A DIY Book Scanner In Every Hackerspace /DIY Kit

[dbmoura]

I am very busy and I can't update a list of part yet but here are some images of what I have done.
I succeed using "miniature" solenoids 12V mounted in paralell and switched by a microswitch recovered from a old printer going for recycling. The microswitch is mounted on the base and at the end of the course of the cradle. I would built an adjustable device with small spring to manage the height differences of books. But I am very happy with the automatic shooting of the cameras.
I also found the two "spring balancer" (adjustable between 1-3kg) mounted as you can see in the pictures. I was able to manipulate the arm with a single finger with a book of 3kg.
So one finger in the arm and one for turning pages, up to now it is testing and going well, let's see in a fast work >1000 pages per hour.

The cable from the Spring Balancer is attached directly to vertical piece of the arm.
http://www.amazon.com/Yards-Black-Nylon ... 165&sr=1-1

[daniel_reetz]

I'm working on editing the shopping list; a couple notes here.

The inner diameter of skateboard bearings is 5/16" or 8mm. In the current shopping list there are (quantity 25) 1/4" bolts and nuts. I haven't cut the latest artwork yet (still working the bugs out of my CNC) but 5/16" should be the correct bolt size. Am I wrong about this?

As for bolt length, my bolts are all 1.5", and all the same. I never used the matching nuts on my design because the wood held them well enough for my demos.

The only 1/4 20 bolts, if I understand the current version correctly, should be the ones holding the cameras in place.

Here are some explanatory pictures:

1. The bolts that are holding my scanner together.

516_Fastenal_bolts.jpg (221.38 KiB) Viewed 7944 times

2. Here is one of these bolts held against the lifter arm, so you can see the depth. You can see also that I never put the nut inside the pocket. For long-term use, I would have to do that.

bolt_Depth.jpg (214.42 KiB) Viewed 7944 times

3. You can see here that I am not using a nut on the reverse side of the topmost lifter arm hinge piece thingy. The bolt does not go through far enough to do so. For long term, hard-use it would be best to buy a 2" bolt for this part and put a nut on it. However, I've had zero problems with this setup.

not_using_nuts_just_using_the_pocket.jpg (189.55 KiB) Viewed 7944 times

4. Another comment on bolt depth. There is a washer in between the two pieces of wood and the skate bearing, to space things out.

5. Those washers are from Fastenal. They have the important property that they hug the bolt, but the outer diameter is small enough that they don't scrape on the outside of the skate bearing.

washers_.jpg (261.08 KiB) Viewed 7944 times

I want to apologize for not having this list together earlier. Moving across the state ruined most of my plans and made a lot of this much harder than it really should have been. I very much appreciate the help with getting this DIY Book Scanner Shopping List together.

[jck57]

Outstanding design on the solenoid trigger. Using springs as you have done protects the camera button from too much force. If you had a screw in the wood where it contacts the solenoid armature, this screw could adjust for cameras of different heights. Great work.

[rob]

The inner diameter of skateboard bearings is 5/16" or 8mm. In the current shopping list there are (quantity 25) 1/4" bolts and nuts. I haven't cut the latest artwork yet (still working the bugs out of my CNC) but 5/16" should be the correct bolt size. Am I wrong about this?

You have it right: I changed the sizes to 5/16"-18.

As for bolt length, my bolts are all 1.5", and all the same. I never used the matching nuts on my design because the wood held them well enough for my demos.

I changed this to 2.5", since from Dario's drawings, some of the bolts will go through 2" of wood.

Those washers are from Fastenal. They have the important property that they hug the bolt, but the outer diameter is small enough that they don't scrape on the outside of the skate bearing.

Added!

Many thanks to mellow-yellow for putting up the list and kicking us hard to get us started!

[daniel_reetz]

Dario, that spring balancer looks awesome. Does it have enough "extension" to follow the cradle all the way up and down?

[dbmoura]

The spring balancer has 1,5 m of cable. When it is adjusted to the maximum pressure of the spring it will limit the cable by half of the course, I suppose. But it is more then 3 kg, between 1-3kg it has the full course.

[dbmoura]

Answering your question, even hanging the spring balancer up to the bar (cover stretcher) it has plenty of cable length (150 cm) to leave the arm and cradle in full swing.

[rob]

So, going back to Dan's mention of a seatpost for the handle, I determined that anything about 1" in diameter should work for the handle, since the bicycle brake levers are designed to clamp over that diameter, plus or minus.

The only problem with seatposts is that they all look like hollow tubes, with no possibility of bolting them through bearings.

What we need is either something about 1" in diameter with a 5/16" thread on the end, or some combination of parts which equal such a thing. Perhaps, for example, a 12" long 5/16" threaded rod which goes through the seatpost, with washers and nuts at the end. Or something.

(edit:) Actually, based on what ateeq85 did, we could probably do something like this:

IMG_0006.JPG (93.21 KiB) Viewed 7907 times

Ideas?

[ateeq85]

That was my original plan to use a threaded rod instead of a carriage bolt but I forgot to order it when I paced my order with fastenal. I didn't use a nearing in my scanner just like cfmorrill I didn't like the always turning thing I like my handle in one place and the brake handle can be adjusted after its tightened so i didn't find a need for the bearings. I think I planned to get a 10" threaded rod for my 8" straight seatpost.

I think a handle like what Dan used in his version 3 scanner would be good for this build even a button like he used to trigger his cameras in that build but I think it would be nice if a setup like that could trigger two solenoids to trigger the cameras from one button attached to the handle

[ateeq85]

Also a reminder that may have been forgotten GaryK came up with a PVC pipe solution for the handle in the same way the seatpost is used.