{"id":28065,"date":"2021-01-03T12:07:39","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T10:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cornay.co.za\/wp\/?p=28065"},"modified":"2021-01-03T12:07:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T10:07:39","slug":"blackboard-becomes-tidy-pen-plotter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cornay.co.za\/wp\/2021\/01\/03\/blackboard-becomes-tidy-pen-plotter\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackboard Becomes Tidy Pen Plotter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Printers are all well and good, but they’re generally limited to smaller paper sizes and use expensive ink. If you instead want to produce art on a larger scale, a plotter can be a great way to go. [tuenhidiy] built a tidy example using an old blackboard as a base.<\/a><\/p>\n

These days, such a build is quite easily approachable, thanks to the broad DIY CNC and 3D printing communities. The plotter consists of a pair of stepper motors, driven by an off-the-shelf RAMPS 1.4 controller and an Arduino Mega 2560. The motors are mounted at the top corners of the blackboard, and move the pen holder via a pair of toothed belts, counter-weighted for stability. The pen holder itself mounts a simple permanent marker, and uses a servo to push the holder away from the paper for retraction, rather than moving the pen itself. Control of the system is via the Makelangelo firmware,<\/a> an open-source effort capable of driving a wide variety of CNC motion systems.<\/p>\n

The final result is a simple plotter using readily available parts that can reliably plot large graphics on a piece of A1 paper. We’re particularly impressed by the clean, continuous lines it produces – testament to a sound mechanical design.<\/p>\n

We see plenty of plotters around these parts; even rotary types that can draw on curves<\/a>. Video after the break.<\/p>\n

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