Ryan's Stowable Scanner Build Thread

[Gortan60]

OOOPS!! Just got lost in threads there..I see you have elaborated on original build...ignore earlier post...sorry!

[Gortan60]

OOOPS!! Just got lost in threads there..I see you have elaborated on original build...ignore earlier post...sorry!

[Zefbarber]

Hi Ryan.
Are you able to provide more detail in your design or built method?
I am a complete newbie and your design ticks all my boxes I want in a book scanner.

Thanks,
Zef

[Ryan_phx]

I'm glad you're interested! I can't help much at the moment, but I'll try to answer specific questions.

I don't have a build list or schematics--I just built it rather organically. When I designed it, I started with the stowed size--I measured an underbed box, and decided that would be the maximum size of the case. I also decided that I would use 11x14" glass (because that was the smallest standard size that would let me scan the largest book I wanted to scan), so that gave me the dimensions of the cradle and platen. Each part was based on the size of some other part, all of which started with the size of the glass (which determined the size of the cradle, which determined the width of the sliding base, etc.). The platen stand was just two pieces of 3/4" ply glued together to get the thickness necessary for the slides. The PVC pipe for the camera mounts and light stand was chosen to be a bit larger than necessary, so that once I had the thing built, I could determine from actual use how long they needed to be, and cut them down if necessary. And it has been necessary--the light stand is a lot taller than it needs to be, and the camera mounts were a bit too tall. The light rig is, I think, about 27" above the cradle now, and that's a fine height. When I built the thing, I didn't know if I would need to raise or lower the rig to get the right amount of light on the page, which is why the light stand is so tall and the rig is mounted with two threaded rods. One of these days, I'm going to cut the light stand down and hang the rig below it with just a couple 2.5" bolts. When you make you camera mounts, make the mount itself first, put it on the stand, then cut the stand down so that the camera's line-of-sight is 90 degrees to the glass.

As for the cameras, I'm using two Canon A480 refurbished cameras that I got really cheap through one of Amazon's marketplace sellers. They were still in the Canon refurb boxes, straight from the factory, so they were as good as new. They also use AA batteries--your best bet are Sanyo rechargeable Eneloop batteries. They're the best batteries I've ever used--several hundred shots per charge.

Wiring the trigger is actually quite easy--there's a link in the build thread to the design I used. The only problem I had was actually a problem with the CHDK settings. Once I figured those out, it's worked perfectly. The LED lights are also quite easy with the BuckPuck--it really is just a matter of running a wire from one to the next.

So the first thing I would tell you is to decide what's the largest book you'll want to scan, and use that as the basis for your measurements. Use Baltic Birch plywood, not the
crappy Home Depot construction-grade stuff. You can get the BB ply at any woodworking store or lumberyard. Use the Rockler slides I mentioned in my thread--they're much better than what you'll be able to get at Home Depot. You can also get the BB ply from Rockler, if there's a store near you. I think they sell it online, but shipping will be expensive.

The current design is a bit overbuilt--it's bulkier than it needs to be. You could probably use 1/4" ply instead of 1/2" for the platen and cradle. I'd still use 1/2" for the sliding base and the case, though. I'd also probably replace the pieces that prop up the sides of the cradle with a simple 1/4" triangle on each side.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, and I'll try to answer them. Most of what I've done, though, is either in the build thread or on the wiki page.

Good luck!

[daniel_reetz]

Thanks for the follow-up, Ryan_PHX. I've always loved the hinged construction of your cradle. So cool.

[Zefbarber]

Thanks for your response. I have taken your tips on board, and I'm trying to recreate your build on sketch up so I can hand it to a carpenter (my brother) to then build it. Seeing as though wiki is down and you don't have schematics, and are you able to take more detailed pictures of each component of the rig including close ups and how the base turns into the storage container? I'm not quite quite show how the arms work and fold away either as the black paint comoflages each pieces joinery and design etc.
Sorry if I come across a bit pushy!! I just love you build that's all

[Ryan_phx]

The scanner is packed away at the moment, so no pics I'm afraid. There are a couple of pics in the thread that show the base both empty and packed. The rollers that the movable base rides on (visible in one of the pictures) are just mounted with bolts and wing nuts, so they come out and the base can then sit inside the case. The camera stands and the platen stand are also attached with bolts and wing nuts so they can be attached and removed easily by hand.

[Zefbarber]

x

[Zefbarber]

I'm glad you're interested! I can't help much at the moment, but I'll try to answer specific questions.

I don't have a build list or schematics--I just built it rather organically. When I designed it, I started with the stowed size--I measured an underbed box, and decided that would be the maximum size of the case. I also decided that I would use 11x14" glass (because that was the smallest standard size that would let me scan the largest book I wanted to scan), so that gave me the dimensions of the cradle and platen. Each part was based on the size of some other part, all of which started with the size of the glass (which determined the size of the cradle, which determined the width of the sliding base, etc.). The platen stand was just two pieces of 3/4" ply glued together to get the thickness necessary for the slides. The PVC pipe for the camera mounts and light stand was chosen to be a bit larger than necessary, so that once I had the thing built, I could determine from actual use how long they needed to be, and cut them down if necessary. And it has been necessary--the light stand is a lot taller than it needs to be, and the camera mounts were a bit too tall. The light rig is, I think, about 27" above the cradle now, and that's a fine height. When I built the thing, I didn't know if I would need to raise or lower the rig to get the right amount of light on the page, which is why the light stand is so tall and the rig is mounted with two threaded rods. One of these days, I'm going to cut the light stand down and hang the rig below it with just a couple 2.5" bolts. When you make you camera mounts, make the mount itself first, put it on the stand, then cut the stand down so that the camera's line-of-sight is 90 degrees to the glass.

As for the cameras, I'm using two Canon A480 refurbished cameras that I got really cheap through one of Amazon's marketplace sellers. They were still in the Canon refurb boxes, straight from the factory, so they were as good as new. They also use AA batteries--your best bet are Sanyo rechargeable Eneloop batteries. They're the best batteries I've ever used--several hundred shots per charge.

Wiring the trigger is actually quite easy--there's a link in the build thread to the design I used. The only problem I had was actually a problem with the CHDK settings. Once I figured those out, it's worked perfectly. The LED lights are also quite easy with the BuckPuck--it really is just a matter of running a wire from one to the next.

So the first thing I would tell you is to decide what's the largest book you'll want to scan, and use that as the basis for your measurements. Use Baltic Birch plywood, not the
crappy Home Depot construction-grade stuff. You can get the BB ply at any woodworking store or lumberyard. Use the Rockler slides I mentioned in my thread--they're much better than what you'll be able to get at Home Depot. You can also get the BB ply from Rockler, if there's a store near you. I think they sell it online, but shipping will be expensive.

The current design is a bit overbuilt--it's bulkier than it needs to be. You could probably use 1/4" ply instead of 1/2" for the platen and cradle. I'd still use 1/2" for the sliding base and the case, though. I'd also probably replace the pieces that prop up the sides of the cradle with a simple 1/4" triangle on each side.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, and I'll try to answer them. Most of what I've done, though, is either in the build thread or on the wiki page.

Good luck!

Hello Ryan.

Thanks for getting back to me, very detailed and informative. So I've had a crack and sketching up your build and without getting into dimensions etc. I do have the following conceptual questions about your build (feel free to direct me to another thread with the answers if one exists):

BRISP4812C_20022013_083838PM.pdf

(421.51 KiB) Downloaded 655 times

1. How do the four 'struts' (that temporarily hold up the "V" shaped cradle) connect from underneath the cradle ‘wing’s to the base plate? I see no screws and it can’t be glued.
2. How did you fasten the glass to the paten frame? Just glass/wood glue?
3. What is the paten glass thickness? Would you consider changing it now you made it?
4. What have you used to connect the Camera support ‘hand’ to the PVC Pole ‘arm’? I.e. the ‘wrist’ section (for one of a better word)? I can see how you made the camera support and PVC pole leading from the base but don’t know what the widened donut shaped thing is!
5. How long are the rails at the back that glide the paten up and down? Generally how much range in motion did you aim for?
6. At a guess how heavy is the paten itself? Have you used any counter weights to lighten the load?
7. Generally how heavy is the whole build once it is all folded away?
8. If you could build it again what would you conceptually change?

Finally if you have any thoughts/changes to my intial sketch that would be a big help!

Thanks in advance!

[Ryan_phx]

1. How do the four 'struts' (that temporarily hold up the "V" shaped cradle) connect from underneath the cradle ‘wing’s to the base plate? I see no screws and it can’t be glued.
2. How did you fasten the glass to the paten frame? Just glass/wood glue?
3. What is the paten glass thickness? Would you consider changing it now you made it?
4. What have you used to connect the Camera support ‘hand’ to the PVC Pole ‘arm’? I.e. the ‘wrist’ section (for one of a better word)? I can see how you made the camera support and PVC pole leading from the base but don’t know what the widened donut shaped thing is!
5. How long are the rails at the back that glide the paten up and down? Generally how much range in motion did you aim for?
6. At a guess how heavy is the paten itself? Have you used any counter weights to lighten the load?
7. Generally how heavy is the whole build once it is all folded away?
8. If you could build it again what would you conceptually change?

1. A mortice (basically a rectangular hole) is cut into the base and the cradle. The strut just sits in those two mortices. It doesn't need to be fastened in.
2. http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100575385? ... STnBR2yCSoDouble-sided exterior tape. Holds so well that when I wanted to replace the glass once, I found that it was actually easier to build a new platen assembly than it would have been to try to get the tape off.
3. I have no idea. It's just the standard off-the-shelf pieces that HD had. In one of the pictures on p. 2 of the thread, you can see the cardboard packaging it came in.
4. That's a PVC union. It's used to join two pipes together. The only reason I used that is because I thought it would be easier to assemble/disassemble and make the camera mount itself more rigid if I attached one half permanently to the stand and the other to the camera mount. Never did that. I also thought that it would make rotating the camera easier, should that be necessary (it wasn't). It's actually easier to pack when it's not attached, too. If I were to redesign the scanner, I'd eliminate that union entirely and just make the camera mount slide directly into the end of the stand.
5. The height of the light stand was based on the length of the base. I just measured the inside length of the base, and made it so that it would fit inside. Once you've built everything else, just measure how high the bottom of the slide needs to be in order to attach properly to the platen, add the length of the slide itself, and that's as high as it needs to be. Mine is probably 4-5 inches taller than it needs to be.
6. It's not that heavy, but yeah, scanning a long book is a workout for the forearms. I thought about counterweights, but then I'd have to figure out how to make it easy to assemble/disassemble them, not to mention find room in the base to pack them. It's never been enough of an issue for me to bother with a redesign. If you wanted to, you could cut holes in the cradle or the sliding base to remove some material, but I doubt that the end result would be worth the effort.
7. Again, I have no idea. I'm terrible at judging stuff like that. It's heavy, but not so heavy that I can't pick it up and carry it from the table to the closet. If weight is a problem, mount a couple of wheels on the sides, so that they're just above the table when it's assembled. Tip it up onto the wheels and roll it away.
8. Mostly minor tweaks--maybe using 1/4" ply in places instead of 1/2", a redesign of the camera mounts (see above), things like that. I wouldn't paint it, either. I found that the paint I used tended to make the pieces want to stick together. I might use a dark stain instead, or at least, only paint certain parts (the front of the light stand, the camera mounts, the top part of the platen, etc.). I would add a couple more LEDs, because there have been times when the four aren't quite enough. I'd lower the light rig (I mentioned this in an earlier post). I'd set the slides about 1/2" lower, too. Right now, they're just a hair too high, so if I have a thin book that I need to put some pressure on to get the platen really down into the spine, the platen can't quite get that low. So a bit lower, so that when it's sitting on the bare cradle, there's still room to travel down. There's not really a problem with vertical travel.

Your sketches look good. I would not use MDF, though--it's heavy, and you're going to be using ply for most of the construction anyway, so just use that. MDF doesn't do anything for you.