REVIEW - Large XY Pen Plotter iDraw A1 by UUNA TEK® (Drawing Machine)

[@thedotisblack]

Hello everyone! This is the iDraw A1 pen plotter by UUNATEK. Hope you'll find it interesting. Don't forget, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you use the coupon code ( *THEDOTISBLACK* ), you can get *15*%* *off* on any purchase on uunatek.com/collections/all-handwriting-machines-pen-plotters Other reviews: IDraw 2.0 A3 - Review kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKvapmyaaMx6nKM iDraw H A3 - Review & Tutorial with Laser Engraver kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpWZZImIlrxkZ5Y LIKE. SHARE. COMMENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! --- Website: www.thedotisblack.com Twitter: twitter.com/davidmrugala Instagram: instagram.com/thedotiswhite Playlist of Drawing Machine videos: kzbin.info/aero/PLbLdd1fdNg5yV46dFRn6YfPyczZWiec9- Playlist of Processing art tutorials: kzbin.info/aero/PLbLdd1fdNg5zPBMYYZLO2JVqMrBkK5Lux Support on PATREON: www.patreon.com/thedotisblack Become a MEMBER: kzbin.info/door/X4GSh1gpRuugPpjxu0gLmwjoin

[@per1sher]

Fascinating video - thanks for posting. I'm going to have to save my pennies and get one of these!

[@thedotisblack]

You’re most welcome. Before you decide to buy, watch out for any holiday season. Uunatek usually offers discounts, on top of thedotisblack.

[@Hogla287]

I built one from CR-10s parts, but with a dual pen head :). A1 seems quite large. I was surprised at just how little of the footprint of mine was actually usable for writing. My dual pen implementation probably wasn’t helping though

[@bachinmaker6004]

Very good! May I ask if I can write in German or French by handwriting fonts?

[@thedotisblack]

Sure, you can use various languages. You need to first write your text and then use the plug-in Hershey text to transform your writing into a single font type. Just a few mouse clicks only.

[@Noegruoc]

fantastatic ! thanks for the review, i would love to have one but don't have a workshop to put it in unfortunately

[@patdavi]

Nice review! I'm interested in the A0 or A1 size but wondered about stability. The A3 size has the basement option that seems to help with precision/stability. Do you think it is possible to screw the A1 or A0 frame to a board (MDF) or desk dedicated to the printer?

[@thedotisblack]

The frame is very stable at rapid movement (12000mm/min) and change of directions (max acceleration), without sliding. You can see it at 23:00 and 24:35, that’s the actual plotter speed. My table is shacking but the plotter stays in place. The rubber feet are firm and you can always add more feet, that’s the nice thing about the standard extruded aluminium profiles. Of course, you can mount it on an MDF or table too. Just need some cheap brackets. I don’t see any need though.

[@thedotisblack]

I forgot to mention: You can actually add your own baseplate without attaching the plotter to a table. You simply need to add two or three inexpensive aluminium cross-profiles and on top of it a metal plate (same as iDraw H). That would be the nicest solution as it will allow the use of magnets. An MDF board is the easiest though, even better with a thin metal sheet.

[@jamesq8744]

Would you recommend this over the bantam tools nextdraw A1 model? Based on your A3 videos, the nextdraw (axidraw) seems like it has better fidelity, but I don’t know if the remains true for the larger print sizes. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[@kcm3407]

Do you have tutorials on how you create your designs for the plotter? And how you imported that image of Bach? Thanks

[@thedotisblack]

I don’t have specific tutorials on plotter drawings but this one is a further development of the art tutorial Ep.38 Waves 1. The Bach portrait is made with a free online tool: mitxela.com

[@jaimesamuelarseneau-floria9255]

Thank you very much it was well explained !!!!

[@thedotisblack]

Thank you for your feedback!

[@ChrisGWGreen]

Hi the dot is black, I really appreciate your work. I've been working on a new plotter design and wondered if you had any insights from the machines you've used. I'm trying to eliminate issues like bed levelling on larger prints, vibration, scale itself etc. As such the current design keeps all the electronics and moving parts at the ends of the cross bar including the z axis driver, the end switches and the x/y drivers. In this way, the plotter can be scaled quite simply by running the x-axis on a larger frame. I noticed on your A1, there doesn't appear to be a belt tensioner on the x-axis. Have you had any issues with just tightening where the belt is zip-tied to the pen holder? Thanks in advance. Regards Chris

[@thedotisblack]

Hi! So far, I don’t have any issues with the belts, they work flawless. Likewise the other machines by iDraw that I have, A3 size but same setup, no problem. To modify it or extend the size of the plotter, I personally think it is better to build simply a big one. Or rather have various x-axis lengths with pen plotter heads, stepper motors and belts installed, that can be swapped completely. Would only need to change and connect the cables. But again, if you know that you require a large working area, why not just build a large plotter in the first place.

[@ChrisGWGreen]

@@thedotisblack Hi, thanks for the reply. Thats really helpful to know regarding the belt tension. I appreciate your point, why not go big straight away? For now its a matter of "break it til you make it"... I want to get the basics right on an A2 plotter then scale it up. Its interesting however you bring up swapping out the x-axis. I was planning on having the ability to change pens like a cnc machine might change drill bits. Effectively having pen mounts (e.g red, green, blue and black) that can be interchanged, but now I wonder if having independent x-axises would be simpler

[@xldoesit]

How do you export Processing sketches to be drawn on such a big pen plotter?

[@thedotisblack]

I think I did some tutorials on how to export vector graphics from Processing. I always export PDFs with the correct size for A1. To do that, you need to calculate/convert A1 size to pixels. (Processing works with 72ppi.)

[@drand4865]

Do you know if the pen actuation mechanism allows for smooth variation of pen pressure? (e.g. through an API)

[@thedotisblack]

Sorry for late reply. The pressure can be adjusted with the spring, I show it in the video. Additionally, the weight of the bracket and other parts of the pen holder plate add pressure already. The stepper motor has no direct impact.

[@axelSixtySix]

We see the felt tip pen drying in real time ! 😂My two cents: felt pen are rubbish because the tip is abraded and dry way too fast. The best ones are long reach ones like Pica-Ink. But the best ones are ball gel pens (Mitsubishi's Uni Ball), fountain pens which can be modified for ink capacity, and Rotring Isograph.

[@maxwildcard2403]

Are there no continuous ink pen solutions, bit like the Epson Ecotank in their inkjet printers?

[@thedotisblack]

Unfortunately not. You can find some larger ink cartridges for ink pens, but that’s also limited. Usually, as part of the process, the artists develop their own drawing tools or divide the drawing into several sequences.

[@vitorfranco7123]

Hi David, thank you for the review, amazingly good and detailed. I work a lot with pitt natural charcoal pencil (like faber-castell #117400) I was wondering if it is possible to use these pencils, or do you think the tip will break off quickly ? Was wondering if it is feasible, as one might need to stop the plotter a lot of times to sharpen the pencil ?

[@thedotisblack]

Thank you for your feedback. Using charcoal pencils is possible, but you can’t use them inclined and they must have a certain thickness otherwise they’ll break from the movement. Of course you’ll need to sharpen them constantly. Or “invent” a loader for the pencil. For example, a small tube (ball pointer) with a spring on the other side that will press the pencil carriage down. This however will need a continuous line. It’s a little complicated and would require some work. Probably the best way to do it is simply dividing the drawing into segments and sharpen the pencil ones in a while.

[@vitorfranco7123]

@@thedotisblack thank you so much for replying and sharing your thoughts. Deeply appreciate your time and effort.

[@JuanNaro-bo8om]

Estimado buenos días consulta que placa tendría que comprar en caso que se me quemé la placa controladora

[@thedotisblack]

Hi, you can purchase the parts on the website, or email UUNATEK directly.

[@n78481]

Hello, I dont understand how I can calibrate the starting position. At the moment the motor wants to move the plotter beyond the scale and makes a bad sound until I stop it. Thank you!!

[@anderslarsen8546]

It is very interesting but it would be absolutley marvelous if they had an automatic tool changer.

[@thedotisblack]

I totally agree! That would enable many opportunities.

[@mirko124]

Thank you! What do you think about an iDraw A0 plotter?

[@thedotisblack]

The A0 plotter looks great. I did not test it, but apart of the additional cable rail on the y-axis, everything supposed to be the same as A1. The frame is stable enough for the size. For me personally, A0 is too large though, I don’t have that much space in my studio.

[@BongJoonAi]

Hey bro at 12:50 you mention the maximum pen diameter being 20mm... Is that an exact measurement? Will it fit a 17mm thick Marker? Also how thick can the working surface be? Can the machine draw on a 37mm thick canvas or would it need to be elevated? Amazing review btw and if I buy I will make sure to use your code 🤞 thanks for the help!

[@thedotisblack]

The distance between the edges is 20mm. However, the distance will vary according to the profile of the pen and edges of the pen bracket. Unfortunately, I don't have a 17mm profile (marker) to test. My markers are about 14mm and still have space left. 17mm round profile will be tight. But you can always bend the pen bracket and increase slightly the distance. It's thick metal, you will need some force. I will do my own bracket because I also want to use larger pens. It's not difficult at all. The height of the pen can be adjusted. The pen bracket has various holes. In the review I use the top hole. But if you use the very bottom hole, the pen will be quite high, 37mm canvas will work. The ultimate limit is the bottom of the pen holder plate that is attached to the x-axis frame. The distance between the bottom edge and the drawing surface is exactly 52mm. If you deduct the pen tip, a max distance should be around 45mm. The rest depends on the pen/marker. And as you mentioned, you can always elevate the plotter in the corners. For example, for my laser cutter/engraver, I use 6mm rubber to elevate the machine.

[@JuliaNeubauer]

Can this plotter do what the 36-in HP (with HP-GL/2) pen plotter do?

[@winwinmilieudefensie7757]

What is the difference with a printer or a large printer? Or is it just a large printer??😅

[@thedotisblack]

Huge difference, it’s either A3 or up to A1. A1 is of course better, more flexibility, more resolution, more details.

[@diegomonzon]

Have you tried the Vector to Gcode 2 application ? I would love to hear your opinion .

[@thedotisblack]

Hi! I am sorry, I did not use the application, perhaps I should try it but did don’t have a need yet. Is there anything special about Vector to Gcode that you’d like to know?

[@diegomonzon]

@@thedotisblack First let me tell you that I really like your work/plots. With Vector to Gcode 2 is super intuitive. You can preview your path, add custom commands in specific places of the path , add interval commands every X amount of steps , set variable Z heights depending on the line width, custom commands per svg .... Super powerful and easy to use

[@thedotisblack]

@diegomonzon thanks for elaborating! The app sounds very useful, especially for optimizing paths and using brushes for acrylics instead of ink pens. I’ll give it a try!

[@diegomonzon]

@@thedotisblack with the iDraw can you use directly Gcode or do you have to use Inkscape with plugins?

[@thedotisblack]

The iDraw works same as the AxiDraw, with the plug-in in Inkscape and GRBL. Gcode is no problem. It’s just saw your message on Instagram. I’ll reply but first I need to watch your tutorial videos, especially the one that shows how to plot directly from Illustrator. Lots of people will be interested in it!

[@Jasminekaur2121]

Her machine worth price

[@petergrech2582]

Reviews look always nice and easy but reality is most of the time different. I got my A1 plotter three months ago and my experience is not that great. First the power supply/transformer is not working at all, software and plug ins are just horrible inclouded Inkscape....I can't draw anything in it! You will get no instructions....only some videos how to assemble some plotters. I contacted UUNATEK with my problems and they wane me to send them videos of everything....WHAT???? Don't you have better way how to help your customers???? And yes the cable management is horrible so I added another drag chain for Y axis. Now my question is how do I plot with this thing??? There is no dedicated button PLAY or GO or something....how do I make it to Move??? And I'm assuming it can use only vectric file in order for it to work??? Can someone HELP?????

[@thedotisblack]

Sorry to hear that you have such a negative experience. Regarding the power adapter, is it broken? If so, you can get a replacement. The cable chain for the y-axis I have discussed in the video. And as you can see in the video, it is not a problem. For my setup, it’s actually perfect when the cable hangs down. Inkscape and plug-in is almost exactly the same as for AxiDraw. The installation and operation is smooth, almost the same as with any regular printer. You simply have to set it up. Inkscape is a free software that allows for a plug&play experience. Tutorials are available from Inkscape directly. Alternatively, you can use GRBL. But this is less convenient than the Inkscape/plug-in. And yes, vector files are the only file formats that any CNC machine operates with. If you want raster images to plot, you must first translate them into a vector format. That applies to any machine, including 3D printers, laser engravers and plotters. PLAY or GO buttons are in the software, plugin for InkScape. I did show it in the video.

[@thedotisblack]

Btw, if UUNATEK asks you to record a video, they want to see your work process. How you use Inkscape/plug-in, to understand where your problems are. This is the most effective way to help and advice. In the review video, I briefly talk about the plug-in.

[@jondoe5866]

That’s a rip off. If I were you. I’d build my own the hardest part would be ordering everything online. You will learn a new skill that will allow you to upgrade later on. I would never suggest this for viewers. KZbin has turned into a free for all.

[@FeeshCTRL]

I know this comment is like 3+ months old, but I think when people say things like this it's hilarious. "Just build it yourself!" So where do you figure people are going to learn how to program one of these by themselves with no knowledge? They'll probably have to pay for programming school. Soldering? Wiring? Electricity? Circuitry? They're gonna have to learn 4-5 different things to make something like this, which most people it takes years of practice/knowledge to get to that point. The hardest part is definitely NOT ordering everything online, lmao.

[@JacobWard101]

@@FeeshCTRL I'm sorry, but I have to support @jondoe5866 here. I'm still new to this whole pen plotting thing, but it seems to me that these machines are way overpriced, and I'm not just talking about Idraw and Axidraw it seems the same with most pen plotting companies. If you compare these machines to 3D printers, they actually need fewer components to build. Yet if you spent $1000-1300 on a 3D printer, these days you're looking at a pretty high-end (hobby-grade) printer. building one of these really wouldn't be that difficult and there are plenty of videos out there which show you exactly what to do, yes, you may need to solder a few wires but really anyone can do that its easy, but other than that, all the software is already written and all it would take is downloading it, these really are quite simple machines when you think about it, especially considering you can get a pretty awesome 3d printer for 200$-300$, and that has to do 3 axies, heated bed, filament extrusion etc. I'm not saying these machines arent worth it, they seem great, but I think for most people there just out of budget and way overpriced. Not only that but currently the idraw a3 is 550$ and for around 100$ less you can get the best cricut machine, which will do a3 and can draw, cut, engrave, emboss and has its own software that is really user friendly and can be used by anyone, not just some extension for a program that already exists, and i don't know if you have used it but inkscape is really not very good and pretty slow.

[@MichaelKingsfordGray]

Dreadful! The pen bending means an inaccuracy in repeatability of at least 1mm!

[@thedotisblack]

I’ve seen several of your negative comments. Can you please describe your problem in detail?

[@uriel2319]

P R O M O S M 😻

[@stasov]

HI. I have exactly the same plotter as on video. But after unlucky firmware upgrade it stopped working properly. Any chance you have a gcode parameters for it. Cos my ones are totally wrong $0=247 $1=235 $2=126 $3=122 $4=0 $5=0 $6=0 $10=208 $11=2147483.648 $12=-0.000 $13=0 $20=0 $21=0 $22=0 $23=239 $24=0.000 $25=-2147483.648 $26=207 $27=-0.000 $30=-2147483648 $31=2147483648 $32=0 $100=50.000 $101=50.000 $102=500.000 $110=5000.000 $111=5000.000 $112=5000.000 $120=-2147483.648 $121=-2147483.648 $122=500.000 $130=500.000 $131=-2147483.648 $132=5.000

[@thedotisblack]

That is an interesting problem. Can you give me some info where you retrieved the numbers from? Otherwise I’ll have to look around. But perhaps the easiest way is, email UUNATEK and ask them directly to send you the original firmware. They’ll do it.

[@stasov]

@@thedotisblack Thanks a lot for your reply. Im already contacted UUNATEK and they decided to send me replacing motherboard instead of firmware. Those numbers i had from UGS when you press command $$, But now i got new numbers from Lightburn with command $$ they looks like this, i know they still wrong $0=10 $1=0 $2=126 $3=0 $4=0 $5=0 $6=0 $10=1 $11=0.010 $12=0.002 $13=0 $20=0 $21=0 $22=1 $23=0 $24=25.000 $25=500.000 $26=207 $27=-0.000 $30=1000 $31=0 $32=0 $100=100.000 $101=100.000 $102=50.000 $110=5000.000 $111=5000.000 $112=5000.000 $120=500.000 $121=500.000 $122=5000.000 $130=200.000 $131=200.000 $132=200.000