4 ms·

I've wanted a pen plotter for so long, but mainly to draw sharp geometrical figures. I don't think this would scratch the itch but I'm hopeful something will ap

I've wanted a pen plotter for so long, but mainly to draw sharp geometrical figures. I don't think this would scratch the itch but I'm hopeful something will appear for <$100

gilleain 4y ago
Yes, I looked into this a few months ago. The cheapest I could find were 'robot' plotters that actually move across the paper. Not as accurate as I would like. The alternatives seemed in the £100-500 ($120-620) range.
peppertree 4y ago
I would recommend a Cricut machine. Far less maintenance and everyone in the family can use.
- paulgb 4y ago
  For the HN crowd, I'll suggest an AxiDraw over Cricut. Cricut tried adding a subscription fee just for people to continue to use the machines they already bought[1]. It was reversed over public outcry, but the fact stands that they're capable of bricking your machine with a dumb policy decision. The AxiDraw has a high build quality, and you can use their open source software to drive it or other software that uses their published USB spec. EMSL are good people, but even if they weren't, they physically aren't able to remotely brick a machine once they ship it to you. [1] https://www.utahbusiness.com/cricut-announced-a-new-subscription-model%E2%80%95customers-shut-it-down/ https://www.utahbusiness.com/cricut-announced-a-new-subscrip...
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- myself248 4y ago
  Yeah, screw Cricut and their policies. When they sued Sure Cuts-A-Lot into removing support for Cricut machines, I completely swore off their heretofore-interesting hardware. Get any old Roland clone. You can often score an old USCutter on Craigslist for similar prices, the hardware is way more durable, and it's all simple parts you can replace without vendor lock-in. They speak HPGL and there's a million softwares to drive 'em, including Inkcut which sorta sucks but it's free.
- IshKebab 4y ago
  Don't buy a Cricut. They are an insanely shitty company. The Oracle of vinyl cutting. Get a Graphtec Silhouette Portrait 3. £180 and you can use open source software with it.
Jyaif 4y ago
This one works well: https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002484805942.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.47fa1e97W6xCCH&algo_pvid=e80a0b33-2413-483a-a9bf-39b76699d71d&algo_exp_id=e80a0b33-2413-483a-a9bf-39b76699d71d-7&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000020822783676%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21USD%21%2196.72%2196.72%21%2140.27%21%21%402100bb5116561114528177244ecb1c%2112000020822783676%21sea https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002484805942.html?spm=a2g...
mkl 4y ago
I would recommend an old Graphtec or Roland one. They are designed for this and work extremely well in good condition. The downsides are you may have to wait a while to find one on an auction site, and may have to work to either find proper pens or attach ordinary pens.

I've wanted a pen plotter for so long, but mainly to draw sharp geometrical figures. I don't think this would scratch the itch but I'm hopeful something will appear for <$100

gilleain 4y ago

Yes, I looked into this a few months ago. The cheapest I could find were 'robot' plotters that actually move across the paper. Not as accurate as I would like. The alternatives seemed in the £100-500 ($120-620) range.

peppertree 4y ago

I would recommend a Cricut machine. Far less maintenance and everyone in the family can use.

paulgb 4y ago
For the HN crowd, I'll suggest an AxiDraw over Cricut. Cricut tried adding a subscription fee just for people to continue to use the machines they already bought[1]. It was reversed over public outcry, but the fact stands that they're capable of bricking your machine with a dumb policy decision. The AxiDraw has a high build quality, and you can use their open source software to drive it or other software that uses their published USB spec. EMSL are good people, but even if they weren't, they physically aren't able to remotely brick a machine once they ship it to you. [1] https://www.utahbusiness.com/cricut-announced-a-new-subscription-model%E2%80%95customers-shut-it-down/ https://www.utahbusiness.com/cricut-announced-a-new-subscrip...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
myself248 4y ago
Yeah, screw Cricut and their policies. When they sued Sure Cuts-A-Lot into removing support for Cricut machines, I completely swore off their heretofore-interesting hardware. Get any old Roland clone. You can often score an old USCutter on Craigslist for similar prices, the hardware is way more durable, and it's all simple parts you can replace without vendor lock-in. They speak HPGL and there's a million softwares to drive 'em, including Inkcut which sorta sucks but it's free.
IshKebab 4y ago
Don't buy a Cricut. They are an insanely shitty company. The Oracle of vinyl cutting. Get a Graphtec Silhouette Portrait 3. £180 and you can use open source software with it.

Jyaif 4y ago

This one works well: https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002484805942.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.47fa1e97W6xCCH&algo_pvid=e80a0b33-2413-483a-a9bf-39b76699d71d&algo_exp_id=e80a0b33-2413-483a-a9bf-39b76699d71d-7&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000020822783676%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21USD%21%2196.72%2196.72%21%2140.27%21%21%402100bb5116561114528177244ecb1c%2112000020822783676%21sea https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002484805942.html?spm=a2g...

mkl 4y ago

I would recommend an old Graphtec or Roland one. They are designed for this and work extremely well in good condition. The downsides are you may have to wait a while to find one on an auction site, and may have to work to either find proper pens or attach ordinary pens.