Plotters and drawing robots are fun projects that allow you to create art with all the precision and perfection that numerical computer control can provide. [TUENHIDIY] demonstrates that skillfully with the Multicolor DrawBot.
The build is based on a simple XY Cartesian design, using a pair of NEMA 17 stepper motors. It is built in the typical CoreXY fashion, with GRBL firmware on an Arduino Uno.
True [TUENHIDIY] getting creative is in the pen itself. Instead of using a simple ballpoint pen or marker, a retractable multicolored pen is used instead. With the multicolored pen on board, [TUENHIDIY] points out the importance of limit switches in the design. This allows the ‘bot’ to make multiple passes, each in a different color, to build up a multicolored image. Without the limit switches, it would be impossible to align each subsequent pass.
We’d like to see the build expanded even further with a servo-based system to automatically switch colors. As it is, right [TUENHIDIY] has a capable plotter that can deliver neat multicolored artwork.
One of the most curious uses of plotters in recent times is those used to send fake handwritten letters through the postal system. Video after the break.
This post Multicolored Drawbot emphasizes the importance of limit switches
was original published at “https://hackaday.com/2022/04/15/multicolor-drawbot-highlights-importance-of-limit-switches/”