New and looking for help :)

[ALA_NDSU]

Hello forum, my name is Mohan and I am a student technician for the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Department at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, USA. My immediate supervisor has given me and another lab tech the project of creating a book scanner this summer. The book scanners will be used by faculty primarily to scan portions of books and distribute to students that are otherwise too expensive to require each student to purchase. The book scanners will also be used by students that are doing research for projects and are unable to remove certain books from the library. The resources available to us to complete this project include two laser cutters and a fully functioning wood shop. Due to our need to keep our laser cutters functioning properly, we need to run them at least a half an hour per week throughout the next few months while other students our on summer vacation. We would like to find design specifications that will enable us to use our laser cutters to fully complete this project. We here at the NDSU ALA department appreciate your help in completing this project and pictures will be shared throughout the process. Thank you.

[ALA_NDSU]

Also, if this is successful, we will be creating more that one scanner to share and use in other buildings in out department.

[daniel_reetz]

As of right now, the most "standardized" build here is the New Standard scanner. The main thread for building it is here:

http://www.diybookscanner.org/forum/vie ... ?f=1&t=333

But you definitely need to read Drake Ravensmith's experiences building it:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1028

And check out Clemd973's build log, as well:

http://www.diybookscanner.org/forum/vie ... ?f=1&t=698

This represents the basic technology of a book scanner as well as the many problems you may (or may not) encounter on the way. After you're done checking these out, come back and let us know your concerns and the basics, like how much money you can spend per-scanner and what kind of cameras you're considering. Cheers!

[ALA_NDSU]

Thank you Daniel. This weekend I will be doing research to provide my supervisor with a priced out proposal. Thanks again.

[ALA_NDSU]

Is there a build that uses a laser cutter? We are doing our best to maintain our laser cutters by keeping them running throughout the summer months. Such as some of the builds I saw on diybookscanner.org, thanks.

[daniel_reetz]

Yes, check my "3rd generation" scanner, as well as my 5th, but the first is not really suitable for production and the 5th requires much more powerful lasers than you have.

Because of the fact that you're a library, I may have another option for you that we should discuss off the board. Please email me for more on that.

[ALA_NDSU]

Dan, we are using the laser cutter template from: http://www.diybookscanner.org/news/?p=66 to construct our prototype scanner. We are in need of assistance concerning the LED lights attached to the aluminum bar on the top piece of the scanner. Would we be able to obtain instruction or documentation on how to install the LED's on the aluminum bar (13"x1.5"). We are also considering using the flood light system from Clemd973's scanner. Which would be a better solution?

[daniel_reetz]

Both are good solutions. See this thread for how I usually mount them - just some screws.

I can't really say which would be better other than that the floods might be a little harder to integrate since the rest of the build is not set up for them. Construction of the original bars shouldn't use Arduino or the crazy circuit anymore, just a BuckPuck and some Crees.

A few other notes. Regarding your card-unloading question, some people have used Eye-Fi cards to do that over wireless, I haven't, so I can't help there.

Regarding the build as a whole, it has a large number of unnecessary screws because it was a prototype. Consider cutting a single part, like one of the arms, and gluing it instead of screwing it. It should result in a more sturdy part and cheaper/simpler construction.

Also burn a few test parts to check fit.

Would you consider changing the title of this thread to reflect the scanner you've chosen to build?

[ALA_NDSU]

i would change the title of the thread, if I knew how to.... eek--> forum noob. we will be doing lots of testing and will post our journey. Thanks for the help Dan.

[ALA_NDSU]

Today we begin our first ever book scanner project. I will start a thread and document our work in the project section. Thanks for all the help.