Cheap Arduino Controlled 3-Axis Pen Plotter

Intro: Cheap Arduino Controlled 3-Axis Pen Plotter

The purpose of this project was to make a 3-axis pen plotter as cheaply as I possibly could.  Assuming you already have an Arduino it ended up costing me $30 to build.  Please understand that the stepper motors that are inside CD-ROMS are not strong.  If the pen comes down too far it will stop the motors from moving.  This will not harm the motors but I thought it would be worth mentioning.  But if you are looking for a cheap way to experiment with 3-axis's this might be for you. 

The program reads binary 0's & 1s stored in a word array in row/column fashion & then controls the motors accordingly.  You can change what it prints by changing the data in the "image" array.  It's pretty basic & shouldn't be too hard to understand or change to fit your wants better.

I included the schematic I followed for wiring the H-Bridge Motor Drivers (SN754410NE).  I apologize for not having a complete schematic I have not found an easy way to make them.  I used an LM317 5V regulator for each H-bridge, but honestly since I used a computer power supply to give me 5V you shouldn't even need the LM317's.  You could just take the 5v from the power supply & wire it to each H-Bridge.  In my case I built the control board before choosing a power supply.


Part List                                                              Quantity     CostTotal
H-Bridge Motor Driver 1A (SN754410NE)                3              $2.35       $29.25
Voltage Regulator (LM317)                                      3            ~$1.95
10uF/25V Capacitor                                                  3             ~$0.45
Used CD-ROM                                                           3             ~$5.00

Arduino Duemilanove/UNO   (This indestructible assumes that you already have one) ;)     

If you don't already have an Arduino the total cost will be closer to $60.00.

In case you don't want to download the zip file, the code is below:

//Beginning

#include <Stepper.h>

// change this to the number of steps on your motor
#define STEPS 200

// create an instance of the stepper class, specifying
// the number of steps of the motor and the pins it's
// attached to
Stepper stepperX(STEPS, 6, 7, 8, 9);     //x (top) platform
Stepper stepperY(STEPS, 2, 3, 4, 5);     //y (bottom) platform
Stepper stepperZ(STEPS, 10, 11, 12, 13); //z pen

int x_inc = 0;
int y_inc = 0;
int z_pos = 0;

word image[16] = {
  0b0000001110000000,
  0b0010011111000100,
  0b0010001110000100,
  0b0010000100000100,
  0b0011111111111100,
  0b0000011111000000,
  0b0000011111000000,
  0b0000001110000000,
  0b0000011111000000,
  0b0000011111000000,
  0b0000110001100000,
  0b0001100000110000,
  0b0001100000110000,
  0b0011100000111000,
  0b0011100000111000,
  0b1111111111111111
};


void setup()
{
  // set the speed of the motors to 60 RPMs
  stepperX.setSpeed(60); //bottom (60rpm)
  stepperY.setSpeed(60); //top (60rpm)
  stepperZ.setSpeed(60); //Pen (60rpm);
  delay(2000);
}

void loop()
{

    for(int row = 0; row < 16; row++) {

      penUp();

      stepperX.step(-x_inc);
      x_inc = 0; 

      for(int column = 0; column < 16; column++){
        boolean pixel = bitRead(image[row],column);
        if(pixel == 1){

          penDown();

          //move X-Axis forward 5 steps for each bit in the array
          stepperX.step(10);
          x_inc = x_inc + 10;
          delay(15);
        }
        else{

          penUp();

          //move X-Axis forward 5 steps for each bit in the array
          stepperX.step(10);
          x_inc = x_inc + 10;
          delay(15);

        }
      }

      penUp();

      //Position Y-Axis for next row
      stepperY.step(10);
      y_inc = y_inc + 10;
      delay(15);
    }

  penUp();

  //Return X/Y-Axis back to home position
  stepperX.step(-x_inc);
  stepperY.step(-y_inc);

  //Endless Loop
  while(1){
  }

}


void penDown()
{
  //if the pen is raised
  if (z_pos == 0){
    //move the pen to the paper
    stepperZ.step(83); 
    delay(15);
    z_pos = 83;
  }
}

void penUp()
{
  //if the pen against the paper
  if(z_pos == 83){
    //move pen away from paper
    stepperZ.step(-83);
    delay(15);
    z_pos = 0;
  }
}

//END

Comments

[mohammad-arar]

here is my version :D

[mohameds396]

what is the code the you use

[mkarim5]

How can i use gcode ...u dont mansion this

[davidhend]

For this project I did not use Gcode to create the image; instead program draws from binary data.

There are pen plotter on instructables that do use gcode though, you can search their site for "gcode + plotter" and will find lots of examples. Have fun & good luck.

[BenjaminM71]

I'm currently trying to build your project, but I don't have 3 stepmotors. I've therefore been trying to use a servomotor in the z-axis, but it doesn't seem to work..

I have replaced the stepperZ with 'Servo servoZ;' and set the position to 0 and defined it as 'servoZ.attach(8);' in the void setup.

During the loop, I have edited the Pen Up and down to the following:

void penDown()

{

//if the pen is raised

if (z_pos == 0){

//move the pen to the paper

servo.write(20);

delay(15);

z_pos = 20;

}

}

void penUp()

{

//if the pen against the paper

if(z_pos == 20){

//move pen away from paper

servo.write(-20);

delay(15);

z_pos = 0;

}

}

Do you know what I've been doing wrong?

[davidhend]

The first thing that comes to mind is the pin you connected the servo to. From my understanding you will need to connect the servo to a "PWM" (pulse-width-modulation) capable pin. On a Arduino UNO those pins are, 3,5,6,9,10,11.

With that in mind, you could modify the following line: 'servoZ.attach(8);' to

'servoZ.attach(9);' and connect your servo to Pin 9. Good luck.

[RenatoS5]

Is it possible to use this for 3d printing?

[davidhend]

Maybe; I would think the hardest part would be the software. On the hardware side of things you could replace the pen with a glue gun heat element. I can't imagine that the prints will be all that good; but it might be fun to play with regardless. Have fun and good luck.

[RenatoS5]

I'll try and post the results.

[JacobK1]

Great project, I am just a little confused on how your capacitors are connected in the circuit. I am actually building it right now and I have found that the caps are necessary for the motors to run properly. If you could give a guy a hand and explain how you they go into the circuit that would be awesome?

[INVENTORMOHAMED]

from where can i download the steps sorry im new in this site :)

[larocca]

Here my version:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152419138433225&l=4664614081476599468

[amorgan18]

Olá, como faço para criar outros códigos para gerar outras imagens, algum programa que converta imagens em códigos binários, ou algo do tipo, Obrigado...

[davidhend]

No código de exemplo, eu inseridos manualmente os dados binários para fazer a imagem . Você pode fazer o mesmo se quiser, eu não olhei para ver se o seu é um programa para automatizar a tarefa ; pode valer a pena uma pesquisa. Boa sorte e se divertir.

[agentjenks]

Hi, cool project! One thing that confuses me is whether or not the power supply has to be very high current as well? I found two little phone charger type things, both 5v, and one is around 500mA and the other was 1200mA, but I know that computer power supplies produce a much higher current. If each motor requires around 400mA, will the 1200mA work? Thanks

[davidhend]

Thanks, I appreciate it : ) I would think you could get away with using the 1200mA 5V supply. You should check the power supply every once and a while to make sure it is staying cool; warm to the touch is okay but hot is not.

[agentjenks]

Thanks!

[zextron]

Here is mine! Thanks for sharing!

http://youtu.be/70jekaZHsSQ

[davidhend]

That's really cool; thanks for sharing also : )

[gmoenik]

Next Step GCode.. rsrsrs!..