My Scanner revisions

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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BillGill
Posts: 139
Joined: 18 Dec 2016, 17:13
E-book readers owned: Calibre, FBReader
Number of books owned: 7000
Country: USA

My Scanner revisions

Post by BillGill »

Since I posted earlier about my scanner I have made some revisions. The main one is that I have changed the camera mounts so that I can position the cameras so that they will be focused on the center of the page. I have some stops set so that the book will always fall at the same place on the cradle.
Stop.jpg
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As you can see the book can easily be kept in the same place while the pages are turned. So the cameras can be mounted to focus on the middle of the pages. But then if the book size changes the camera will not be focused on the center of the page. So I rebuilt the camera mounts so that they can be moved from front to back, and can easily be focused on the middle of the page, no matter what size the book is.

Here is the modified scanner.
CameraSlide-(2).jpg
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AS can be seen the basic difference is that the camera mounting blocks are mounted in troughs so that they cameras can move horizontally. The blocks are held by bolts through a slot in the mounting plate.
CameraSlide-(6).jpg
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The center bolt in this picture is the camera mounting stud. Notice that the head of the stud is set higher than the wing nuts that clamp the mounting block in place. This is so that I can slide the mount without having to release the camera mounting stud. I couldn't find a wing screw long enough to reach through the mounting block and hold the camera, so I made my own. I used a flat headed 1/4-20 machine screw 3 inches long. I ran a wing nut all the way up on the screw and put a drop of Gorilla Glue under it. That seems to have made a good enough mounting screw.
CameraSlide-(9).jpg
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I also extended the wings that the camera mount is attached to. I did this because it seemed that at the distance I had the cameras mounted before the difference in size of the picture in different pi-scan zoom levels was too much. One step was too tight and the next was too loose. So I moved the cameras out and it looks much better now. I may have gotten a little carried away when I used that much material in the wing, I could probably have done it with a narrower wing mounted at the same distance and it might have looked better and weighed a bit less.

Bill
dpc
Posts: 379
Joined: 01 Apr 2011, 18:05
Number of books owned: 0
Location: Issaquah, WA

Re: My Scanner revisions

Post by dpc »

What is the advantage of positioning the bottom (lower edge) of the book against the near side edge of the cradle? Why not just center the book in the cradle and not require the sort of front-to-back adjustment that you've come up with?

You don't seem to have an adjustment along the camera's vertical axis. This is necessary to ensure that the camera is pointing at the center of the page when scanning books with different page widths. How are you making this adjustment? Do all of the books you plan to scan have the same page width?
BillGill
Posts: 139
Joined: 18 Dec 2016, 17:13
E-book readers owned: Calibre, FBReader
Number of books owned: 7000
Country: USA

Re: My Scanner revisions

Post by BillGill »

I position it at the lower edge because I can reliably get it at the same place. If I try to position it in the middle then the book keeps drifting out of position. This way I don't have to worry about that. This way I can get a closer zoom in on the page. I realize that I really need another adjustment to get it really close to the center of the page verticlaly, but this way is a lot better than what I had. I have scanned one book since I did the mods, and it seemed to me to have come out much better.

Bill
dpc
Posts: 379
Joined: 01 Apr 2011, 18:05
Number of books owned: 0
Location: Issaquah, WA

Re: My Scanner revisions

Post by dpc »

FYI, I used these on my cradle to prevent the book from moving.
BillGill
Posts: 139
Joined: 18 Dec 2016, 17:13
E-book readers owned: Calibre, FBReader
Number of books owned: 7000
Country: USA

Re: My Scanner revisions

Post by BillGill »

How do those work with older books? Can they damage the covers? I particularly wonder about old paperbacks, which can be pretty fragile.

Bill
dpc
Posts: 379
Joined: 01 Apr 2011, 18:05
Number of books owned: 0
Location: Issaquah, WA

Re: My Scanner revisions

Post by dpc »

I don't have any old paperbacks with damaged (I assumed frayed?) covers so I can't say. I can tell you that I was able to put a piece of toilet paper on the mat this morning and pull it off and it wasn't damaged. You could always buy one of those Sticky Tablets and see what it does to one of your fragile covers (they are only $10).

Slick, non-porous materials adhere to mat best. So older books with cloth-like material on their covers don't stick as well but I have the option to hold the cover down to the mat/cradle with a velcro strap if need be. Also, realize that with every page scanned the platen is pressed into the book and helps hold the book to the mat. It's worked out well for me.
BillGill
Posts: 139
Joined: 18 Dec 2016, 17:13
E-book readers owned: Calibre, FBReader
Number of books owned: 7000
Country: USA

Re: My Scanner revisions

Post by BillGill »

Thanks, I'll have to think about that. I have been wanting something to cover the cradle anyway, I really don't like the surface on it. It is getting a bit ragged itself, with all the work I have done on it off and on in the past year.

Bill
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