to understand. Thanks!
I recorded it with an IPhone 7 camera. I haven't written any assembly instructions for it, but the SolidWorks assembly shows how all the pieces go together.
Amazing!! What a great project! Do you think you can make a vinyl cutter out of this platform?
Thank you! Yes I think it could be converted to a vinyl cutter.
Just had another look...yours's is faster than mine by a way... Mine uses a moving y axis with the paper stretched and held in place with clips. Your direct movement of the paper helps speed wise plus small movement of the z axis pen. Interesting.. I plan to maybe use different types of pen and maybe paint brushes or charcoal so will probably stick on the path I'm on but will definitely try to use some of your ideas.
Sounds interesting! You should post a video of your design (if you want to).
@@ivprojects8143 Thinking the same. Will do... But go easy on me... Lol
Great design.
I am trying to make. I am printing all the parts with 25% infill and 1.2mm wall Thickness. Is it OK or should I increase the infill density. I don't have a 3d printer so I am printing all the parts from a 3d printing service they are charging thrice the cost of original printing cost.
Hi witch servo is best for a pen plotter between 360,180 and 90 degre
Fantastic!
Thanks!
Alright, I want to build one. Do you suppose a Beaglebone SBC would do in place of the Arduino?
I'm not familiar with that board. If it can run GRBL it would probably work.
Amazing.
Thanks!