Tag Archives: drawing robot

Two new DrawBot links! And an update!

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Thanks to Dan Royer, I’ve added two new links to my really huge list of DrawBots.  That brings the total to 28 drawing robots! 1  That’s a really incredible number of people who have shared documentation for their hard work.  Six months ago I wouldn’t have guessed there were more than a dozen such projects on the ‘net.  Clearly, the six-month-younger version of me is a fool.  Thank god I know better, eh?

So, Dan appears to be using an Arduino + Adafruit motor shield, much like I’m using, but he’s running custom Gcode software with a Java GUI.  It looks like Dan was wrestling with the problem of how to maximize drawing speed without causing his ‘bot to hang over the serial connection.  If he gets some decent speed out of his setup, I’m definitely going to give that a shot.

Unfortunately, I haven’t done much in the way of robotic drawings lately.  After experimenting with TSP drawings and finding out they would take an excruciatingly long time I set my drawbot aside for a little while.  Fortunately, Sandy’s been on the case and has worked out a new firmware version that might prove to be twice as fast as the one I’m currently using.

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  1. <queue thunder and lightning> 28! 28 drawing robots!  Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! [↩]

Restarting a Stalled DrawBot Drawing

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Over the last two days or so I’ve drawn the largest picture yet with my DrawBot.  I started it on Friday night and, with numerous pauses and other misadventures, finished it this morning.  The drawing is roughly 12″ x 18″ or so. 1  With no apparent rhyme or reason the drawing would pause numerous times.  I would estimate about 25 or so.  Also, the pen had a difficult time towards the end.  I believe this was in part due to the angle of the pen on the drawing surface and the quantity of the ink left.  As of this morning I was still using version 1.1.2, but I’m installing version 1.1.4 right now. 2

Here are some additional thoughts:

  • In an earlier post I had mentioned I was having stalling problems while drawing.  Sandy asked whether I was able to change serial ports to a different one and back again.  The answer is “sort of.”
  • When there’s a stall, here’s what I do:
    1. Click “SETUP->SERIAL PORT…“
    2. Click on some other serial port other than the one I’ve been using
    3. Disconnect and then immediately reconnect the USB cable from the computer
    4. Click on the original serial port I had been using
    5. As soon as the Drawbot reestablishes a connection with the Polargraph controller software, it starts drawing right where it left off
  • I used to export a copy of the existing queue before doing all of this, and while it is still a very good idea, it doesn’t seem necessary.
  • This exact process has worked several times in a row without a problem.  Interestingly, step number 3 above3 is critical.  If I exclude this step the program crashes.
  • For this drawing I used a Pilot Precise Rolling Ball V5, extra fine tip, black.  I had used a red pen of the same make for a prior drawing and it worked reasonably well.
  • I’m in the process of designing a new pen gondola.  I think something that can angle the pen downwards would help the pen apply ink to the page.
  • Interestingly, I noticed after about 80% of the drawing was done the pen had a little bit of paper fuzz on it.  Once I removed this, the pen seemed to work a lot better.
  • The pen stopped drawing completely after about 85% of the drawing over all.  This was a bit disappointing.  However, since I was drawing from the top right to the bottom left and the version of the Polargraph controller I was using allows you to specify which area to start from, I just restarted the same drawing from the bottom right corner and ended up with a very satisfactory result.

In other words, it’s a nice day to start again.

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  1. I rolled it up and gave it to a friend before I thought to take a photogram [↩]
  2. One of Sandy’s latest posts suggests there’s a 1.1.5 available, but I couldn’t find it. [↩]
  3. The disconnect and reconnection of the USB cable from the computer [↩]

DrawBot – The Assembly, Part VI

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Okay!  It was a good day for drawing robots in the MakerBlock household!  Here’s what we got accomplished:

  • I designed some motor mounts, printed one… and had to redesign it.  Gotta love having a 3D printer!
  • I selected a long shallow pine box to hold the motors and electronics.
  • I tried a variety of sound insulating materials.  Bubble wrap was easily the most effective, but least practical.  I settled on some corrugated cardboard.  I placed some cardboard between the motor and the motor mount and between the motor mount and the wood.
  • I soldered some longer wires to the motor leads.
  • I drilled holes in the wooden box, attached some monofilament line to the spools, put the spools on the motors, mounted the motors, ran the leads to the Arduino, powered it up… and it moved around and stuff!

As this point the next step is to mount it on the wall and actually attempt to draw stuff.  Yay!

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DrawBot – The Assembly, Part V

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I just finished soldering the Adafruit Motor Shield … this time with all the bits in the correct places.  The Adafruit directions are incredibly detailed, I just soldered a few parts in wrong like an idiot last time. This time it went much smoother and much quicker.

I just wired up the two steppers, plugged in the power adapter, plugged in the USB cable, uploaded the Polargraph firmware, fired up the Polargraph software, and asked it to try to draw something.  And it started to twitch away in what appeared to be a meaningful pattern!!!

Huzzah!

Now… for sleep!

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DrawBots for the slow learner

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Today I bugged several people far more knowledgeable than I about Arduinos, drawbots, steppers, servos, and power supplies.  Here’s what I’ve learned:

Having just salvaged a bunch of parts from some old electronics this weekend, I think I’m ready to pull the trigger and start building this bad boy.  :)

Yay for learning!

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DrawBot, the Adventure Begins

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Update:  If you want to find the latest on my DrawBot adventures and build log, check out this link!

Okay!  I think I’m ready to do this!  Is anyone interested in playing along at home?  Let’s give this a whirl!  Here’s what I’m thinking:

  1. Type.  There are at least three distinct drawing styles among the various drawbots.  However, I suspect this is mostly a software issue.  Der Kritzler draws with lines or little cross marks.  The Polargraph draws large “square” pixels.  Harvey Moon’s Drawing Machine draws tight concentric circles.  I’m not sure I have a preference among the various methods and, really, I suspect any differences really lie in the software, not the specific hardware setup.  In any case, for a variety of reasons, explained below, I’m going to try to build a Polargraph based drawbot.
  2. Documentation.  I like the Polargraph for its use of off-the-shelf parts like an Arduino and Adafruit motorshield and for its documentation.  The Make Magazine drawing machine also has a lot of documentation – but it is a very from-scratch design and there are some important images that are broken in the tutorials.  Der Kritzler also has decent documentation, but it appears to be more technical than I’m comfortable with at the moment.  One other huge benefit to the Polargraph is that Sandy Noble is still publishing updates for it – as recently as yesterday.
  3. Parts.  Der Kritzler uses expensive toothed belts, the Polargraph uses (plastic) beaded cord with weights, and Harvey Moon’s drawing machine uses something with weights – probably beaded cord.  The most interesting variation for me is monofilament spool method used by the Make Magazine system.  It has a weight on the “gondola” / printhead itself and winds/unwinds filament off the spool.  The benefit for me with this system is that it won’t have unnecessary hanging and swinging weights associated with each of the two cords.  When one has kids and cats it is best to minimize attractive nuisances.
  4. Sourcing.  Adafruit is out of their motor shields, so it looks like the MakerShed is going to be my best bet for picking up Polargraph-style parts.  An added bonus is that the MakerShed is located in Sebastopol, which is only a two-hour drive from my place in the SF Bay Area.  While I’m not about to drive four hours to save $15-$20 in shipping, it does mean the parts will get here quickly.
    1. Arduino: $30 @ the MakerShed
    2. Adafruit Motor Shield: $20 @ the MakerShed
    3. Stepper motors (one for each side): $10-$38/each.  However, which should I buy?!
    4. Servo motor (for pen lifts):  $15-$20.  However, which should I buy?!
    5. Power supply:  There are lots!  Which should I buy?!  Will I need a second to power the steppers?
    6. Since I’m planning to build a working Polargraph style robot using a monofilament spool rather than beaded cord, I’m going to forgo the beaded cord for the moment.  If I need the beaded cord, I can just print the gear/sprockets later. 1

Anyhow, your input on which steppers, servos, and power supplies is greatly appreciated.

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  1. Don’t you just love having your own 3D printing robot?! [↩]

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!

***

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. [↩]