Tag Archives: drawbot

DrawBot Resources and Links

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I’ve moved the latest updated version of this post to my website dedicated to “v-plotter” drawing robots.  Check it out!

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As I’m gathering the parts and the courage to build my own Drawbot, I’m keeping track of the various resources I’m using.  Since I’ll be documenting my success1 here, it would be nice to have the online resources I’m using organized in one place.  To this end, and in furtherance of this goal, and without further ado, I bring you an ever growing list of resources.2

Verbosely yours,

MakerBlock

Update:

  • 2013/04/01:  Link to Vertical Plotter on Arduino.cc, DrawBug by Tinkerdays, Whiteboard plotter, and Giant Printer
  • 2013/02/14:  Link to Erik the WallPlotter.
  • 2013/01/25:  Link to Gontarcyyk.org
  • 2012/08/27:  Link to Stuart Childs’ DRBO Polargraph
  • 2012/08/15:  Link to Michael Cooks’ Polargraph build at Foobarsoft.com
  • 2012/06/27: Link to Drawing Machine (Thanks LineKernel!)
  • 2012/04/19:  Link to Facebook Wall Robot
  • 2012/04/16:  Link to Norwegian Creations’ Drawing Machine
  • 2012/04/10:  Link to SmoothOctopus and Dan Royer’s Drawbot! (Thanks Dan!)
  • 2012/03/26:  Link to GarabatoBOT
  • 2012/03/18:  Link to Dealywhopper’s Mr. Scratchy
  • 2012/02/16:  Added links to John Cliff’s “Ugly Cousin” DrawBot
  • 2012/02/12: Added link to Viktor
  • 2012/01/30: Added Lanthan’s printable Krizlerbot Polargraph gondola
  • 2012/01/27:  Added more info about James Provost’s InternBot and several other DrawBots
  • 2012/01/19:  Updated to include link to Matthew Venn’s energy monitoring Polargraph
  • 2012/01/09:  Updated to include link to Matt Met’s Whiteboard drawbot!  Thanks for the link Matt!

Links:

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  1. Or, alternatively, EPIC failures [↩]
  2. Some of which were borrowed from Sandy Noble‘s site [↩]
  3. Instructions for Adafruit motor shield assembly [↩]
  4. Includes parts list! [↩]
  5. The Make Magazine contest ended 3/3/2011 [↩]
  6. The last one is just a graffiti/painter robot that paints on far off walls by shooting a paintball gun at the surface.  It’s really quite awesome. [↩]

Wanna make a DrawBot?

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So, I wanna make a drawbot.  While there are any number of draw-bots and art-bots out there, the kind I would really like to make is the kind that suspends a pen or a pen in a carriage on a wall by two wires or cords that are reeled in and out in order to allow the pen to draw across a large sheet of paper hung on a wall.  The Der Kritzler, in the video below, is an example of the most recently updated of such projects:

Another great reason to point out the Der Kritzler is that it links to so many other similar resources.  The other links below are for similar well documented projects.

The last one is just a graffiti/painter robot that paints on far off walls by shooting a paintball gun at the surface.  It’s really quite awesome.  Since several of these people have already actually built drawbots, I’m thinking there must be a reason for not using simpler/cheaper methods for construction.

When I conceive of such a device, I think that the kind I would want would not even need a pen lift, since it would draw in a TSP / traveling salesman problem single-line-art format.  The basic common setup is to have two stepper motor, one controlling each string or, as in the case of the Der Kritzler, two toothed belts.  However, why wouldn’t someone just use a reel of fishing line, nylon cord, or whatever that is reeled in and out on a spool that is directly connected to the stepper?

Anyhow, it would seem that the project would require an Arduino, two stepper controllers, two stepper motors, a servo motor if pen lifts are required, string, and a bunch of parts that could be printed such as pulleys, gears, carriages, mounts, etc.  Now the only thing I have to overcome is my total and complete ignorance when it comes to connecting an Arduino to anything and then, you know, programming it.  :)

Sooo…  Is this a project that interests you?  Or is this a project that holds no interest for you, but the idea of helping with a project interests you?  Where should I begin?  (I’m guessing buying an Arduino…)

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