Tim's XY Plotter Tool Holder

Tim's XY Plotter Tool Holder

This is part of my Blog here: Tim's XY Plotter

Over time and several iterations my Tool Holder has evolve into the following:

It is a frame with a servo for raising and lowering the tool, two 3mm linear rods to guide the tool in the vertical axis.



The Tool Attachment is connected to the servo arm by a Connection Rod.

The Connection Rod is made from bent stiff wire (0.8 - 1mm) and has a spring attached to keep pressure on the Tool Attachment.

In the up position the Tool Attachment is held up by the hook at the bottom of the connector.

In the down position Tool Attachment is pushed down by the spring.

The Tool Attachment has bushes on the left side to keep things accurate.

(The linear rods and bushes, I salvaged from old CD/DVD drives)

I have currently made several Tool Attachments for it:

Pen Attachment. (holds similar items)

Knife Attachment. (used to cut vinyl sheets)
Rotary Hobby Tool Attachment. (used for drilling and engraving)
Laser Attachment. (used for cutting and engraving)(1W 1.5W & 15W versions)
Router Attachment.

The Pen Attachment:

The parts (Pen Holder Slide with Bushes.stl, Pen Clamp.stl, Pen Clamp Tensioner.stl) for the Pen Attachment can be found in this post: Tim's XY Plotter Parts list.

Also required:
Two M3x25mm set screws.
Two M3 square nuts.
Four small self tapper's.
Two 3x4x4mm Bushes.

Fitting the Tool Attachments is done by sliding the two 3mm dia. linear bar's up out of the Tool Holder, hold the Tool Attachment at 90 Degrees to the Tool Holder and sliding in the Connecting Rod into the slot at the top of the Tool attachment, then rotating the Tool holder to it's correct orientation, then sliding the linear bars back into place.

Because the Tool Attachment has bushes on the left side I have made a clip to stop the bar lifting out of location.

STL File:
Bar Cap 5mm pocket.stl

The Knife Attachment:

The Knife Attachment requires the purchase of a Knife Holder. eBay Search.

Two parts need printing:

STL Files:
Knife Slide with Bushes 002.stl
Knife Clamp 002.stl

Also required are:
Two M3x25mm set screws.
Two M3 square nuts.
Two 3x4x4mm Bushes.

    

Self adessive Vinyl is easier as it has a backing to hold things down.
Once you get a costume to setting the depth of the blade and pressure to apply, things improve.

Made a decal for my computer.

With this attachment I have modified one of the blades into a Scribe.
I use the Scribe for making my own PCB's.
I have done a blog here: Tim's PCB (Plotted Circuit Board).

    

Rotary Hobby Tool Attachment:

The Rotary Tool Attachment is similar the Knife Attachment with the addition of extra pieces so the Rotary Tool can be set at an angle.

Four parts need printing:

STL Files:
Drill Mount 002.stl
Drill Mount Slide with bushes.stl
Drill Mount Locator Disc.stl
Drill Mount Clamp.stl

Also required are:
Two M3x25mm set screws.
Two M3 square nuts.

Eight M3x10mm self tappers.
Two 3x4x4mm Bushes.

This holder has been designed to hold a RoraCraft RC200X. the diameter of the grip is 16mm.

The Drill Mount Locater Disc goes behind the Drill Mount and secured from the front with four self tappers. The Drill Mount is also secured to the Slide by four self tappers.
The square nuts are placed in slots on the Drill Mount and the Clamp is secured into them with set screws.

1.5W Laser Attachment:

The 1.5W laser Attachment requires the purchase of a 1.5W laser. eBay search.
I also made a driver for the laser.

Prior to the 1.5W Laser, I purchased a 1W laser. eBay Search.

This mount will hold either one, but the 1.5W is a big improvement. eBay search.

         

1W	1.5W
Comes with metal Heat sink	No Heat sink (does no need one)
12mm dia.	½” dia. (does not fit 12mm heat sink)
Good for engraving	Will cut corrugated cardboard

As the 1.5W laser did not fit the 1W laser Heat Sink, I replicated it with a plastic one so the 1.5W laser fitted the same way I had fitted the 1W laser.

The laser attachment still slides on the two rods like the other attachments, but is not attached to the Servo, there is an addition of an adjustment screw. After setting the focus of the laser, adjustment for different thicknesses can be done a lot easier with this screw.
The laser is set at least 100mm from the work surface to sharpen the focal point.

Seven or Eight parts need printing:

STL Files:
1.5W_Adjusting_Screw.stl
1.5W_Laser_Adjustment_Nut.stl
1.5W_Laser_Adjustment_Screw_Support.stl
1.5W_Laser_Driver_Support.stl
1.5W_Laser_Fan_Mount.stl
1.5W_Laser_Heat_Sink.stl
1.5W_Laser_Holder.stl
1.5W_Laser_Slide_(4mm).stl

Also required are:
Twelve M3x10mm self tappers.
Two 3x4x4mm Bushes.
And as mentioned I made a driver for this laser, I will do a separate post for making this when I get time.
For now here is the circuit:

    

 

Router Attachment:

The Router Attachment has an added stepper motor to rise and lower it.
Has a driver board for the stepper and a switch for the spindle motor.
(To get high spindle speeds, the motor has a higher voltage than the plotter)

10 Colour Pen:

The 10 colour pen attachment uses a cheap multi colour pen from China.
I modified the top and added a motor to select the colour I need.

To Be Continued

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