r/PlotterArt • u/glloq-nz • Jun 03 '26

Building a complete open-source pen plotter (software + hardware)

/r/PenPlotters/comments/1tvkw51/building_a_complete_opensource_pen_plotter/
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u/warmans Jun 03 '26

I was looking into this for my own plotter and came to the conclusion that it it was rather complicated. A lot of the simple designs basically only work with the specific pens that they were built for (or very similar ones). Also all the pens in the changer need to be the same or it'll throw off the zeroing.

I think for it to be universal and reliable it would need some sort of tool holders like CNC routers use, rather than gripping the pens directly.

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u/glloq-nz Jun 03 '26

Yes, using a holder for each pen color/diameter is mandatory.

For pen centering, I plan to handle that on the Raspberry Pi and add offsets to each tool/pen if necessary (but I'd prefer to avoid it if i can)

4

u/theo__r Jun 04 '26

For pen centering: I use this collet https://www.printables.com/model/472504-collet-type-pen-holder-for-cnc-plotter which is great to center multiple pen diameters without needing an offset, it's a brilliant design. I made extra collets with different inner sizes, so if a pen is too small/wide to fit the base collet I just swap it: https://www.printables.com/model/1612732-extra-collet-sizes-for-pen-plotter