The "Non-Destructive Guillotine" ("NDG") Scanner
Posted: 22 Apr 2016, 04:39
It's been six years since I built my first scanner. I got interested again in the topic last fall, and have been lurking here since, reading up on the developments of the community. I'm excited to share what I think is a new design: I call it the "Non-Destructive Guillotine," because it features a vertically-sliding platen (like a guillotine) but doesn't involve cutting the spines off of the books to be scanned.
I had three goals with this design:
This build uses what in the USA is called "Schedule 40" 3/4-inch PVC pipe. It's thicker than normal PVC, and thus doesn't need to be glued together to be structurally stable. This makes it ideal for a project like this, since it can be (1) easily disassembled, and (2) easily expanded (it would be trivial, for example, to add additional lighting arms to this build, or arms on which to hang a black drape).
A video of the scanner's construction and use is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkwZCIYd0pg. Below are some photos of the scanner (without my camera attached) and sample images from an out-of-copyright book:
In addition, I've published a full parts list, price list, and cut list (for cutting down the PVC and other materials), here: http://adunumdatum.org/an-introduction- ... anner.html (I'd be happy to re-publish them here, as well).
The scanner design is released into the Public Domain via a CC0 dedication.
I had three goals with this design:
- It needed to be inexpensive to build (preferably for less than $100 in parts, plus the cost of a single camera).
- It needed to be able to fit into a backpack or other small carrying case (I built another scanner in November 2015, which I'll post about in the future, which was over-engineered and is too large to fit even into a suitcase).
- Preferably, it needed to be able to be built without power tools. Although I have a tool collection now, when I was an undergraduate, I only had access to a power drill (no circular saws, drill presses, etc.). Thus, building a scanner as an undergraduate was made difficult mostly by my inability cut materials such as wood without help. I wanted this build to be accessible to my younger self – something, for example, that a group of students living in dormitories or studio apartments could build and share.
This build uses what in the USA is called "Schedule 40" 3/4-inch PVC pipe. It's thicker than normal PVC, and thus doesn't need to be glued together to be structurally stable. This makes it ideal for a project like this, since it can be (1) easily disassembled, and (2) easily expanded (it would be trivial, for example, to add additional lighting arms to this build, or arms on which to hang a black drape).
A video of the scanner's construction and use is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkwZCIYd0pg. Below are some photos of the scanner (without my camera attached) and sample images from an out-of-copyright book:
In addition, I've published a full parts list, price list, and cut list (for cutting down the PVC and other materials), here: http://adunumdatum.org/an-introduction- ... anner.html (I'd be happy to re-publish them here, as well).
The scanner design is released into the Public Domain via a CC0 dedication.