DIY Book Scanner Build in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

[COREi7]

Received my parts from Rob yesterday and I have to say, they're fantastic. Very impressed with the quality of the cuts and of the actual plywood he used in milling all the parts. Very nice stuff.

Thought it might be fun to start a build thread for my project. I had been toying with the idea of a book scanner for many years but never really put thoughts to paper or any kind of application. This one really did catch my eye and decided to jump in with both feet.







So far besides this kit, I've purchased a couple of Canon Powershot A590 cameras. One I purchased for 10 dollars, the other for 60 dollars.



Here are the specs of the camera.

Canon A590 IS - Camera #1
-------------------------
Canon Powershot A590 IS
P-ID:3176 NT D
Firmware Ver GM1.00E
NoError
Adj Ver.011.002
1034 shots

Canon A590 IS - Camera #2
-------------------------
Canon Powershot A590 IS
P-ID:3176 NT D
Firmware Ver GM1.01B
NoError
Adj Ver.011.002
568 shots

Both of the cameras I've loaded with the custom firmware. My plan is to trigger the camera with a home built trigger through the USB port rather than going with a mechanical solution.

I've also picked up a couple screens to display the photographed images, lights and the AV cables for the cameras that unfortunately didn't come with the cameras. Those three items are still enroute. I bought two of the lights just in case one breaks or isn't enough. Always good to have one on the shelf just in case.

I had thought to use some small 15" VGA panels to display the images off the camera. I have a composite to VGA converter box that I thought might do the trick, but the video quality out of that box just isn't sharp enough in my view. So I decided to go with these screens. I'm hopeful that they will work. If not, I guess I'll keep hunting.

Here are some pictures of the parts I'm still waiting on.







Very excited about moving forward on the build. Still have to source the miscellaneous small bits and the glass. I have some calls in to various glass shops around the city to see if I could obtain some gorilla glass for this build. Will see what I can turn up.

One modification (enhancement) I'm toying with in my mind right now is a page turning attachment using a vacuum at the point where the two pieces of glass come together, and a small air puff at the right point to push the page over in leu of manually turning the pages. But first things first, I'll have to get the core machine assembled.

Will keep the thread updated with my progress.

Thomas

[rob]

Ha ha, an unboxing! Love it! I also like the idea of a bit of vacuum at the glass joint. If it works, that would be a bit less manual labor.

Don't you nearly just want to eat that wood?

[Gothiczartan84]

What about Nikon cameras? I know they are best cameras that took excellent pictures. what nikon type is best for book scanner?

[COREi7]

I don't know about Nikon cameras for this application. I'm sure you could find some that would do the job. I chose the Canon A590 because of their ability to take custom firmware, and the added functionality of that for this application. Read some threads that recommended that particular make/model of camera. Found a couple of them inexpensively on kijiji, so decided to give them a try.

Perhaps you can find another thread on this forum discussing Nikon cameras in their application to the bookscanning function.

Thomas

[Gothiczartan84]

got pictures on how to have glass to fit in the book scanner?

[COREi7]

Day to day life intruded on my build, and I'd put it aside for some time. Still have everything, and the plan is to start working on it again soon. Once I do, I'll begin posting my progress once again.

At this point, I have no new pictures to post on my progress.

Thomas