Jenkins / Dallas Build

Built a scanner? Started to build a scanner? Record your progress here. Doesn't need to be a whole scanner - triggers and other parts are fine. Commercial scanners are fine too.

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John Jenkins
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Joined: 17 Feb 2013, 16:06
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Jenkins / Dallas Build

Post by John Jenkins »

I recognize and salute the incredible amount of dedication and work that has brought the project to this advanced stage. I did a lot of evaluation of the design and studied the give and take recorded in the forums. It is a grand model for others to mimic. At the beginning, I hoped I could add something significant to the design, but I’ve come up empty. I have only some minor finish out ideas that some might find interesting.

Shortly after the eureka moment when I found this web site, I realized that the look and design of the DIY Hackerspace Scanner was way cool. It’s kind of like a melding of Art Deco and Cubism. I decided that a scanner with a furniture quality finish and minimization of cabling helter skelter might look even better.

When I received Daniel’s kit, I resisted the urge to charge into assembly. I spend quite a bit of time sanding and rounding the corners. You couldn’t get a splinter from my unit if you tried. My scanner will live in a room along red oak furniture with clear and black finishes so it seemed reasonable to finish the scanner interior surfaces with functional flat black and the outside surfaces with a light stain to mimic red oak followed by a satin poly finish.

I really like the look. If I experience any reflection issues, I may need to blacken some additional surfaces. Time will tell.
overall1.jpg
I used t-nuts inside the base unit. It was a cleaner look and I had some concern about the bolts loosening over time due to compression of the plywood surface under the washers on four surfaces. This probably isn’t a big deal, but I like the look and if I was building another scanner, I’d use t-nuts everywhere I could.
t-nut.jpg
As a method of tying the base and imaging units together, I used some cheap cross dowel nuts and cap screws from Home Depot. They work fine in regular or paperback mode. They are only finger tight and easily removed to shift modes. There is no continuing pressure that might split the plywood, but you should be careful drilling for this method. I clamped the plywood while drilling and also stepped up to the final diameter through four or five smaller bit sizes. Alignment of the intersection of the holes is important, so take your time!
crossdowel1.jpg
I decided to use the powered usb port method of triggering. To hide the usb cables as well as the camera power cords, I routed a slot for the cables to run through the camera mounts. Neat and it didn’t necessitate drilling a hole in the imaging module back.
rout1.jpg
rout2.jpg
I’ve got mildly arthritic hands, so I wanted to come up with a trigger that was easy, but a foot pedal didn’t appeal to me. I ended up wanting a simple momentary on button switch. But how to mount it? Putting it on the handle support would be awkward and the cable routing would be problematic. Additionally, the only feature on the whole scanner that I didn’t care for was the handle. It just wasn’t ergonomic enough for me. I ended up toying around with some ¾” white pine while sipping some Heineken and listening to a Dallas Stars game. I glued, sawed and sanded until I ended up with this ugly (but personally ergonomic) duckling.
handle.jpg
Not pretty, but way functional. The switch only takes tiny twitch to trigger. Furthermore, it switches from underhand to overhand allowing triggering by index finger or thumb.
handle2.jpg
handle3.jpg
handle4.jpg
handle5.jpg
The handle is attached with a thin lag bolt. I placed a piece of 5/16” brass hobby tube over the bolt through the bearing to make a non-wobbling connection.

The switch is connected to the hub with usb cable. This allowed me to mount a plug on the front of the imaging module. When I switch to paperback mode, I can unplug, flip the imaging module and reconnect with a short usb extension cord. Also note the cap screw in place tying the base and imaging unit together.
plug1.jpg
plug2.jpg
Finally, I made a small electrical box to tidy up the power bar, two camera power converters, usb port and miles of excess cable. I made it ridiculously too small but managed to cram it all in. It is made of ¼” mdf and painted to match. From the front, you hardly know it's there.
Elec open.jpg
box1.jpg
box2.jpg
An overall view of the back.
overall.jpg
All in all, I’m really jazzed with where I’m at. Next on to the post production odyssey.

PS Daniel’s kit was a dream to work with. If you enjoy the challenge of cutting the scanner pieces yourself and finding the proper hardware, go for it. As for me, the enormous time savings and superior precision was well worth the price.

If anyone in the Dallas area wants to see my unit or chat, feel free to contact me.
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jck57
Posts: 376
Joined: 23 Nov 2009, 15:21

Re: Jenkins / Dallas Build

Post by jck57 »

I love this for many reasons: beautiful two tone finish, fastener upgrades, tidy wiring, great pics. This machine really showcases the potential in both Dan's design and the balic birch material.

One concern: since the power supplies generate heat, I'd want the electrical enclosure ventilated top and bottom.

Thanks for sharing, John.
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daniel_reetz
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Re: Jenkins / Dallas Build

Post by daniel_reetz »

Wow, this is a really aesthetically excellent build. Congratulations and thank you for sharing. I only recently became aware of T-nuts; they may be a perfect match for this kit.
ycpdan
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Re: Jenkins / Dallas Build

Post by ycpdan »

Wow that is beautiful, the painting half was a great idea, I stained most, and was wondering after use are t-nuts are working just by pressure or an adhesive of any type?
cday
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Country: UK

Re: Jenkins / Dallas Build

Post by cday »

ycpdan wrote:... are t-nuts are working just by pressure or an adhesive of any type?
T-nut.jpg
T-nut.jpg (14.49 KiB) Viewed 7385 times
A picture is worth a thousand words...
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