CNC Router Drawing Robot Kit, Pen Plotter & Handwriting Machine，XYZ Plotter iDraw Hand Writing Robot Kit Open Source for Maker, Working Area A4

Coming from 3d printing and building a Voron 2.4, I wasn't expecting much of a learning curve. That wasn't the case but don't let that scare you. The documentation is non existent but the machine runs grbl 1.3a.20210424. The pen moves on the Z axis just like the print head on a 3d printer but it is inverted. Moving toward the bed is moving in the positive direction. I think some machines use the spindle commands to control the pen but that is not the case with this machine. The Z axis is spring loaded meaning that you can control the amount of pressure on the pen by pushing past 0. This also means that need to disable the step idle timeout with $1=255. Without that the spring will pull the pen back up as soon as the move finishes.

UPDATE: It stopped turning on after about a week of use. Checked all the connections. They were kind enough to send me a replacement. The replacement was DOA. I've returned both for a full refund. Super easy to assemble. I wanted a robotic writer for my Christmas cards and letters to clients. This is super easy to assemble. The software is about 70% there. The drawings come out like a dot matrix printer. It just draws it horizontally line by line. Takes for ever. Not sure how to get it to plot out a drawing so it doesn't take an eternity to make a simple drawing. I suppose a CAD engineer can figure this out. The "handwriting" fonts it comes with are not good. It looks like it was done by a 5th grader. The software/website doesn't allow you to upload your handwriting. Perhaps it's a feature in future versions. All the documentation says to go to the company website and download the handwriting app for android. When you try, it doesn't exist - at least the app doesn't exist. Not on their website or on Playstore. So don't expect to see your handwriting or signature on paper with this. This product's documentation is poor. About what you expect for a Chinese company that is too cheap to hire westerners to write the instructions. You do have to calibrate the device to work with each page. Not 100% intuitive. It's taken me some time to figure it out. Being an American, I didn't have a metric ruler in my house. I would suggest you purchase one to help calibrate this device to the exact dimensions of your paper. The youtube instructions are wanting. A forum exists. You can't log in - the "create new user" has been disabled. There is no email or support link. If it doesn't work... too bad.

I have a need to add QR Codes to mats for framed photos and I aIso wanted to add return addresses to the backs of the envelopes that I use for correspondence cards. Looking through the options, this seemed like a good option to try. Assembly took no more than 10 minutes. There are lots of videos on YouTube that show how to put this together. The gantry that carries the Z motion and the pen slips on easily and is secured by 4 knurled nuts that are hand tight. Getting the software up and running took a bit of fiddling since the same software is used for several different Bachin products. My controller speaks GRBL 1.3b G-Code and one of the windows allows you to pass G-Code commands directly to the robot. This helped me get the software to the correct settings and check things out since I could manually send commands to the robot. Build quality is pretty good and I don't think I could build a robot for a lot less money and the time saved was worth the few extra dollars. My version of the Bachin software does have a QR Code encoder, but I opted to import my QR Codes as png files through GIMP so I can have more control over the size and the frame. This fits my needs so I give it a five but people who aren't comfortable with G-Code, stepper motors, limit switches etc... may struggle a bit. On the other hand, if you want to learn how stepper based CNC systems work with G-code, this is a straightforward platform to learn. If your patient, you will be able to get it to work.

It is a very cool base product. I'd say more like 3.5 stars. I've always wanted something like this for my advertising campaigns. I've spent hours trying to make decent handwriting fonts. However, the software that comes with it is barely functional. Seriously. I read the reviews and thought it would t be that bad. It is. Basically, it allows you to write in a few "meh" handwriting formats, create your own with a dubious direct download app, aranage things on a page, and import svg files. There is a gallery of useless images for the likely consumers of this thing. Editing is very basic -- changing strictly proportional size and allowing rotation in divisions of 90 degrees is all you get. Anyway, this is a super handy product for someone who does handwriting campaigns, but with the out of box limitations you won't get very far with it. To actually make it useful for a multiletter batch, you've got to be pretty tech savvy and able to find your own solutions. Overall, this thing is really only good out of the box for someone who needs to write the exact same text over and over, or someone who does a lot of things like book signings. It has potential if they put some effort into the software and created a mail merge feature from something like a word doc, but unless you are willing to do a lot of diy workarounds then it is little more than a toy if you are not in the above target market.

I love the look and feel of this machine, it seems very well built. It is mostly metal and no part feels flimsy or poorly made. To put it together is extremely easy you can almost do it with our reading the instructions. Nice printed instructions are included. It works well and does what it says it does. Now the software is kind of awkward and very limited. The difference with the handwritten type of text and ordinary text is that for the first one, the machine imitates the movement of a hand, it traces each letter. Now the bad part is that the fonts are mediocre in quality and very limited. You can use any other fonts and pictures, but when you do so the machine does not trace, it makes small passes line by line just like a laser engraver. So if you create something with pictures or text that is not the traced text it just looks like a very cheap inkjet job or less. One big advantage (and this is why I bought this machine) is that you can write on things that you can not in a regular printer. You can print on small boxes, wood, cardboard, etc. It all depends on the kind of pen you are using. I discovered that to vary the pressure, the only thing you have to do is put the pen down. Adjust your pen so it touches the surface without pressure. Put the pen up and then push the pen down in the holder just a bit, so it will create some pressure when it comes down by command. How much? it depends on how much pressure you want, it's a try and error thing you will have to learn. So far I can use anything from permanent markers to pens and even regular pencils. I even think I can etch plastic with a sharp tool but I am not sure there is a way to secure the work with enough force as it is not intended for that purpose.

I know the name of this is a Bachin CNC Router Drawing Robot but I named her Signature Sally! And I love her! I'm a gift designer and often have requests for handwritten cards. Which are great but can be time consuming, tiring, and costly when you make mistakes. So I hook her up Sally and she writes my cards. She can even write them in my handwriting! So now I can send a card written in pen that looks great! I recommend her all the time to me gifting colleagues. So if ever hear anyone looking to buy "Signature Sally" I sent them your direction Bachin!

Like everyone says the program sucks. Only if owner paid someone on fiver to make it the right way…. If I’m in return time Frame probably going to do so. For the seller I suggest implementing calligrapher.Ai

I bought this machine because I have terrible handwriting. I thought the price was good and was able to set up and connect the machine easily. I want to be able to write cards, inscribe books, address envelopes, and write letters. It would be really great if the software were template based so that you could just click on the project that you want to create, (a greeting card, for example) choose the font you want, and the size of the characters you want, and then just hit "go" The font selection is absolutely terrible. There isn't one that I'd want to use in American business correspondence. If there were one clear, readable, cursive font included, one which you could change the size of the printing easily, that would help a lot. I don't want to sample my own terrible writing. I think the machine is slick and I'll keep working with it, but I don't feel it's meeting many of my expectations.