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This DIY flatbed printer uses the new Parallax Propeller chip as the brains, this new microcontroller is very powerful and has many uses.
“First step towards a homemade 3D printer. This is the insides of an HP1360, the paper feed encoder is being used to drive a stepper motor to move the gantry. The encoder is decoded and divided by a parallax propeller microcontroller that also detects the paper feed and ignores other paper feed motor rotations. The gantry is moved by a cable drive to be replaced by a belt.”
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September 13th, 2007
I wonder how hard this will be to port to an Amega128 or multiple Mega128’s and have it use a ‘laser cutter’ instead of plotting?
September 13th, 2007
Its not hard, if u got a laser cutter wich is really expensive. Its cool idea to build it ur own because u can develope a plotter a cnc or even a laser cutter as mentioned before. Btw i dont like only-youtube stuff i like if there is some schematic or some picture.
September 13th, 2007
Why port to ATMega’s? The Propeller is a more capable controller with 8 cores instead of 1, and having programmed both, about a thousand times easier.
September 13th, 2007
very cool for homemade. Works better than my Lexmark!
September 14th, 2007
So let me understand this he disassembled an ink jet printer and made an ink jet printer with the parts??? Truly incrediable, man must be a genius!!!
September 14th, 2007
@Joe: Sure ‘all’ he’s done is turned an inkjet printer into a flatbed printer, but even that allows you to do cool stuff like this:
http://techref.massmind.org/techref/pcb/etch/directinkjetresist.htm
(printing etch resist direct onto copper PCBs as an alternative to toner transfer or photo-lithography).
And as he says in the article, this is the first step on his journey to building a 3D printer.
September 14th, 2007
Still think a CNC milling machine would make more reliable circuits. no etch == no broken traces.
September 14th, 2007
@/wr
Yes if he does more then it might be interesting but as I’ve sure you’ve seen there are thousands of projects with lofty goals and then nothing.
September 15th, 2007
You guys must have missed part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOT8bHff80k
December 6th, 2007
Joe,
As the “genius” who did the conversion I can tell you that it takes more than disassembly and reassembly, try that and you have a printer that destroys itself pretty easily because the same motor that drives the paper also cleans the print head. Sure it’s not rocket science but did anyone say it was.
Graham
February 5th, 2008
do you know of any inkjet heads that will print in the vertical positon. i have seen this and the other project at the parallax site. but i need one to go 90 degrees and put a mark on paper. I run an RFID lab and need a cleaner solution than magic markers or air spray gun markers this looks like i would work if i can find the right ink jet cartridge.
can you help.
this is way cool, and you could possibley do posters with it or even larger work.
February 5th, 2008
No specifically but I would not be suprized if most would work like this as long as the were returned to horizontal on a regular basis.
February 5th, 2008
i thought of that, but wonder if i just put the nozzles on the bottom side so most ink runs down. i do not know if pick up tubes are used if they are then i would have to add ink to the reservior to keep it above the tubes to keep it fed.
i may just cut open a cart and find out what is going on.
February 5th, 2008
ok just cut open a lexmark print cart, its just foam, and a pickup hole in the bottom. If i can figure out the pinouts on the cart i should be able to use it. Could also add a permanent reservoir supply above it like an iv, and not worry about the positioning. as the cart would be full at all times.
April 2nd, 2008
Who wants to make some $$?? I have a project if anyone is interested. I need to have a flatbed printer built that will print on grains of rice!!! If you can do it I will pay.
September 6th, 2008
Just want to know if you can do this for a Epson printer?
I want to to convert a Epson 4400 into a flat plate printer like yours. I want to print directly on T-shirt.
September 6th, 2008
It is possible. I have converted an epson to a moving platen printer as have others, search DTG on youtube.
September 6th, 2008
Hi Chan,
I agree with Graham, You should have no problem since all scanners use the same principle for movement. Find the stepper motor and connect it to your own circuit.