A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Built a scanner? Started to build a scanner? Record your progress here. Doesn't need to be a whole scanner - triggers and other parts are fine. Commercial scanners are fine too.

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Louroboros
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by Louroboros »

I'm very excited to share that my book cradle is about 98% completed. I only have to put the shelf liner on the angled boards. I didn't take pictures of the drawer sliders on the bottom, but they are the extra special 3-rail sliders, and they're smooth as butter. I knocked out the stops on both sides, so there's nothing keeping it from sliding in either direction. I first used some cheaper two rail, and no matter how much I greased them, I could feel both of them bind up in the middle somewhere... MADDENING.

On the top side I used linoleum cement to fix the bracket stop (the lighter colored strip of board) to the left side end of the base board. You can also see that I was forced to use the skinnier 90-degree shelf brackets to the the back side of the angled boards. We just didn't have those wider 3" brackets anywhere I looked (aside from ordering some somewhere), but these might work okay.

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On the right side I used a cooling rack like you suggested on your Instructables; unfortunately these are the kind of cooling racks that have wires in both directions. They were all that Walmart had, sadly. I'm not sure they're going to work out as they are, but I can always go back and snip out the bottom wires where the brackets will be sitting to help the bracket edge sit more firmly in place when scanning. I worry it might slip out, because of the shallow dip between wires.

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Hopefully my next post will have the tube framework wrapped and completed. I've yet to attach the platen and camera arms but everything's cut and ready to go.

Thanks again for your work and inspiration, David!! :D
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davidlandin
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by davidlandin »

It is looking very good ! I don't think the right side of the book support with the cooling racks will slip too much.

Another way I have just thought of for positioning the right side of the book support might be to use that wonderful non-slip drawer liner that I've used on the book supports to stop the book slipping around. If you stuck down some of that on the baseboard that would be excellent to stop the book support from moving around.
non-slip.png
non-slip.png (450.93 KiB) Viewed 9255 times

This might work . . . .

David Landin
L.Willms
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My ideas for a new scanner design using ... extruded aluminum profiles instead of plastic tubing

Post by L.Willms »

Thanks for all your ideas and work and explanations. I appreciate the genie of using what is just available, and making the best of it. I learned a lot from reading the thread.

I like especially the design of the cradle with its two legs being moveable, and moving the cradle's base horizontally on those small drawer slides guided by the base structure, and the idea of lifting and lowering the platen by a sea-saw mechanism instead of a lift moving it vertically.

If I build my own book scanner I would use extruded aluminium profiles instead of the PVC tubes, in preference parts from the "Combitech" system of the German company Alfer. These are expressely designed for building structures. These included various connectors like this 90º nodal connector, 4 spigots for the 23.5 mm square tubes
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connecting four directions in 90° angles. Those connectors are simply plugged into the square tube. Besides aluminium, they offer also parts in steel, brass and plastic.

For the simplicity of the construction I would also stick with the 90° angle of the platen and cradle.

There are, I believe, other manufacturers offering similar systems, but I can't remember their names. User "Truth" (another Bible scanner, from Australia) used in his "Truth Time Machine" parts from the [urlhttp://www.item24.de/en/products/building-kit- ... ystem.html]MB Building Kit for Mechanical Engineering[/url] by another German company, "item Industrietechnik". While Alfer's systems are geared towards "DIY enthusiasts and tradespeople" and "available in all of Europe’s home improvement stores", those from Item24 are geared towards industrial appplications.

Instead of gluing or screwing the two sides of the platen together, I think of putting in a frame of such aluminium profiles, in a way that this can be disassemblied and the two plexiglass parts stored laying flat.

I think about a square structure with a "roof" above the platen, so that the seasaw could hold the platen assembly at the two long ends of the top ridge of the (open) "roof".

And the seasaw itself working sideways. I see one advantage in a two hand operation - the left hand moving the seasaw, and the right hand moving the pages. It also eliminates the curve which the end of the seasaw, so that the (minimal) differences of this curve being compansated by the horizontal movement of the cradle assembly.

So far my thoughts (I have more), with hopes that my english is understandable, and eagerly waiting for comments.
L.Willms
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Re: My ideas for a new scanner design using ... extruded aluminum profiles instead of plastic tubing

Post by L.Willms »

L.Willms wrote:User "Truth" (another Bible scanner, from Australia) used in his "Truth Time Machine" parts from the [urlhttp://www.item24.de/en/products/building-kit- ... ystem.html]MB Building Kit for Mechanical Engineering[/url] by another German company, "item Industrietechnik". While Alfer's systems are geared towards "DIY enthusiasts and tradespeople" and "available in all of Europe’s home improvement stores", those from Item24 are geared towards industrial appplications.
I botched the URL for the item catalogue, and could not edit my post, so I have to quote it in order to provide the clickable URL:
MB Building Kit for Mechanical Engineering

BTW, looking at those images of "The Truth" (http://biblepictures.org/scanner/, http://biblepictures.org/building-scanner/ ), I get the impression that they did make a rather poor use the full potential of the "item" tool box with all their linear and angled connectors, fastemers, mechanial drive elements, and much more stuff to build neat and clean looking machines.

One could build an industrial grade really good book scanner with their tool box. Just the glass for the platen would have to come from another source.
duerig
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by duerig »

There are definitely advantages to building a scanner from aluminum extrusion. It would be a good idea to start collecting your ideas in a new thread so they don't get mixed up with David's posts about his plastic tubing scanner.

To see previous thoughts on aluminum scanners, search for aluminum or aluminum extrusion in the forum archives. My own scanner design, the Archivist Quill is a recent example.

While aluminum extrusion is my favorite building material at the moment, there are a lot of advantages to building with pvc tubes as well. PVC tubes are lighter, easier to source locally, easier to cut and form, lighter, and require many fewer fasteners. I like How David's design leverages these advantages. It is something you could walk into any hardware store and leave with most of the pieces.

That being said, I do look forward to seeing what you come up with using an aluminum extrusion toolkit.

-Jonathon Duerig
L.Willms
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by L.Willms »

duerig wrote:While aluminum extrusion is my favorite building material at the moment, there are a lot of advantages to building with pvc tubes as well. PVC tubes are lighter, easier to source locally, easier to cut and form, lighter, and require many fewer fasteners. I like How David's design leverages these advantages. It is something you could walk into any hardware store and leave with most of the pieces.
Well, at least that kind as those from Alfer are also available in many hardware and DIY stores. I know them for decades. The stuff from item, while being higher developed, is probably far beyond my financial means.

I admire the ingenuity of making do with what is at hand, which was pushed to the extreme by Burkhard Fleischer building his collapsible book-scanner from stuff he found in his house, leftovers from earlier computers and printers. I linked to his article series (in German) twice, and a third time here: http://www.heise.de/make/artikel/Buchsc ... 60162.html Or from stuff found in the garbage...

I'll open a thread on my project(s) as soon I have something more than just basic questions.

PS: "ingenuity" in the sense of being clever, not naive
Louroboros
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by Louroboros »

Hi again David - Apologies for using your thread in this manner, but I think I'm having some issues with PM'ing people, you in particular. The messages are sitting in my "Outbox" but I don't think they're going anywhere. Past messages are in my Sent folder, but the latest ones are not, and I can't figure out what to do. I've sent a PM to the Admins as well, again with no response. Please check your inbox, as I cannot get your spreadsheet tested since Dropbox is additionally giving me fits.

Please send me an email if you can if the PM's aren't getting through: hddragon1@yandex.com
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danielcastillo
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by danielcastillo »

Ha pasado un par de años utilizando la plataforma de digitalización David Landin, y hemos realizado la captura de cientos de libros antiguos.... se presta muy bien para esos objetivos y otros.
Es muy fiable el método. Aquí unas notas de prensa donde se explica el modelo digitalización y una vista de la actual plataforma.
Usamos cámaras Reflex marca Canon T3 y T5. Incluimos un paraguas de fotografía, lo cual hace más pareja la iluminación.

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http://www.estrellaarica.cl/impresa/201 ... incipal/8/
cday
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by cday »

That use of reflected light to provide [more] even illumination looks interesting and should significantly assist enhancement of those yellowed pages, especially pages with illustrations that can't be converted to black and white.

Could you post an example output image?
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danielcastillo
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Re: A new scanner design using plastic tubing

Post by danielcastillo »

Este es el resultado con una camara Canon T3, ISO 200, f8, más el paraguas de fotografía formando una bóveda de luz.... las páginas están muy amarillas, pero algo extra de luz ayuda a atenuar los resultados. Aun se puede iluminar más con los ajustes de la cámara, pero temo perder definición en los bordes de las letras.
saludos desde Arica, Chile.

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