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Plotter art is a form of computer-generated art created using a plotter, a device that moves a pen or other writing instrument to produce intricate drawings. Plotter art is generated algorithmically, often through computer programming or software. Artists input specific commands or code to dictate the movements of the plotter, resulting in precise and geometric designs. Here are some examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ClP3VNqCHI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geK9GURbmVY ⚙️ Hardware ⚙️ If you've got a 3D printer, you can easily print a part that'll convert it into a 2D plotter. You can search Thingiverse for the name of your 3D printer + "plotter" and find a model to use. Here's one example of a conversion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB8-BGU_9qg Alternatively, you can search on Amazon or elsewhere for "XY Plotter" or "2D Plotter". I went with the Doesbot A4 as my first plotter and really like it. AxiDraw V3 seems like a good choice but it's a bit more expensive. 🎨 Creating Art 🎨 There are a lot of different methods for creating plotter art. You can write code, use a plugin with Inkscape, etc.. If you go the Mad Scientist route, they offer a library that works with their plotters. Here is a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugvuuhu_NLM&ab_channel=dingolovethrob]tutorial[url] about a plugin for Inkscape. Some of my plotted art     Happy to answer any questions and add more resources. huhu fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Feb 15, 2024 |
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Dec 2, 2023 22:28
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Okay, this is way neater than your thread title suggests. I thought it was about using large-format printers to print stuff.
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Dec 5, 2023 17:12
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I’ve been using juicy code, a CLI SVG parser written in Haskell (which was the reason for my initial interest). It’s actively being developed, though it has some rough edges. I’ve used it almost exclusively with my cheap AxiDraw clone I picked up from AliExpress. I’ll post some older plots later.
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Dec 6, 2023 02:34
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This is pretty neat. I notice all the pen holders are fairly static things and that the z-height appears constant. Is there any work in this field for "springy" pen holders and perhaps differing z-height to give different line widths? How about holding a chisel-tip marker at a specific orientation for different line widths based on direction? I gotta make one of these now and see if I can use a drag-knife toolpath generator to do interesting things.
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Dec 7, 2023 14:24
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The z “axis” is usually a servo that can be controlled by tool commands, so you can adjust the height/pressure, yes, depending on your setup. As for the fountain pen width, for example, you could have a spring-loaded head that keeps pressure, then use z height for adding/subtracting from that, though it’s kinda arbitrary as most of these plotters have one arm hanging in the air and using their own weight to stabilize themselves. One of the main reasons I’m getting myself back into the plotting stuff is that I finally have a 3d printer to make my own custom head/pen holder, as the one that came with it is pretty wonky/loose to do anything precise. The rest of the plotter is fairly solid, imo. TLDR: YMMV depending on what level of precision you’re after. I was unable to get 12pt text to look clean, but all of my Spirograph-like stuff came out great looking. Here are some test plots from a while back. I'll post some real stuff once I dig it out:     I've mostly used Processing to generate SVGs, then the above juicy-gcode to plot out. e: better images gbut fucked around with this message at 15:54 on Dec 7, 2023 |
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Dec 7, 2023 15:33
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Oooh, this is a fun topic! I, too, made the leap from 3D printers to pen plotters. This is my second homemade plotter:  It's a CoreXY design very similar to the Axidraw or the Doesbot. I was super excited to find the plans because it looks a lot more "finished" than many of the other designs I found. You can find the files here. I used a leftover 3D printer control board and Klipper instead of the EBB board. This lets me control it remotely and makes it a lot faster and quieter– other than that darn servo for the pen lift. (The pen lifting mechanism is the only part I'm not happy with. It's slow, loud, and the servos are consumables.) I'm definitely going to have to check out huhu's project and juicy-gcode. I've been using LaserWeb to generate gcode from SVGs. It is very laser- and CNC-oriented.  I am also a huge fan of DrawingBotV3. It creates some amazing effects and outputs optimized gcode, even multicolor and CMYK mixes. Here are a few of my projects. They're pretty sad compared to some of the work I see in the Discord. Some artists there have had great success using pen plotters with AI-generated artwork.    Have you seen this site? It includes links to a lot of projects that are related to pen-plotting. edit: better images Sangamon fucked around with this message at 15:52 on Dec 8, 2023 |
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Dec 8, 2023 15:45
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I've been looking at making a plotter add on for one of my big printers. Any considerations vs just mounting a pen nicely. Pressure sensitivity would be really cool as others have mentioned here so you could adjust stroke width, "angle of Attack" etc. but I have to imagine your talking pretty custom software at that point
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Dec 8, 2023 17:21
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My biggest worry would probably be crashing the pen into the bed, so I’d go with flexible attachment—rubber bands or such. I already have tap probe on my Voron, but I’m not sure if applying 0.8kg of force onto the pen would be nice.
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Dec 8, 2023 20:50
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:This is pretty neat. I notice all the pen holders are fairly static things and that the z-height appears constant. Is there any work in this field for "springy" pen holders and perhaps differing z-height to give different line widths? How about holding a chisel-tip marker at a specific orientation for different line widths based on direction? If you're feeling creative you could probably design a printer head that's much more flexible than "drawing" and "not drawing". If I had my 3D printer with me I'd definitely redesign my plotter's print head to be more flexible. I'd love to have variable angles for how it holds markers. Looking around on Google I found this which looks like it could be springy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1467175600
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Dec 10, 2023 01:52
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I've always been fascinated with the patterns of RGB pixels on TVs and Monitors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_filter) and wanted to make plotter art that takes in a photo and makes it printable in such a way that if you squint, you'd see the photo appear. So I spend a few hours writing code. I learn about additive and subtractive colors., how RGB is for screens but CMYK is for printing because of the way the colors combine. I write an algorithm that more or less works. While I was looking at a preview image that's ready for plotting, I realize I've basically recreated a CMYK commercial printer. 🫠 Anyways. it was a fun learning opportunity. If you squint closely at the preview below, it sort of looks like a rainbow gradient. Still plotting this so I'll be back with a photo of it when I'm done.  I've started getting into generative algorithms. I still have no idea what I'm doing and I could probably use a refresher on geometry and trig.  huhu fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Dec 10, 2023 |
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Dec 10, 2023 01:55
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Any open source projects out there that just add a "pressure" value to plotting gcode? I feel like that's all you'd really need to add more of a hand drawn element to plotting. Take that pressure value and adjust the height of the marker your using, or even adjust the angle of it on some dedicated aervo. For that matter just adjust Z height on a floppier brush-style implement would probably go a long way. Something like a calligraphy marker. Spotted this a while back, but surely therea a clean solution to it that boils down to a few motors and a controller https://youtu.be/cQO2XTP7QDw?si=L2sDh7nbZt_DolEn Edit: god damnit, I didn't need to see this right now, might end up making one... pen plotter tool changer w00tmonger fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Dec 10, 2023 |
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Dec 10, 2023 18:32
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w00tmonger posted:Any open source projects out there that just add a "pressure" value to plotting gcode? I don't think the G-Code language supports something like this. It's a super low level language. You'd have to find a crafty way to do it with hardware and the limitations of G-Code. I did once attempt to write my own form of G-Code like a mad man. 😅
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Dec 10, 2023 22:57
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I feel like most us reinvented gcode at least once in our lives.
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Dec 10, 2023 23:49
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gbut posted:I feel like most us reinvented gcode at least once in our lives. I just spend the evening adding support for adding text in my plotter library 😅 
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Dec 11, 2023 05:13
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wowza! I see that and I raise you 2 projects from cca 2009-2010, where I invent gcode, gcode-sender, and gcode-driver all in one go, because I didn't bother researching the established discipline of "computer numerical control."  ... and a custom hairline font tool that exports SVG (from circa the same era) for laser-cutting purposes: 
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Dec 11, 2023 16:58
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I designed a circuit, 3D modeled and printed parts, built a super basic paint app in Python, reinvented G-Code and sender/receiver. Plotted a single square and then quit the project and suffered the worst burnout of my life. 🫠 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Nzjou3Buw To not end on a negative note - this guy created a rather impressive setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09LlZhlcJTU
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Dec 12, 2023 03:48
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huhu posted:To not end on a negative note - this guy created a rather impressive setup: I hadn't seen that one before! This is what I thought was going to be linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osUTMnDFV30
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Dec 12, 2023 13:38
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