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Axidraw
A3 pen plotter. There are 3 available.
Quick Setup
Read the manual first (this is a summary)
- Move the AxiDraw to its Home Corner.
- Plug in power and USB cables.
- Clip in your pen, with height just above the paper.
- Position your paper with its upper-left corner below the pen tip.
- In Inkscape
Extensions > AxiDraw Control
. Go to tabsetup
. Click theToggle pen between UP, DOWN
option. Click apply to toggle the pen down and back up to check the correct vertical movement.Extensions > AxiDraw Control
. Go to tabPlot
and click Apply to start plotting.- Each visible layer will print.
For single line fonts, check Inkscape Extensions > text > Hershey text
Download the manual here
Maintenance
Tightening the V-slot wheels
When the Axidraw arm feels wobbly, tighten the eccentric nuts on the carriage to firm up the motion.
Locations of the eccentric nuts
The big wheels on the X-axis can be tightened here. Use a number 10 wrench. Only 2 big wheels need tightening.
The smaller wheels on the Y-axis can be tightened here. Use a number 8 wrench. Only 2 small wheels need tightening.
Procedure
- No need to loosen any bolts first.
- Turn the eccentric nut one way or another. The direction doesn't matter. One way will be tighter, the other will be looser.
- Work in small increments and feel with 1 finger if one of of the V-slot wheels can be rotated so it's slipping. If the wheels rotates, tighten the eccentric nut a little more and test again. When it's snug against the aluminum profile and doesn't slip anymore, it's good to go.
- Wait 15 minutes and move the axes back and forth carefully. Feel for little bumps. If the tension was set too high, the wheels could be squished a little, resulting in bumps. If so, release some tension, wait another 15 minutes and feel for bumps again.