Any Suggestion to use our old HP ink jet printers to used as a summer project f
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WE have a bunch of·ink jet printers in warehouse. Can any body give us hint to use these prinetes in a suggested projects for trouble 8 to 12 grade kids. Any suggested book or note will appreciated. Please leave me your email or telephone and time to conatct.
Thanks
Afshari
3004 Fallen oak rd.
Morgantown
WV 26508
Thanks
Afshari
3004 Fallen oak rd.
Morgantown
WV 26508
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
csavage@parallax.com
Post Edited (Chris Savage (Parallax)) : 5/8/2006 2:12:45 PM GMT
Some folks turn the fusers into laminating units for toner transfer PCB projects
The stepper motors are a bit big for small robots. They might be used for CNC applications.
Some models had LED/push button boards that might be applied to other applications.
Many machines have a squirrel cage fan that might have applications.
Power supplies can be used for other applications.
These ideas may be too advanced for K12.
Also, inkjets have smaller motors than lasers(usually) so they can be used for robotics.
Just remember to salvage the driver ICs at the same time, if possible.
(They are also full of nice mechanical parts)
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There is also a couple of led (IR?) postion sensors that would be fun to play around with.
Good luck.
Paul
(And most scanners also do this)
Great parts for robotics...
(I've been known to dumpster-diving for old printers, floppy-drives and whatever...)
Floppies also have two drives, one small with a high-accuracy worm-drive, and a large, flat drive, with a heavy flywheel, which can be geared down to get a lot of torque.
And ALL these devices have the correct drivers stiing there on the PCBs. It's just a question of desoldering them and finding the datasheets.
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On the basic mechanical side...
-- How are they put together?· Most parts are either press-snapped (and can be unsnapped if you can locate *where* to press and pull apart), or are screwed on. What's nice is that most of the plastic housings/covers are press-snapped in place and can be removed to reveal the inner workings. These guts can be observed while in operation if you first figure out (with only a little bit of careful observation while dismantling) where any optical or pressure switches need to be dealt with in order to keep the machine operational. Of course, one needs to be careful to not get fingers into moving parts and/or electrically exposed places --some places will be deadly voltages/currents.
-- Notice all the photo-optical timing discs and ribbons. What are they for?
-- Which motors are steppers?· Why two different kinds of motors?
-- Which parts --mechanical and electrical/electronic-- can be easily removed and adapted to other kinds of applications, in robotics using Parallax microcontrollers, say?
Such basic questions could keep a class busy for the beginning meetings at the very least, if not all summer, depending on the schedule. And, they don't require much electronic knowledge to start.
On the electronic side...
--There are simple measurements --given the right measurement tools (meters, scopes) and knowledge of how to use them (and what and where to measure)-- to help students discover what's going on when those mechanical and optical devices are operating.
Digging deeper on the electronic side into an "undocumented/proprietary" device (system)·as complex as the HP's circuitry may be more than you'd wish to foist upon a class of novices; other electronic learning kits (e.g., from Parallax's motor controls, stepper controls, inkjet controls, signalling and timing,·etc) would probably be much more enlightening and appropriate.
PAR
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