An inexpensive basic X/Y plotter available through EBay, AliExpress, etc.
Review:
I picked up one of these for ~$100 shipped so figured it would at least give me something new to learn on and mess around with over the holidays. I've got a 28" old school HPGL roll fed plotter as well but I'm limited to simple markers and pens on roll fed media with that... 24" wide white bond gets tiring after a while.
The build quality of this VG-X4 is way better than I expected. All parts fit together well, X and Y action is very smooth. Its definitely engineered for A4/Letter size plots. I haven't had an issue with balance so far, but the distance from the pen tip is a few mm different when the arm is extended away from the body.
The included software (and encryption key) is not so great. I suppose in a pinch I might use it, but luckily i'm able to connect as USB/Serial and push gcode to it using Universal Gcode Sender (UGS). The hardest thing right now is determining a consistent Origin when not having a X/Y limit. I see the included software has easy controls for setting origin point... and UGS does as well so moving forward with that.
The software also has some encryption scheme to allow their proprietary software to run. Luckily you can just connect to it as a virtual com port with UGS and send gcode files to it at 115200 baud / 8-N-1.
So far I have successfully plotted using UGS with gcode sources such as Inkscape and DrawingBot v3 software. I'll work on posting some tutorials soon.
Pros:
- Available for as low as US$100 shipped
- AxiDraw style clone
- Adjustable pen holding mechanism, can hold pens at an angle, easily adjustable
Cons:
- No X/Y End Stop Functionality can complicate positioning
- DIY assembly, printed instructions are not the best but there is a video
- Some GCODE anomalies, especially for Pen Up/Down and Pause commands. See below for Tech Notes
- Slow. Speed change G commands don't seem to speed up pen travel, time between command processing is slow
Technical Notes:
COM Port
- 115200 baud rate
- 8-N-1
GCode
- Pen Down takes range of 0 -> 800
- Pen Down Fully Extended : M3 S800
- Pen Up : M5
- Pause: 1s Pause : G4 P1
- 0.5s Pause : G4 P0.5