Clemd's DIY build in photos

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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clemd973
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by clemd973 »

russca wrote:Clemd, in your built SDM remote has 3 wires coming out of it but the seller's line up shows only 2. What is a third one for? I wanna order the right one.
Russca, the third wire goes to a digital timer that can be set to go off at different intervals so that if you time how long it takes you to raise the Platen, turn the page, and lower the Platen, the timer can be set to fire the switch for you - sort of an automated operation. It's not really needed, but I like bells and whistles. It might come in handy also if you don't/can't mount the switch to the Platen handle for some reason. The switch does work fine depressed with your thumb if it's attached to the handle as in my photo so the timer is not necessary. Again, I just like bells and whistles. You can view a photo of the timer'd switch here under "A".
russca wrote:Another question: Are you gonna post bill of materials? Would be nice to get exact list of parts [items, quantity].

I wasn't planning on posting an item/quantity list since all I did was use Daniel's shopping list for Home Depot as a start. I did, however, make some modifications of my own that you can see in my photo log above. You can also get the reference link to where I purchased the gooseneck microphone extensions and camera mounts in this thread- beginning of page one, with pics following on page 2. Now that my build is complete, I may be able to work up an item list, and even some updated pricing if I can round up my receipts. (Suggestion: log your build in photos too because inevitably you'll find something that works for you that no one else thought of but that someone else may be able to benefit from)
russca wrote:I am a total noob when it comes to DIY book scanners. So, please forgive my questions.
No worries here. I was a total noob as well only about two months ago. I'm enjoying this as a hobby and am still learning myself. Now that my build is finally complete, I can start focusing on the scanning process as well as post-processing of the book. I posted this photo log because I wanted to help newbie's like myself at least get their build off the ground. I chose Daniel's DIY build because it seemed easy, and he did a great job of showing us how to get started. Granted, if you follow his plans to the letter, you'll definitely run into some minor problems, but you just have to think ahead of the steps to judge how things are going and plan for any modifications you can foresee. I'd be happy to answer any particular questions you might have so feel free to contact me in the thread or by PM. This forum is a great source of information. Everyone here is willing to help. Welcome aboard!!!
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clemd973
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by clemd973 »

spamsickle wrote:I'd like to see pictures from somebody showing this "split cradle" in action. Semi-thick book, front of the book, middle of the book, end of the book, just to see how it looks edge-on. I'm still using my old "V" and throwing a piece of PVC pipe in it, but I'm considering this new design. Would just like to see somebody else's results before cutting wood.
FOR SPAMSICKLE: Took some "action" shots for you. With different size books it does take some adjustment of the split cradle in order to make the book flush against the Platen, but I guess that's the beauty of the split cradle because it works fine with some adjustment. Some of these pictures show a gap between Platen and page, but by moving the right side of the cradle in or out depending on where you are in the process, it's not a problem to get flush. I'm sure the design could be tweaked, but for my purposes it works fine.
Thin book.
Thin book.
Beginning of book
Beginning of book
108_4752.JPG
End of book
End of book
Medium sized book; beginning of book.
Medium sized book; beginning of book.
Middle of book.
Middle of book.
End of book, needing some adjustment.
End of book, needing some adjustment.
108_4743.JPG
Thick book needing some adjustment; beginning of book.
Thick book needing some adjustment; beginning of book.
Middle of book.
Middle of book.
End of book.
End of book.
I'm satisfied with how it operated. Each of these book positions were able to be adjusted so that the page was flush to the Platen even though it might not show it in each pic. Hope this helped.
russca
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by russca »

clemd973 wrote:Russca, the third wire goes to a digital timer that can be set to go off at different intervals so that if you time how long it takes you to raise the Platen, turn the page, and lower the Platen, the timer can be set to fire the switch for you - sort of an automated operation. It's not really needed, but I like bells and whistles. It might come in handy also if you don't/can't mount the switch to the Platen handle for some reason. The switch does work fine depressed with your thumb if it's attached to the handle as in my photo so the timer is not necessary. Again, I just like bells and whistles. You can view a photo of the timer'd switch here under "A".
Digital timer is good, but I am wondering if there is a miniature enough switch that can trigger on pressure contact. I would place it in the outer side of the corner of the glass platen. Say in the middle and run wire to the outer edge and then to the cameras. See my drawing below:
pressureswitch.gif
pressureswitch.gif (12.48 KiB) Viewed 11459 times
clemd973 wrote:I wasn't planning on posting an item/quantity list since all I did was use Daniel's shopping list for Home Depot as a start. I did, however, make some modifications of my own that you can see in my photo log above. You can also get the reference link to where I purchased the gooseneck microphone extensions and camera mounts in this thread- beginning of page one, with pics following on page 2. Now that my build is complete, I may be able to work up an item list, and even some updated pricing if I can round up my receipts. (Suggestion: log your build in photos too because inevitably you'll find something that works for you that no one else thought of but that someone else may be able to benefit from)
I really like the quality of your built. But, my preferred material is aluminium. Right now I am trying to make up my mind.

clemd973 wrote:No worries here. I was a total noob as well only about two months ago. I'm enjoying this as a hobby and am still learning myself. Now that my build is finally complete, I can start focusing on the scanning process as well as post-processing of the book. I posted this photo log because I wanted to help newbie's like myself at least get their build off the ground. I chose Daniel's DIY build because it seemed easy, and he did a great job of showing us how to get started. Granted, if you follow his plans to the letter, you'll definitely run into some minor problems, but you just have to think ahead of the steps to judge how things are going and plan for any modifications you can foresee. I'd be happy to answer any particular questions you might have so feel free to contact me in the thread or by PM. This forum is a great source of information. Everyone here is willing to help. Welcome aboard!!!
Thank you so much for taking your time to reply in detail and offering your help/advice. I just need time to sort things out and come up with a plan of my own.
spamsickle
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Joined: 06 Jun 2009, 23:57

Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by spamsickle »

russca wrote:Digital timer is good, but I am wondering if there is a miniature enough switch that can trigger on pressure contact. I would place it in the outer side of the corner of the glass platen. Say in the middle and run wire to the outer edge and then to the cameras. See my drawing
I expect it would be possible, but based on my experience scanning quite a few books, I anticipate a couple of problems with such a design. Many times when I'm scanning, I don't want the cameras to fire immediately when the platen touches the book. I may want to work the platen down into the crease, to open up the pages and get a good view of the inner margin. I may need to push the platen to re-center the book, forcing a tiny side-to-side movement of the cradle. As often as not I want the cameras to fire after a short interval, rather than when the platen first touches the page.
clemd973 wrote:
spamsickle wrote:I'd like to see pictures from somebody showing this "split cradle" in action. Semi-thick book, front of the book, middle of the book, end of the book, just to see how it looks edge-on. I'm still using my old "V" and throwing a piece of PVC pipe in it, but I'm considering this new design. Would just like to see somebody else's results before cutting wood.
FOR SPAMSICKLE: Took some "action" shots for you. With different size books it does take some adjustment of the split cradle in order to make the book flush against the Platen, but I guess that's the beauty of the split cradle because it works fine with some adjustment. Some of these pictures show a gap between Platen and page, but by moving the right side of the cradle in or out depending on where you are in the process, it's not a problem to get flush. I'm sure the design could be tweaked, but for my purposes it works fine.

I'm satisfied with how it operated. Each of these book positions were able to be adjusted so that the page was flush to the Platen even though it might not show it in each pic. Hope this helped.
Thanks, those do help. Are you saying that sometimes you adjust the split cradle in the middle of scanning a book? I'm not sure if that's how I should be reading "depending on where you are in the process". I do see that some of your begninning/end pictures show the book with the spine against an "angled" side of the cradle rather than against the "horizontal" section. That's my preference as well, so it's good to see that the split cradle doesn't hinder it.
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clemd973
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by clemd973 »

spamsickle wrote:Are you saying that sometimes you adjust the split cradle in the middle of scanning a book? I'm not sure if that's how I should be reading "depending on where you are in the process". I do see that some of your begninning/end pictures show the book with the spine against an "angled" side of the cradle rather than against the "horizontal" section. That's my preference as well, so it's good to see that the split cradle doesn't hinder it.
Yes, you understood that correctly. Simply put, in my experience, the cradle will need to be adjusted as you move from the beginning, to the middle, to the end of the book as the bulk of the pages shifts sides. So it's not only at the middle of the book that the cradle has to be adjusted but a couple of times throughout the process. Regardless of how the adjustments need to be made, the fact that the cradle is adjustable doesn't hinder the process but actually helps it.

Also, good point made to Russca. In the adjusting of the cradle the Platen needs to work under varying degrees of pressure. This not only causes a potential problem with a pressure sensitive switch as he desires to have, but it also causes some problems with the timer switch, I'm finding. Obviously because of the periodic adjustments that need to be made to the cradle, the time interval is not always the same. That being said, though, the timer switch does have a pause button. :)
spamsickle
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by spamsickle »

clemd973 wrote:Obviously because of the periodic adjustments that need to be made to the cradle, the time interval is not always the same. That being said, though, the timer switch does have a pause button. :)
Yes, I'm using timers myself to fire the cameras, only mine are in my CHDK script. While overall I prefer the "timer" method to the mechanical switch I was using before, they do have their drawbacks. If I set the timer interval too long, I'm wasting a lot of time on each shot waiting for the timer to run out. If I set it too short, I get more "garbage" pictures when, for instance, a couple of pages stick together and I'm fumbling to get them separated when the timer fires. I'm currently erring on the side of "garbage", because it's simple to take them out later, or (worst case) scroll past them if they make it all the way to my final PDF (and at that point, if they bother me, pdftk can still snip them out easily).

When I want to pause for some reason*, I have to push the shutter button on each camera to stop the CHDK script. I know somebody's probably reading this now and wondering why anyone would prefer a timer to a mechanical switch that fires only when you press the button. For me, it comes down to two things: the mechanical switches would occasionally fire only one camera, and that was a bigger hit on my workflow than getting a dozen garbage shots. And, I prefer not being required to push a button. I'm using a cantilevered platen, and I like to be able to hold the sides of the platen and work it down into the pages when necessary, and hold it there while the cameras fire. While it would be possible to put the button on the side to facilitate this, in my experience it was just easier to eliminate the button altogether.

I think it's great to discuss not only the advantages but the limitations of various designs, so people can make informed choices about the trade-offs they consider important.

* For instance, to brush dust off the platen. The electrostatic charge on the plexiglass grabs any dust or hairs that were in the book, and builds up over time. At least a scanned book is a clean book!
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clemd973
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by clemd973 »

russca wrote:I really like the quality of your built. But, my preferred material is aluminium. Right now I am trying to make up my mind.
If your preferred material is aluminum, you have to look at this build. This is one of the most impressive builds I've seen on the forum yet. His use of aluminum extrusions make for a very professional/manufactured looking build. So if you're into aluminum as your building material, I'm sure Translucent1's thread can give you a lot of very useful information. Contacting him directly might be a good idea too since he hasn't updated that thread since August 5th. I'd love to get hands-on and eyes-on experience with these different builds. Would be great to have a DIY convention!
russca
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by russca »

clemd973 wrote:If your preferred material is aluminum, you have to look at this build. This is one of the most impressive builds I've seen on the forum yet. His use of aluminum extrusions make for a very professional/manufactured looking build. So if you're into aluminum as your building material, I'm sure Translucent1's thread can give you a lot of very useful information. Contacting him directly might be a good idea too since he hasn't updated that thread since August 5th.
Actually I was gonna use parts from the same supplier 80/20. You made my task 100% easier by pointing to his thread. All I need now is to get BOM from Translucent1. This community is a great resource for guys like us. After I finish building my set, I'll post pics here as well.
clemd973 wrote:I'd love to get hands-on and eyes-on experience with these different builds. Would be great to have a DIY convention!
I agree nothing can replace experiencing different models in person. But it's not feasible unless some corporation sponsors it.
Shaknum
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by Shaknum »

I'm curious if you've found that the lights work better mounted off center and pointing at a slight angle to each side of the platen (as you've mounted them), than mounted directly over the middle of the platen and shining straight down. I ask because I have no glare on my setup when I shine lights from directly overhead, but get a big ugly reflection if I move the light even a little to the side. Perhaps I experience this because my lights are too close to the platen and need to be mounted higher. The build looks really clean by the way. Great work.
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clemd973
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Re: Clemd's DIY build in photos

Post by clemd973 »

Shaknum wrote:I'm curious if you've found that the lights work better mounted off center and pointing at a slight angle to each side of the platen (as you've mounted them), than mounted directly over the middle of the platen and shining straight down.
I haven't completed a project since I've mounted the new lights, but the test shots look fine. I plan to scan a small book this weekend so maybe I can update this at the beginning of next week. I'm not running into much of a glare problem, I believe, because I'm using non-glare acrylic on my platen. I'll try it both ways, because I did have that thought too, and will try to upload samples illustrating each position. I chose this first orientation because that's what I began with following the original DIY instructional using the traditional spot/flood lights. These LED lights, however, seem to diffuse the light better than the old spots I was using, which also may be helping decrease glare. In a few weeks I plan to add a third light (pointing down at the platen) to the front edge of the light support 2x4. All together it will be 30W of LED light, which should brighten things up a bit. I'll be interested to see if the third light poses any problems with glare, but I'm not anticipating it will. Count on that update in about 3 weeks (the light comes from Hong Kong ;) ) Thanks for the support.
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