Automatic Etch-a-Sketch Art using EasyDriver, Arduino, and LabView
A few years ago, I had the brilliant idea to make a CNC etch-a-sketch. To my chagrin, many people had already done it and showcased their projects on YouTube. While reviewing their designs I realized that there were two issues: 1) most CNC etch-a-sketches were very complicated and used very expensive parts. 2) unless connected to CAM software, the pictures were not very impressive.
I decided to improve on other’s designs by making a low-cost etch-a-sketch machine (about $30 worth of parts). I also decided it would be awesome to take an existing digital photograph and develop my own personal CAM software to convert that image into a continuous line that could be drawn on the etch-a-sketch. This is where things got a bit more complicated… but in the end I was able to develop some Arduino and LabView code that ended up working pretty well. This video takes the etch-a-sketch animator to the next level. Let me know what you think in the comments.
The following are affiliate links for products I used in this video. Using these links will not affect the price for your purchase but may result in a small commission for me, allowing me to keep making helpful and entertaining videos.
Etch-a-Sketch by Ohio Art
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-532...
Easydriver
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53...
Nema 17 Stepper Motor
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-532...
Arduino Nano
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-532...
Shaft Couplers
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53...
Shout-out to happy.little.etch, lily-liver, etchedintime, Pikajane, and Howard Lee who can make great etch-a-sketch art without the machine!