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!ood" #$ea%" and Fast. #$oose two.&
This is an eas+ to build" low cost" and e#tremel+ for-i(in- first robotics ro:ect. ;f +ou ha(e a s are Arduino and a <'= motor shield" +ou could literall+ sca(en-e e(er+thin- else. The catch6 The robot draws relati(el+ slowl+.
Parts/Scavenge List:
Arduino Uno or better Adafruit Motor Shield Two ste er motors !from old co iers" fa# machines" etc.$ %- to &'-(olt ower ada ter !from old electronics$
Materials:
)ood Pa er Pens *ertical surface such as a wall" window" cardboard" or l+wood
Hardware:
,uts" bolts" screws" and nails )ood for s ools" mountin- brac.ets
Tools:
Drill /ot -lue -un Screwdri(er Solderin- iron Pliers 0D rinter !o tional$
Skills Necessary:
Solderin- !for wire connections" Adafruit Motor Shield$ Power drill !for drillin- holes in wood$
Design Files:
All lastic arts o en source and freel+ a(ailable on Thin-i(erse" Thin120023 All software and firmware is o en source from Polar-ra h.co.u. All hardware is o en source from Adafruit" S ar.Fun" and Sand+ ,oble
PlotterBot.com
4uestions or 5omments6
Tweet7 8ma.erbloc. 9-mail7 :a+8ma.erbloc..com
What is a PlotterBot?
A drawing robot!
I have named this robot a PlotterBot. It is an Arduino-based drawing robot that uses two motors, two spools, lots of string, and a pen to draw (really large pi!tures. "he drawing si#e is basi!ally only limited by the amount of string available. $y own robot is a variation on a robot !alled a Polargraph designed by %andy &oble. %andy's robot named his robot a Polargraph be!ause is uses polar !oordinates as it draws.
"his style of drawing robot, one whi!h uses two motors to !ontrol two lines independently to !reate a drawing, is sometimes !alled a (-Plotter be!ause of the ( shape formed by the two !ontrol lines.
I use the firmware and software from %andy &oble's Polargraph. It's reasonably easy to use, free, and !ompletely open sour!e. )an ,oyer (of marginally!lever.!om offers his own free open sour!e software as well. -owever, the hardware !ould be powered using !ustom software of your own design.
A bare-bones parts list would !onsist of an Arduino, an Adafruit $otor %hield, two stepper motors, a power supply, two spools, some string or wire, s!rews and s!rap wood. ;verything e<!ept the Arduino and motor shield !ould be pulled from old printers, fa< ma!hines, or !opiers found on the !urb.
%in!e I sour!ed the parts spe!ifi!ally for this pro8e!t, the total !ost was around :011. All the parts were from the hardware store, Adafruit, and %par+=un. All of the plasti! parts are of my own design and are available on "hingiverse for downloading. I've also des!ribed, in detail, all of my design de!isions in !reating these parts. "here isn't anything spe!ial about the parts I designed e<!ept that I designed them and they suit the way I wanted to build my robot * mostly self-!ontained within a bo<.
(s it di##i$ult to build?
)ot at all!
As long as you !an use basi! tools (drill, s!rewdrivers, wire strippers and !an handle some modest soldering you !an build a PlotterBot of your own4 In fa!t, most of the parts of the robot !ould be swapped out for !ompletely different pie!es and still retain the same e<a!t !ore fun!tionality. *obot Brain. 9ou !ould power a fun!tionally identi!al robot with an Arduino >no (?:71 and an Adafruit $otor %hield (?:01 . I'm using an Arduino $ega !lone with a !ustom shield designed by %andy &oble for his Polargraph. -owever, you !ould upload the same software I use into !ompletely off the shelf parts. I de!ided to upgrade my robot from a prior Arduino with an Adafruit $otor %hield version be!ause the Arduino $ega and !ustom shield allows me to print from an %) !ard using a tou!hs!reen and doesn't re@uire the robot be tethered to a !omputer.
+!ools. 9ou !ould use almost anything to !reate similar spools. 9ou !ould use thread spools and fishing line, homemade spools and thread, spro!+ets and beaded !ords, or toothed belts and gears. I li+e the simpli!ity of the spools and the near-invisibility of the fishing line. "his is the +ind of part you might already have lying around in a 8un+ drawer. Pen holder. Again, this !ould be made out of almost anything as long as you have a hot glue gun. $y prior pen holder was literally a pie!e of !ardboard, with fishing line tied to the !ardboard, and a pen and batteries hot glued to it. ("he dead batteries were 8ust to give it some weight . It loo+ed terrible, but it wor+ed really well4
,ver"thing else. Ahile I use lots of !ustom plasti! parts throughout my robot, there is no reason you !ouldn't ha!+ together motor mounts out of some s!rap wood. "he best part about this robot is how in!redibly !heap and forgiving the basi! design !an be. $y own design uses lots of 7) printed plasti! parts I designed myself. Prototyping all the parts on my $a+erBot ,epli!ator let me iterate @ui!+ly through various designs.