Project files

drawbot

Core-XY writing robot with 2040 aluminum alloy frame

Introduction

The price of printer cartridges has gone up again! My kid often asks me to copy her mistakes, which is time-consuming and laborious, and she even complains that my handwriting is ugly. Why not DIY a writing robot that can not only replace me in copying mistakes but also partially replace the printer to save on cartridges?

This project is mainly based on the DrawBot V1.1 (Drawing Robot - Arduino Uno + CNC Shield + GRBL) (opens in a new tab) on Thingiverse (opens in a new tab). The mechanical part of the reference project uses 3D-printed parts, but since I don’t have a 3D printer at hand, I used a 2040 aluminum alloy frame and custom-ordered 5 pieces of 3mm aluminum alloy plates cut by CNC from Taobao. The electronic and software parts are the same as the reference project.

The main reason for making this project is that a DIY writing robot is much simpler than a DIY 3D printer: no Z-axis, no heated bed, no extruder, and it can be controlled with just an Arduino Uno + CNC Shield, with low complexity of the GRBL firmware. I want to use this writing robot as a warm-up before assembling a 3D printer myself.

Directory and File Description

• sw2020/ Contains part models and assembly files for the writing robot, modeled using SolidWorks 2020.
• dxf/ CNC cutting files for 3mm aluminum alloy plates, generated by exporting corresponding part models from the sw2020 folder.
• bom/ Material lists for each component.
• BOM.xls Parts list with reference prices.
• Assemble and User Manual.pdf Assembly and user manual.