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Can you please say what version you are using? It should be listed under the “*” tab of EggBot Control.
I’m not sure what your artwork looked like in the “before stretching” state, but if it was the same height, and 3200 pixels wide (the width of the template), then it should end up at 4800 pixels wide — 1.5 X the width of the template — if it were stretched to 150% of the original width. I’m guessing from the screenshot that you’ve only stretched it to about ~3600 pixels wide, or ~112% of the original width. That’s not typically enough to compensate for the aspect ratio of a chicken egg.
I’m *so sorry* about the problem on the board, and *so glad* that you were able to get it working.
Make sure that you’re using the lowest 3 pins, and that you have the brown wire towards the outside. If it’s still not working, please contact our store directly by e-mail or the contact form.
If a plot is underway, then you can pause it with the PRG button, and then use the Resume tab, with the option “Cancel and return home only” to return to the home position.
There are no port pins, so there is no description. The EggBot software is written to control a specific device, that does not have a parallel interface.
The EggBot does not have a parallel port, only USB.
I can see in the photo that the pen arm is not exactly vertical (which is OK), but that the distal pen arm is rotated a bit from the correct position. If everything is set up perfectly, a pen that is inserted will point exactly towards the pen motor shaft.
Now, when you power on the EggBot motors, they “cog” into one of the natural positions of the motors, which are separated by about 7 degrees. These “natural” positions are not calibrated, nor necessarily the same between motors, and change as the motors turn.If you want to center the pen precisely, then use the “walk pen motor” feature in the Manual tab of EggBot Control, to center the pen over the egg. Once you’ve walked it to vertical once, it will return to that position after each plot, until you reset the EggBot — by pressing the RST button or unplugging it from power. You may also want to figure out what that exact offset is for your machine, so that you know, for example that you should always walk the Pen Motor by (say) -30 steps when the machine is first plugged in.The driver is generic, to cover serial and parallel ports. The EggBot itself requires USB, and is not set up for use with a parallel port.There are many projects that do use the parallel port for controlling stepper motors. The port is certainly capable of providing the drive signals, but it does not provide enough current for the motor coils, so you would need some kind of external power driver between the port and the motor.
You’ll have to check for permanence on a per-pen basis. One thing that can be done (for some pen types) is to spray a clear protective coat over the ink, once it does finally dry.
We have some other notes up on the wiki: http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Pen_choicesLink to which?
Thank you for the kind words. ;)
And, nice modeling!When it really counts, we use the Copic Multiliner SP pens, which go down to an absurdly small “.03 mm” size. The numbers are not really comparable between different manufacturers. The black Copic Multiliner SP pens in the different widths are excellent (*except* for drying time), but the colored versions are not as vivid as Sharpies nor much thinner. You can get replacement nibs for (in all the different widths) for this series, so there’s some hope of switching in thinner nibs on the color pens, or switching in faster-drying ink.A roller-ball pen can also potentially work. Some people have had good luck with a regular ball point, but that requires extra downwards pressure, which can shorten the life of the pen-lift motor. A fountain pen might also work well.And, not what you were asking for, but the finest of our kistka tips is *really* fine as well, and can make some pretty spectacularly thin lines. We’ve been meaning to test these with just fountain pen ink, rather than the usual hot wax.Not that I’m aware of, at least in the wide range of colors. There is such a thing as a “Sharpie Pen” that is a little bit finer, IIRC.
They can be used, but one thing that we *really* love about the Sharpies is how fast the ink dries. With some pens, you may need to leave the objects to dry for days. Obviously it depends on the print media (eggs? ornaments?), heat, and so forth.
We don’t have any experience with Inkscape Portable, but I’ll see what I can find out.
How and where did you install the EggBot extensions?Did you install the USB driver for the EggBot (EBB / UBW driver) as well?Are other extensions working properly?Are the EggBot extensions that do not communicate with the EggBot working correctly, e.g., Preset Hatch for Fills or Stretch?
