New design to hold book flat

[stevebowen]

I am just designing my first book scanner and this site has been invaluable.

Before deciding on the exact design I am working on a prototype to hold the pages down instead of using glass plates.
Im working on something similar to this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV0DzGvw4f8

I have attached a couple of images of the drawings and am just finishing off a working prototype.

There will be a bar sticking out from the top of the pneumatic cylinder that will pull away from the book as it moves up. I have not decided on the shape of the clamps that touch the book but will try a few and see what works best.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has tried anything similar or has any comments on the design

Steve

[stevebowen]

I have just uploaded a video clip of the prototype.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI_dsf6 ... e=youtu.be

I now need to work out the best way to fit this into the cradle and attach clamps to the arm that comes down.

[duerig]

That looks beautiful. I have a feeling that this system will really shine on larger books. Which is nice because that obviates the need for larger panes of glass to hold the pages flat.

The cradle in the Archivist is V-shaped to minimize wear on the books. The whole cradle moves back and forth so that the book can always be centered whether the book is at the beginning, middle, or end. And the cradle has two wings so that it can handle different sizes of spine. Using your flippers, you would also need a way to adjust the flippers in and out for different sizes of books.

This is a lot of mutually moving pieces. So it might be best to try to do just one thing at a time. First get a V-cradle that allows you to attach the flippers. Then add the other kinds of motion one at a time.

Please post more videos or pictures as you figure things out. This is a great project.

-D

[jck57]

I've fooled around with platenless designs. I found the challenge to be keeping the pages flat when holding the edges.

http://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtop ... to+scanner

Also something that uses pneumatics though with a glass platen:

http://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtop ... +scanner+5