Wall Mounted Pen Plotter

Things You've Made
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Well, the bleak midwinter has arrived and as promised I am starting this thread with build details on a wall mounted pen plotter I have been working on. For anyone who is interested in building one, here is a summary of the project. I recommend reading this post before you dive in. I intend to provide much more detail (in future posts) regarding parts lists, 3d printed models, hardware, software, wiring, etc., so no need to ask for that just yet. Please be patient and it will all be made available.

Summary: The build is relatively easy. It’s just like any other pen plotter out there, except it’s a lot bigger than most, its wall mounted (most sit on a table top), and it can grab pens as needed out of a tool bin. Once all the parts are in hand, it goes together nicely. The devil is in the software. Specifically, I am talking about generating the gcode to send to the thing. More on that later…

Material: With the exception of a small spring in the pen holder, the Jackpot board, and wood for the backing, everything is available on Amazon or your favorite CNC maker parts outlet. I will upload the models for all the 3d printed parts when I get a little more organized. Obviously, if you choose to build a box frame for the thing like I did, you’ll need to source that wood locally.

Electronics: V1E Jackpot board running FluidNC

Software/gcode: Here’s the rub. I’ve spent lots of time and expect to spend lots more time coding a custom interface that provides a somewhat automated process that imports pictures, converts them to lines then gcode then sends them to FluidNC with a few taps on a tablet. It will also make generative art derived from mathematical algorithms (similar to Sandify). I’m not going to make that software available (mainly because it’s highly customized and a mess right now), however, I will do my best to point anyone interested in the right direction do all that manually. Meaning, you use any number of available software programs out there (GRBL Plotter, Sandify, Plotter Fun, Drawing Bot, etc. ) to create the gcode files which you can then upload and run via the FluidNC UI. Knowledge of GRBL is required in order to integrate the tool (pen) selection code into the gcode created by the aforementioned software.

Here are some recent plots…

This is a computer generated plot from some code I wrote that was inspired from the Sandify code. It is one continuous line of 380 concentric circles, influenced by a Perlin Noise field modified exponentially by the radius. Total distance of pen travel is 1814 feet. (I will try to embed a video of the plot at the end of this post.)
(One pen, Uni-ball Power Tank, 6.5 hours)

PXL_20241209_140613619
PXL_20241209_1406136191512Ă—1716 173 KB

This was created by a raster image to line conversion algorithm.
(Two pens, Pigma Micron and Uni-ball Power Tank, 14 hours)

PXL_20250105_134454566
PXL_20250105_1344545661512Ă—2688 400 KB

Another raster image to line conversion algorithm. This is a slightly narrower version of the original plotter. Sizing the frame is fairly easy.
(Two pens, Pigma Micron and Uni-ball Power Tank, 12 hours)

PXL_20241206_160054336
PXL_20241206_1600543361512Ă—2688 345 KB

Here is a short video of part of the first plot pictured above. Watching this thing draw is as good, if not better than the finished plot. Like a ZenXY, it’s about the journey, not just the destination.

I will post the BOM, 3d printer files, build details, over the next few days/weeks.

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Oh, wow. Those are fantastic!

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Stunning :heart_eyes:

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Impressive! I just subscribed to you on YT.

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It’s not much of a “channel”. More like a random collection of bad videos.:slightly_smiling_face: Everyone I know has an iPhone and I’m an android guy, so if I want to share a video of one of my projects with friends and family, I use YT. Still hoping someone can explain the format that is used to embed a video in a post on this forum (instead of it showing up as a link to YT).

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Wow, that elephant looks especially awesome! This is so cool.

How does grabbing the pens part work?

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I will get to the pen exchange feature, in detail, down the road. I think it’s best to start at the beginning. I’m putting together the parts list now.

Because of the pens I am using and the picture to line conversion algorithm, the elephant is the perfect subject. Anything gray and wrinkly comes out really well.

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Put just the link. Don’t use parentheses or brackets.

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Hmmmm. That’s what I did. On it’s own line I simply pasted the text

https…c6Y

and it automatically turns red and becomes a hyperlink.

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Hmm, I wonder if it doesn’t like it because it’s a YouTube Short.

Edit: Nope. I’m able to embed one of mine just fine but I can’t get your link to work either.

I wonder if it has to do with the music tied to it. Maybe those don’t allow for external embedding. Just a guess.

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I am pasting his link which is a “short” and it’s not converting it into a playable video:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gxzjOm0Mc6Y

Now I am removing “/shorts/” and putting “/?v=” at the end but before the video ID string:

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That’s pretty incredible. Thanks for sharing :slight_smile:

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Thanks Doug!! Glad to know I haven’t lost my mind just yet. I’ve edited my original post and will make a note for future reference.

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Frame Parts:

I’ve linked to Amazon where applicable. In some cases, the links point to bulk items that contain more than you need. When it comes to the extrusions and rails, precision isn’t exactly paramount, so there is no need to get the high quality stuff if you want to save a few bucks. There are a few exceptions which I will note. I have left out parts for the wood box frame, including led light strips and stepper motor(s) for paper roller assemblies.

5PCS - 48inch(1220mm) T Slot 2020 Aluminum Extrusion

3PCS - MGN15 1000mm Linear Guide Rails with Carriage Blocks

Note: the two X-axis rails will need MGN15H Carriage Blocks (the longer ones) and the Y-axis rail needs the smaller MGN15C Carriage Block. I found the 1000mm rails to be cheaper than the shorter ones (on Amazon anyways), so you might want to consider buying the longer ones and cutting them to size if you want to make a smaller machine. You’ll need a cut-off wheel (on an angle grinder) to do this. A hack saw ain’t gonna get through them.

3PCS - Nema 17 Stepper Motors 42x42x40 for X(2) and Y

Note: I like the ones that aren’t hard wired so I can make my own wire harness that plugs in on both ends. Get ones that are at least 1.5A and have a holding torque of at least 45Ncm. Some are 40mm deep and others are 39mm deep. You’ll only have about 42mm of depth to play with. Any deeper and the X-axis motors won’t fit. If you make your own wiring harnesses, you’ll need the appropriate pins to crimp on. I typically re-use the connectors that come with the motors.

1PC - 17HS4023 Nema 17 Stepper Motor 42x42x23 for the Z-axis pen lifter

3PCS – GT2 6mm wide, 5mm Bore Pulley Wheels
3PCS – GT2 6mm wide, 5mm Bore Idlers
6 Meters – GT2 6mm Timing belt
Wheel Kit
Belt

Note: I think the first link (Wheel Kit) is no longer available, but you get the idea. I used the cheap belt that came with the pulley/idler kit on the Y-axis, then used the better belt on the X-Axes.

22 Gauge Silicone Wire (for the motors)

28 Gauge Silicone Wire (for the switches)

Note: I like the silicone wire. It is nice and flexible and does well in a crowded drag chain.

1M Drag Chain - 7x7mm (for Y-axis)

1M Drag Chain - 10x11mm (for X-axis)

Black Braided Cable Management Sleeves

Note: Optional. To tidy things up, I use braided cable management sleeves to contain the wire harnesses where they are OUTSIDE of the drag chains. So, I think I used about 8’ of the 1/4” and 2’ of the 3/8”.

3 PCS - Omron SS5GL2 Microswitch (Limit Switches)

1 PC - Mean Well LRS-100-12 Switching Power Supply, Single Output, 12V, 8.5A

4 PCS - LM4UU Linear Ball Bearings, 4mm Bore Dia, 8mm OD, 12mm Length
2 PCS – 4mm Rod, each 120mm long

Note: Don’t cheap out on these. The amazon options are not very good. These are what the pen carriage slides up and down on and if it binds at all, it will be very frustrating. I used Misumi bearings and brass rods (the brass rods are slightly smaller in diameter than the stainless steel ones I found). A little play is better than a snug fit. More on this later.

1 PC - MG90S Micro Servo

Note: I bought a bunch of these (clones) on Amazon a while back and occasionally one will fail. Since I started with 15 of them, it hasn’t been a problem, but finding an original might save you a headache down the road. Good luck finding an original (non clone)

Hardware – I use lots of M3 socket head cap bolts, some M2 and some M4. Something like this will get you started. Bolts

I use M3x10 to hold the rails onto the extrusions so you’ll need more of those. There are also some cases where I use M3 button heads so you might want to buy a box similar to the above link except in button heads. I use blind joints to hold the extrusions together, so I tap the ends of the extrusions and use M6 button heads for that.

M3 Spring Loaded T Nuts. I love these things

20 PCS - #6 x 1/2” Stainless Steel, Phillips head, Sheet Metal Screws to fasten 3d printed brackets to backboard. You’ll need 20 for this, but might as well get a box of 100+ because you’ll use them for the wood box frame if you go with led strip lighting and also attaching cleat hangers for the wall, etc. etc.

60 Pack – 5x2.8mm magnets for pen holder/carriage assembly

If you are going to use rolls of paper, then these are for the friction rollers that hold the paper against the back board (5 top and 5 bottom):

10 PCS – Pinch Rollers 3x11x6

Springs for the roller assemblies

1PC – Spring for pen lifter assembly: 1-5/8” x 7/32 x .015WG
(I found this at my local hardware store).

I’m sure I forgot something, but that’s it for now. I’ll start rounding up the 3d model files. I’ll go with STL unless someone chimes in with a request for a different format. It’ll probably be a few days, so please bear with me.

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Some memories from my build have been jarred loose, so a few more thoughts while they are still in my head…

Don’t assume my links to Amazon are to the least expensive options. Especially the rails (which are the most expensive items). Pricing on those makes no sense.

Speaking of the rails… When I first started, I sourced a 1000mm rail with an MGN15C block for the Y-Axis. When I built my second machine, that was either no longer an option, or it was crazy expensive, so I bought a rail with an MGN15H block and purchased a MGN15C block separately. Same company, yet the 15C block was way too tight on the rail. Turns out the balls in the 15C block were actually a little larger?? Anyways, to make things work, I replaced all the balls in the 15C block with those from the original 15H block and all was well. Fortunately, it wasn’t the other way around or I would not have had enough balls (please no comments from the peanut gallery). This is what you might have to deal with when you go cheap.

I remembered I also used some of these:

3D Printing Brass Nuts, M3x4x5mm Threaded Inserts

You can probably figure a way to do without them, although its not a bad idea to have some brass nuts hanging around :roll_eyes:. I had a bunch left over from a 3d printer build a few years ago, so seemed like a good idea. I think I only used 6 of them (2 on each of the drag chain connectors and a couple on the pen lifter assembly) .

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Wow, That Elephant is amazing! I want one … but I really have no need for one …

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so a self portrait of me basically

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You know i used to want a zen table, maybe i want a drawing table!!!

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Killing me smalls, you already have one!! LowRider 3 Fancy Pen mount by V1 Engineering | Download free STL model | Printables.com

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@Crash_CNC summed it up pretty well.

A CNC router will always be handy for making useful stuff, but a Zen and this plotter thing (whatever you want to call it) are more for ambience. To… impress your guests?

That said, there are a lot of avenues I hope to explore with this drawing machine. Different paper, inks, brush pens… There are a lot of things you can do. Most are easier if it’s a table top (like water colors with a brush). But I’m up for the vertical challenge.

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