RoboSpinArt - InkJet test
Vern Graner
Posts: 337
Ok, so this is a *sorta* completed project (is any project ever really complete!?) 
as it only details a small portion of the main project that is still forthcoming... Quick backstory --
The venerable spin art machines of the 1960's & 70s created funky, psychedelic artwork many of us remember from the carnivals and county fairs of our youth. Simply put, “spin art” is created when paint is dropped onto a rotating paper, allowing centrifugal force to make streaks of color like this:
The RoboSpinArt machine updates this concept by making spin art attractive to the so-called “joystick generation” of today while also overcoming some of the limitations of the original design. The machine allows you to create spin art by using a joystick to position a “paint gantry” above the paper and a series of buttons to dispense paint in measured amounts. Add an exciting light show, a rocking sound track, and a countdown timer that creates a sense of urgency, and you have a RoboSpinArt machine:
In the process of creating this machine, I wanted to add the ability to label the final artwork so the folks taking the painting with them would be able to remember where they got the painting. So, I bought one of the Parallax Serial Inkjet and mounted it on a "demo board":
(sorry the picture is so cluttrered)
Using the demo board, I wrote some code to spin a Parallax continuous motion modified server holding a sticky-note. I then used a standard servo to lower the arm and have it print text in a "circle" on the paper. I created a demo video that shows this process here:
Hi-Res MPG version (~9m)
Medium-res WMV version (~2.3m)
Low-res WMV version (~1.3m)
Once I had the proof of concept, I relocated the ink arm to the actual unit:
In the finished version, I am not using a servo to rotate the paper, but rather a fairly beefy motor, so I'm still working out getting consistent rotational speeds that allow a "complete" text circle. (NOTE: The motor is 90vdc so I haven't found a digital speed controller that will handle it .. yet) In the meantime, I've included the source code I used to create the demo shown in the video above and would love to hear comments and/or feedback. Let me know if you have any questions...
Vern
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Post Edited (Vern) : 10/11/2006 12:41:37 AM GMT
as it only details a small portion of the main project that is still forthcoming... Quick backstory --The venerable spin art machines of the 1960's & 70s created funky, psychedelic artwork many of us remember from the carnivals and county fairs of our youth. Simply put, “spin art” is created when paint is dropped onto a rotating paper, allowing centrifugal force to make streaks of color like this:
The RoboSpinArt machine updates this concept by making spin art attractive to the so-called “joystick generation” of today while also overcoming some of the limitations of the original design. The machine allows you to create spin art by using a joystick to position a “paint gantry” above the paper and a series of buttons to dispense paint in measured amounts. Add an exciting light show, a rocking sound track, and a countdown timer that creates a sense of urgency, and you have a RoboSpinArt machine:
In the process of creating this machine, I wanted to add the ability to label the final artwork so the folks taking the painting with them would be able to remember where they got the painting. So, I bought one of the Parallax Serial Inkjet and mounted it on a "demo board":
(sorry the picture is so cluttrered)
Using the demo board, I wrote some code to spin a Parallax continuous motion modified server holding a sticky-note. I then used a standard servo to lower the arm and have it print text in a "circle" on the paper. I created a demo video that shows this process here:Hi-Res MPG version (~9m)
Medium-res WMV version (~2.3m)
Low-res WMV version (~1.3m)
Once I had the proof of concept, I relocated the ink arm to the actual unit:
In the finished version, I am not using a servo to rotate the paper, but rather a fairly beefy motor, so I'm still working out getting consistent rotational speeds that allow a "complete" text circle. (NOTE: The motor is 90vdc so I haven't found a digital speed controller that will handle it .. yet)
In the meantime, I've included the source code I used to create the demo shown in the video above and would love to hear comments and/or feedback. Let me know if you have any questions...Vern
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Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE | "If the network is down, then you're Senior Systems Engineer | obviously incompetent so why are we Texas Information Services | paying you? Of course,if the network http://www.txis.com | is up, then we obviously don't need Austin Office 512 328-8947 | you, so why are we paying you?" ©VLG
Post Edited (Vern) : 10/11/2006 12:41:37 AM GMT
Comments
I·like the motor speed controller with servo and·dial-display.
Nothing like a high-tech alternative to basic designs!
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I remember having a toy version of one of those, back in the sixties. It was just a turntable·device with some squeeze bottles of waterbase paint, but it was fun.
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- Rick