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Yes, it can cut through regular cardboard. I think 5mm is the thickest it can go.

Depends on the font type and font size, and pen of course. I can’t really say.. but usually it is quick.

The glitches come from the paper. Its plotter paper and I think also the pens had some issues because I ran it at full speed. Otherwise I don’t have any problems with the iDraw a1.

Hi! No particular reason, recently I had to do work for a plotter work for an exhibition. The curators use the AxiDraw and all artists works had to be calibrated for it. At the same time I recorded these videos. Just took me time to do the video editing and posting. Otherwise, the performance is similar to iDraw. Speed and precision is similar. IDraw has a much better pen holder plate with a stepper motor, overall the motors are more quiet. Actually, the iDraw is better, especially the strokes are clearer because of more pressure from the pen holder plate. In the review videos I replied to some people who asked similar questions. That said, this is the AxiDraw, I don’t have any experience with the NextDraw.

I wrote an algorithm and added a few lines of code to change the stroke weight into lines for the plotter. I shall make a short tutorial for patrons and members here.

It’s a typical photocopy paper and an ink pen by a Korean company: Monami Plus Pen 3000. Just cheap to test the plotter and drawing. Otherwise I use better paper and ink pens.

can you share the tutorial for the build?

It’s not a silent machine indeed but to be fair, the microphone of the camera is close and the volume appears louder. The setting in this recording was at 70% speed. At lower speeds, for example 10-30%, the sound is even louder. :)

@@thedotisblack curious to get your thoughts on the noise level. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment with a cat scared of the kitchen fan and most noises lol. Only place I can think of putting this would be in my closet to minimize the noise. Is the noise really loud/bothersome?

Haha, indeed, an elephant walked across the canvas.

@@thedotisblack LOL It just looks like an elephant's footprint in soft African soil. You always make something really special and unique.

Thank you!

Glad you like it! Thank you!

Hi! This basement comes with the iDraw, you need to select the option when you purchase it. But you can also get it without and plot directly on your desk. However, I find the basement extremely useful, the plotter becomes a plug&play device and because the basement is screwed to the frame, the plotter is always precise at high speeds. If there is a need, you also can remove the basement. Yes, the iDraw 2.0 is much better than 1.0! Day and night difference. 2.0 has a much better frame, doesn’t bend. 1.0 has metal rods that bend with additional weight and when extended. 2.0 has higher speeds, and the pen holder plate has a stepper motor which is faster for plotting. Also, 2.0 can hold a laser module. 1.0 cannot. The question is rather whether iDraw H is better than iDraw 2.0.

@@thedotisblack thx for the response and the code saved me a bunch, do you know where I can possibly get a feeder that is already made to possibly attach to this device? Also, I plan on just using it for the "handwriting" of 5x5 index cards so where did you locate the hershey fonts?

@@thedotisblack hey again, I got it and it's just like you said. Just wondering if you know how to simply write on a postcard then scan it in Inkscape and have the plotter write it out? Tried asking Uunatek but they don't seem to understand what I want to use it for. Any help would be appreciated.

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?

@@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

@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!

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

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!

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.

@@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.

Thank you!

Sure, instead of a pen, you can use a brush. It’s a just a pen holder plate. But just like with any pen plotter, you will need to develop a method how to make the brush move between the canvas and paint. However, I’d recommend the iDraw 2.0 or iDraw H.

It’s a Monami pen. South Korean brand.

Well, Bantam bought an established brand and want to see an instant return of their investment. Also, many people are simply not capable of building their own plotter and simply prefer a reliable machine. But here is a reply from Bantam to one of my comments on Reddit regarding the price: www.reddit.com/r/PlotterArt/s/eCArtHn7YF

He says in the video the tool is ~300 with shipping. I check the website, it's now 500 without shipping. Simply insane. Now, I've checked aliexpress, the cost of the components is around ~100 bucks. A little more. I doubt the components have gone up ~200 dollars in the span of a few years. Bantam Tools is the worst, the axidraw v3 used to cost around 400 dollars now their cheapest models is more than a thousand dollars. The fuck is going on? It's ridiculous.

I don’t convert, this graphic is made with Illustrator. But you can do it in any vector editing application. Converting images into vectors, you’ll need ti find some online sources or write your own algorithms.

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.

One of the machine or the drawing itself?