Evil Mad Scientist Wiki - User contributions [en]

The Original Egg-Bot Kit

2014-07-14T22:22:23Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Advanced topics and tips */

This page is the central documentation site for '''The Original Egg-Bot kit''' from [http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/ Evil Mad Scientist].

== The Original Egg-Bot Kit ==

'''Main details about the Egg-Bot kit:'''
* [http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/eggbot Announcement article] at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
* [http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/tinykitlist/171-egg-bot Product page] at Evil Mad Scientist shop
* [http://www.egg-bot.com/ egg-bot.com], the official site, featuring the Eggbot [http://egg-bot.com/index.php?page=FAQ FAQ]

'''Getting started with Eggbot: Essential documentation'''
* Part I: Assembly guide. Two versions are available:
:: (A) Single-file PDF version: [http://shop.emscdn.com/KitInstrux/eggbot/ebk_assy_21b.pdf Available here], a 27 MB PDF document (Trouble Viewing? [[Downloading_PDFs|Please click here.]])
:: (B) Page-by-page online version: [http://shop.emscdn.com/KitInstrux/eggbot/ebk_html_21b_2/index.html Available here].
* Part II: [[Installing software]]
* Part III: [[Making your first plot]]

== Ostrich Egg-Bot Kit ==

* The [[Ostrich Eggbot Kit]] -- an extra large chassis for plotting on larger objects

== Tutorials ==

'''Basic-level tutorial:'''
* [[Drawing a smiley face]], a detailed example, making a simple drawing in Inkscape and formatting it for the Eggbot

'''Getting started with Inkscape:'''
* [http://en.flossmanuals.net/Inkscape/ FLOSS Inkscape Manual], from the makers of free manuals for free software
* [http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.html The unofficial manual], "Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program"
* [http://inkscape.org/doc/index.php Inkscape Documentation], at Inkscape.org, with links to official and unofficial tutorials and manuals
* [http://www.microugly.com/inkscape-quickguide/ A quick guide to Inkscape], from microugly, featuring hints for Illustrator users.

== Advanced topics and tips ==
'''General Usage'''
* [[Framing and Pen Centering|Framing and pen centering]], tips for getting your drawings placed just right on your eggs
* [[The Eggbot coordinate system]]
* [[Pen choices]]
* [[Spherical_media|What to print on]]

'''Troubleshooting and improving precision'''
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting|General Troubleshooting]]
* [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|Troubleshooting print quality issues]]
* [[Improving precision]]

'''Designing for Eggbot'''
* Methods of [[creating filled regions]]
* [[TSP art]], a technique for drawing likenesses of photographic images, based upon the Travelling Salesman Problem
* [[Tracing images]] in Inkscape
* [http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/hershey Hershey Text] Inkscape extension for drawing single-stroke text
* Some [[hints on optimization]]
* [[Text for Eggbot]]

'''Software'''
* [[The Eggbot Extensions|The Eggbot extensions]], a detailed guide to the Eggbot extensions for Inkscape
* [[Eggbot software release notes]]
* [http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7290 Japanese resource for EggBot Extensions] by [http://www.thingiverse.com/MakiYoshida MakiYoshida] on [http://www.thingiverse.com/ Thingiverse]

'''Special attachments for EggBot'''
* The [[Engraver|Diamond Engraving Tool for Eggbot]], capable of engraving hard materials including glass and stone.
* The [[Kistka|Egg-Bot Electro-Kistka]], a hot wax pen for traditional wax-resist and dye egg decorating.

'''Hardware'''
* [[Hardware reference design]]
* [[Updating EBB firmware]]

'''More'''
* [[Hacks]]: Some ideas for Eggbot mods
* Running Eggbot from a [http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Embed-a-Raspberry-Pi-into-your-eggbot/ Raspberry Pi]
* [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Blowing_Eggs Blowing Eggs]
* [[Help wanted]]

== Support Resources ==
'''Places for questions, answers, and sharing experiences:'''
* [http://groups.google.com/group/eggbotuser Eggbot-user] Mailing list (Please sign up!)
* [http://forum.evilmadscientist.com/categories/egg-bot Eggbot Forum] at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
* See also [http://www2.evilmadscientist.com/forum/index.php?forum=17 Archived Forum], with older discussions
* [http://www.flickr.com/groups/1503628@N24/ Eggbot Flickr Group] where you can share photos of your Eggbot and your Egg-Plots
* [http://www.thingiverse.com/tag:Eggbot Eggbot @ Thingiverse] where you can share Eggbot-ready SVG art-- or programs that generate art

<div id="support_resources">
'''Additional support resources:'''
* [http://www.schmalzhaus.com/EBB/ EBB] page, about the EiBotBoard that powers the Eggbot
* [http://code.google.com/p/eggbotcode/ Google Code Project, EggBotCode], where Eggbot software is hosted
* [http://code.google.com/p/eggbotcode/issues/list Software Issues List @ EggBotCode], if you have a bug to report
</div>

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T22:19:06Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Copy/Paste not working correctly (OS X) */

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

==Stair Steps==
Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:

Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.

== As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there==
If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].

==Mirrored text==
If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]

==Upside down text==
Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.

==Circles look elliptical==
Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]

==Ends don't meet in plots==
When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]

== Framing and centering your drawing ==
:"'''Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg'''"

:"'''I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them on the egg'''"

:"'''Plots do not center correctly'''"

If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]]. You can find additional illustrations of centering problems on our [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|quality troubleshooting page]].

== Copy/Paste not working correctly (OS X)==

: '''"Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)'''

:'''"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)'''

On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 (or, XQuartz) is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.

==Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)==
If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.

==Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time==
If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T22:18:48Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Copy/Paste not working correctly (OS X) */

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

==Stair Steps==
Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:

Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.

== As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there==
If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].

==Mirrored text==
If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]

==Upside down text==
Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.

==Circles look elliptical==
Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]

==Ends don't meet in plots==
When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]

== Framing and centering your drawing ==
:"'''Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg'''"

:"'''I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them on the egg'''"

:"'''Plots do not center correctly'''"

If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]]. You can find additional illustrations of centering problems on our [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|quality troubleshooting page]].

== Copy/Paste not working correctly (OS X)==

: '''"Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)'''

:'''"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)'''

On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.

==Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)==
If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.

==Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time==
If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T22:04:32Z

Steven Herzberg:

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

==Stair Steps==
Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:

Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.

== As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there==
If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].

==Mirrored text==
If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]

==Upside down text==
Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.

==Circles look elliptical==
Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]

==Ends don't meet in plots==
When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]

== Framing and centering your drawing ==
:"'''Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg'''"

:"'''I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them on the egg'''"

:"'''Plots do not center correctly'''"

If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]]. You can find additional illustrations of centering problems on our [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|quality troubleshooting page]].

== Copy/Paste not working correctly (OS X)==

: "Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)

:"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)

On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.

==Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)==
If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.

==Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time==
If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T22:03:53Z

Steven Herzberg:

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

==Stair Steps==
Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:

Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.

== As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there==
If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].

==Mirrored text==
If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]

==Upside down text==
Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.

==Circles look elliptical==
Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]

==Ends don't meet in plots==
When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
:It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]

== Framing and centering your drawing ==
:"'''Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg'''"

:"'''I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them on the egg'''"

:"'''Plots do not center correctly'''"

If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]]. You can find additional illustrations of centering problems on our [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|quality troubleshooting page]].

== Copy/Paste not working correctly (OS X)==

: "Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)

:"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)

On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.

==Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)==
If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.

==Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time==
If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T22:03:26Z

Steven Herzberg:

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Stair steps in plotted lines, jerky pen or egg motion]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Loud or whining stepper motors]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Motors get very hot]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#anothercuradj|As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#mirrored|Mirrored text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#upsidedown|Upside down text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#ellipses|Circles plot like ellipses]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#precision|Closed figures plot open, the ends do not meet in my plots]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots do not center correctly]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" doesn't paste back to the same location (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#winxpextensionsdontwork|Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#failsduringlongprint|Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time]]
* [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|Additional sources of help]]

==Stair Steps==
Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:

Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.

== As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there==
If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].

==Mirrored text==
If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]

==Upside down text==
Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.

==Circles look elliptical==
Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]

==Ends don't meet in plots==
When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
:It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]

== Framing and centering your drawing ==
:"'''Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg'''"

:"'''I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them on the egg'''"

:"'''Plots do not center correctly'''"

If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]]. You can find additional illustrations of centering problems on our [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|quality troubleshooting page]].

== Copy/Paste not working correctly (OS X)==

: "Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)

:"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)

On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.

==Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)==
If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.

==Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time==
If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:53:26Z

Steven Herzberg:

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for most of the examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/demo.svg here].

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference). (You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/SimpleDiamonds.svg here].)

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

(You can download the circle and square example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/CircleSquare.svg here].)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:53:18Z

Steven Herzberg:

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Stair steps in plotted lines, jerky pen or egg motion]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Loud or whining stepper motors]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Motors get very hot]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#anothercuradj|As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#mirrored|Mirrored text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#upsidedown|Upside down text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#ellipses|Circles plot like ellipses]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#precision|Closed figures plot open, the ends do not meet in my plots]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots do not center correctly]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" doesn't paste back to the same location (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#winxpextensionsdontwork|Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#failsduringlongprint|Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time]]
* [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|Additional sources of help]]

<div id="stairsteps">
;Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:
;
:Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

:If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.
</div>

<div id="anothercuradj">
;As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there
:If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

:It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].
</div>

<div id="mirrored">
;Mirrored text
:If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]
</div>

<div id="upsidedown">
;Upside down text
:Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.</div>

<div id="ellipses">
;Circles look elliptical
:Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

:To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

:Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]
</div>

<div id="precision">
;Ends don't meet in plots
:When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
:It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]
</div>

<div id="framing">
;Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg
;I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them
;Plots do not center correctly
:If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]]. You can find additional illustrations of centering problems on our [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|quality troubleshooting page]].
</div>

<div id="cutnpastebitmap">
;"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)
;"Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)
:On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

:Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.
</div>

<div id="winxpextensionsdontwork">
;Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)
:If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.
</div>

<div id="failsduringlongprint">
;Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time
:If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.
</div>

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:52:48Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Stair steps in plotted lines, jerky pen or egg motion]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Loud or whining stepper motors]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Motors get very hot]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#anothercuradj|As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#mirrored|Mirrored text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#upsidedown|Upside down text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#ellipses|Circles plot like ellipses]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#precision|Closed figures plot open, the ends do not meet in my plots]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots do not center correctly]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" doesn't paste back to the same location (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#winxpextensionsdontwork|Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#failsduringlongprint|Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time]]
* [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|Additional sources of help]]

<div id="stairsteps">
;Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:
;
:Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

:If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.
</div>

<div id="anothercuradj">
;As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there
:If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

:It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].
</div>

<div id="mirrored">
;Mirrored text
:If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]
</div>

<div id="upsidedown">
;Upside down text
:Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.</div>

<div id="ellipses">
;Circles look elliptical
:Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

:To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

:Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]
</div>

<div id="precision">
;Ends don't meet in plots
:When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
:It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]
</div>

<div id="framing">
;Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg
;I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them
;Plots do not center correctly
:If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]]. You can find additional illustrations of centering problems on our [[Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting|quality troubleshooting page]].
</div>

<div id="cutnpastebitmap">
;"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)
;"Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)
:On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

:Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.
</div>

<div id="winxpextensionsdontwork">
;Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)
:If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.
</div>

<div id="failsduringlongprint">
;Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time
:If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.
</div>

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:48:51Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Stair steps in plotted lines, jerky pen or egg motion]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Loud or whining stepper motors]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Motors get very hot]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#anothercuradj|As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#mirrored|Mirrored text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#upsidedown|Upside down text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#ellipses|Circles plot like ellipses]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#precision|Closed figures plot open, the ends do not meet in my plots]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots do not center correctly]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" doesn't paste back to the same location (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#winxpextensionsdontwork|Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#failsduringlongprint|Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time]]
* [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|Additional sources of help]]

<div id="stairsteps">
;Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:
;
:Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

:If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.
</div>

<div id="anothercuradj">
;As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there
:If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

:It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].
</div>

<div id="mirrored">
;Mirrored text
:If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]
</div>

<div id="upsidedown">
;Upside down text
:Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.</div>

<div id="ellipses">
;Circles look elliptical
:Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

:To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

:Check out more on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]
</div>

<div id="precision">
;Ends don't meet in plots
:When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
:It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]
</div>

<div id="framing">
;Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg
;I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them
;Plots do not center correctly
:If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]], [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Headstock_.2F_Tailstock_position Headstock/Tailstock positions], [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Pen_arm_backer_position Pen arm backer position], or[http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Pen_arm_bumps_against_frame Pen arm bumps against frame].
</div>

<div id="cutnpastebitmap">
;"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)
;"Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)
:On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

:Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.
</div>

<div id="winxpextensionsdontwork">
;Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)
:If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.
</div>

<div id="failsduringlongprint">
;Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time
:If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.
</div>

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:48:12Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Stair steps in plotted lines, jerky pen or egg motion]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Loud or whining stepper motors]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Motors get very hot]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#anothercuradj|As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#mirrored|Mirrored text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#upsidedown|Upside down text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#ellipses|Circles plot like ellipses]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#precision|Closed figures plot open, the ends do not meet in my plots]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots do not center correctly]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" doesn't paste back to the same location (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#winxpextensionsdontwork|Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#failsduringlongprint|Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time]]
* [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|Additional sources of help]]

<div id="stairsteps">
;Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:
;
:Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

:If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.
</div>

<div id="anothercuradj">
;As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there
:If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

:It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].
</div>

<div id="mirrored">
;Mirrored text
:If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]
</div>

<div id="upsidedown">
;Upside down text
:Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.</div>

<div id="ellipses">
;Circles look elliptical
:Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

:To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

:Check out on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]
</div>

<div id="precision">
;Ends don't meet in plots
:When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
:It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]
</div>

<div id="framing">
;Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg
;I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them
;Plots do not center correctly
:If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]], [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Headstock_.2F_Tailstock_position Headstock/Tailstock positions], [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Pen_arm_backer_position Pen arm backer position], or[http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Pen_arm_bumps_against_frame Pen arm bumps against frame].
</div>

<div id="cutnpastebitmap">
;"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)
;"Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)
:On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

:Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.
</div>

<div id="winxpextensionsdontwork">
;Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)
:If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.
</div>

<div id="failsduringlongprint">
;Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time
:If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.
</div>

Eggbot Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:44:29Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having difficulty with your first plots, don't panic: there are a couple of minor "setup" issues which may occur with some stepper motors. And, as you have likely seen in photos, the Eggbot produces very precise plots. By observing some basic guidelines, you can achieve the same results. And, if the pointers below do not cover your situation, be sure to search these wiki pages and avail yourself of the other [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|support resources]].

* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Stair steps in plotted lines, jerky pen or egg motion]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Loud or whining stepper motors]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|Motors get very hot]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#anothercuradj|As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#mirrored|Mirrored text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#upsidedown|Upside down text]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#ellipses|Circles plot like ellipses]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#precision|Closed figures plot open, the ends do not meet in my plots]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#framing|Plots do not center correctly]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#cutnpastebitmap|"Paste in Place" doesn't paste back to the same location (OS X)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#winxpextensionsdontwork|Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)]]
* [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#failsduringlongprint|Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time]]
* [[The_Original_Egg-Bot_Kit#support_resources|Additional sources of help]]

<div id="stairsteps">
;Motors producing "Stair steps," Motors are loud or make whining noises, Motors get very hot:
;
:Are your motors simply not moving? Does your plot appear to have "stair steps" or jagged lines? Are the stepper motors loud or whining? Are they running so hot that you can't touch them? You likely need to adjust the "Current Adjust" control on the EBB board with a small screwdriver. This is a physical control -- a potentiometer -- on the EBB circuit board mounted to your Eggbot chassis. The control is labelled "CUR ADJ" on the board. If the current is too strong or too weak you may see (or hear) these symptoms. The current increases as you rotate the control counter-clockwise (CCW). Starting with the control turned all the way clockwise (CW), both motors should be very weak. With the Eggbot powered on and the motors engaged, as you increase the current -- turning the control with a small screw driver CCW -- you should be able to feel the motors increasingly resist moving by your hand. The ideal setting is one that provides smooth, relatively low-noise moves from the stepper motors, but has enough torque that the pen arm is not "floppy". Often, this is about half way CCW, maybe a little less. More current, while increasing the motors torque, leads to jerky moves, with position errors (e.g., stair steps).

:If adjusting the current does not help, double check to make sure that all eight of the wires to the motor are firmly and correctly attached in the terminal blocks on the EBB.

:NOTE: Some boards have a potentiometer that adjusts in the opposite direction. Start by turning it fully counter-clockwise and then turn clockwise until the motors provide moderate resistance.

:NOTE: the stepper motors are the two large, metal encased motors which mount to the Eggbot's chassis. One rotates the egg while the other rotates the proximal pen arm. The smaller, plastic encased motor which raises and lowers the distal pen arm is a "servo motor". Its behavior is '''not''' controlled by the current adjustment.
</div>

<div id="anothercuradj">
;As soon as I plot, the pen arm swings to one end or the other of my egg and stays there
:If, when you start a plot, the pen arm swings to one extreme end or the other of your egg and stays there, then you may need to adjust the current to your stepper motors. See [[Eggbot Troubleshooting#stairsteps|stair steps]] above for help on adjusting the stepper motor current.

:It is also possible that you are plotting a drawing whose vertical coordinates are outside of the expected range for y-coordinate values. Check to make sure that your Inkscape drawing page does not have an excessive height. Use the "Document Properties" item of the File menu to check the drawing's height. A drawing height in excess of 1000 pixels is suspect. Even heights of 1000 pixels or less still may require care in framing. See [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]] for assistance with framing. Also, make sure that you are using v2.1 or later of the Eggbot Control extension. It supports arbitrary y-coordinate range offsets. With v2.0 and earlier, the y-coordinate values cannot stray far outside of the range [0, 1000].
</div>

<div id="mirrored">
;Mirrored text
:If your text appears "mirrored" (e.g., inverted from left to right) then first check the assembly directions to ensure that you have wired the egg motor correctly. Check that the ordering of the colored wires matches the picture. If they do not, then correct their ordering and try replotting. If you are sure that they are wired correctly, then everything is still okay: some stepper motors just operate backwards. From the Eggbot Control extension, check (or uncheck) the "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" checkbox on the "Options" tab. Next, click the "Apply" button to save this setting. Now, plot your test again. If things are still reversed, then make sure that your change to the setting took effect. If there is still an issue, then perhaps you need to instead or also change the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button. For more on mirrored text, check our [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Motor_reversal_issues quality troubleshooting guide]
</div>

<div id="upsidedown">
;Upside down text
:Is your text plotting upside down? First, let us be clear: the (vertical) top of your Inkscape drawing should correspond to the pole of your egg closest to the egg motor and headstock. With this orientation in mind, if your text is plotting upside down then change the "Reverse direction of Motor 1 (pen)" setting. This setting is under the "Options" tab of the Eggbot Control extension. After changing the setting, click the "Apply" button to save your setting. Note that after doing an upgrade of the Eggbot extensions, it is possible for this setting to be lost. In that case, simply set it again and save it with the "Apply" button.</div>

<div id="ellipses">
;Circles look elliptical
:Are your circles or other figures looking squashed? This can be expected once you realize that the Eggbot doesn't attempt to do any special transformations on your drawings when it plots them. Consequently, there are two immediate sources of distortion when plotting your drawings. First, the horizontal components of line segments become physically shorter as they approach either pole of your egg or sphere. This is a consequence of the diminishing circumference of your egg or sphere as the poles are approached. A second effect comes into play when plotting on non-spherical, eillipsoidal objects such as eggs which are longer from pole to pole than they are wide. This means that a single step of the pen arm produces a longer stroke than a single step of the egg motor. As such, a vertical line in your Inkscape drawing can produce a longer stroke than a horizontal line of the same length. The net result is that objects will appear horizontally flattened when drawn on eggs.

:To counter this effect, try horizontally stretching your drawing by upwards of 150%. To do this
* Use the "Select All in All Layers" item of Inskcape's Edit menu.
* Then, under the Object menu, choose the "Transform" item.
* In the sub-window which appears on the right edge of the Inkscape window, select the "Scale" tab.
* Set the horizontal scale factor to 150% and the vertical to 100%; ensure that the "Scale proportionally" box is not checked.
* Click the "Apply" button.

Check out on distortion of shapes from this [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Map_Projection note]
</div>

<div id="precision">
;Ends don't meet in plots
:When the ends of figures do not line up, this strongly suggests an alignment or slippage problem. To check the alignment, rotate your egg with the motors disengaged and see if there is any perceptible wobble. It's important that the egg be well centered in the egg cups, otherwise, the egg may precess as it is rotated. Sometimes it helps to lift the Eggbot up and sight down the long axis of the egg as you turn it. As regards slippage, the egg needs to be held tightly by the tailstock spring. That spring should be compressed around two-thirds or more (but not fully compressed). See [[Improving precision|improving precision]] for many more tips on alignment and other factors which will influence the quality of your plots.
:It can also be the case that ends of closed figures will not meet if something is '''mechanically loose'''. Everything on the pen arm should feel rigid, with the exception of the hinge. If not, check each screw to make sure that it's tight. To learn about what specific outcome certain loose screws have on drawings click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Loose_Eggs_.26_Screws here]
</div>

<div id="framing">
;Plots run off the top or bottom of my egg
;I cannot get my plots framed the way I want them
;Plots do not center correctly
:If you are having difficulty with framing or centering, see [[Framing and Pen Centering|framing and pen centering]], [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Headstock_.2F_Tailstock_position Headstock/Tailstock positions], [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Pen_arm_backer_position, Pen arm backer position], or[http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Quality_Troubleshooting#Pen_arm_bumps_against_frame Pen arm bumps against frame].
</div>

<div id="cutnpastebitmap">
;"Paste in place" results in a bitmap copy (OS X)
;"Paste in place" doesn't place the object in its original location (OS X)
:On Macs, if your "Paste" or "Paste in Place" operations are resulting in bitmaps being imported into your Inkscape drawing, then you need to change your X11 preferences. X11 is the windowing system which Inkscape uses to manage its windows. If you click on any running Inkscape window, you will see in the Apple menu bar along the top of your computer screen the menu item "X11". Click on the X11 menu and select the "Preferences" item. In the resulting popup "X11 Preferences" window, select the "Pasteboard" tab. Next, unset the item "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes".

:Another symptom of this problem is that the "Paste in Place" operation does not paste the copied object back to its original location; instead it appears elsewhere on your drawing page. Furthermore, you can check to see if a bitmap was pasted by looking at the "Edit" menu. If the "Undo" item indicates that an "import" was done, then a bitmap was imported.
</div>

<div id="winxpextensionsdontwork">
;Clicking "Apply" in the Eggbot Control extension does nothing (Windows XP)
:If nothing happens and no error or warning message is displayed when you click the "Apply" button in the Eggbot Control extension, then you may be experiencing an Inkscape bug. Try running an extension from the "Render" category of the Extensions menu. If still nothing happens, then it would appear that something is wrong with Inkscape on your system and it cannot successfully run extensions. With Inskscape 0.48 on Windows XP, there have been reports to the Inkscape team of such problems. Falling back to Inkscape 0.47 fixes the problem.
</div>

<div id="failsduringlongprint">
;Eggbot stops working after printing for a long time
:If long plots seem to stop working now and then, your computer may be going to sleep. Check your computer's energy saving/sleep feature, to make sure that it stays awake during long plots.
</div>

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:30:12Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for most of the examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/demo.svg here].

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference). (You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/SimpleDiamonds.svg here].)

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

(You can download the circle and square example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/CircleSquare.svg here].)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:28:59Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Map Projection */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for most of the examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/demo.svg here].

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference). (You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/SimpleDiamonds.svg here].)

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

(You can download the circle and square example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/CircleSquare.svg here].)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:28:44Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Map Projection */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for most of the examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/demo.svg here].

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference). (You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/SimpleDiamonds.svg here].)

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

(You can download the circle and square example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/CircleSquare.svg here].)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:27:41Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm bumps against frame */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for most of the examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/demo.svg here].

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference). (You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/SimpleDiamonds.svg here].)

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:26:17Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Our test file */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for most of the examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/demo.svg here].

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:26:05Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for most of the examples examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file [http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/calexamples/demo.svg here].

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:19:44Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm bumps against frame */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

If the pen moves but seems to just "fall over" without any resistance, you may still need to [[Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg|adjust your motor current]].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Improving precision

2014-07-14T21:19:31Z

Steven Herzberg:

{{EggBotDocs}}

If you are producing sloppy drawings, or good ones that you want to be better, you may need to do one or more of the following:

'''Alignment:'''

* '''Check head and tailstock alignment.''' The head and tailstocks should be square to the chassis' side walls. Use the ruled measuring guages on each side wall to ensure that the headstock is adjusted to the same measurement on each side. Repeat for the tailstock. If the headstock is not square to the chassis, then the egg motor shaft will not be parallel to the egg's rotational axis.

* '''Check egg alignment.''' Make sure that the object (which we'll call an "egg" even if it's a light bulb or a golf ball) being plotted is very well centered on the egg axis. Use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" setup mode to turn your object by hand, and make sure that it is as concentric as possible.

* '''Check pen alignment.''' The pen should point ''directly towards'' the egg-motor axis, and directly towards the pen-motor axis as well. There are a number of places that you can make adjustments to ensure that these are correct. For example, the screw at the top of the proximal pen arm can be used to adjust the angle between the pen point and the pen-arm axis.

* '''Increase tension.''' Compressing the plunger spring further pushes the "egg" against the egg-cup of the egg-motor, improving contact. This generally helps ''up until'' the tension starts to create excess drag-- for example when the spring is fully compressed.

* '''Check egg alignment, part 2.''' Turn off the motors, raise the pen, and move the pen all the way left and right around the egg. You're looking to have the pen tip be the same distance from the egg surface all the way round.

'''Machine setup:'''

* '''Adjust motor current.''' The page on [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Making_your_first_plot#Drawing_on_your_Egg making your first plot] explains how to adjust the motor current. Skipping this step is a common cause of various problems when setting up a new Eggbot. If the current is too low or too high, you may find the pen arm falling over, the egg not turning reliably, or the pen jumping in overly-large steps.

* '''Check contact.''' The "egg" needs to make good contact with the egg-motor. There should not be any slippage between the two, or the egg will gradually work its way out. Even if there is not slippage, there can be apparent "backlash" (direction-dependent lag) when the egg-motor turns back and forth. This is a common cause of poor accuracy when setting up a new Eggbot. It may help to clean and dry the "egg" and/or the polyurethane egg cup.
** The [http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/51-accessories/208-coupler Precision Egg Coupler] is an Eggbot add-on (included with the deluxe kit) that can help to improve precision. It's large, sandpapery surface grips very well on eggs, ping pong balls, and other soft or porous surfaces.
** For hard surfaces like glass and stone, the sandpapery surface will not offer much grip, so use a rubber washer between the precision coupler and the object, or use the original polyurethane egg cup.
** For super-precision work you may want to experiment with different egg cup designs, or even screw down or glue your object to the egg-motor shaft. (See also [[Hacks]].)

* '''Tighten screws.''' A properly set up Eggbot has very little flex in the chassis. Firmly tighten all of the stainless steel screws that hold the chassis together, and all of the thumbscrews on the sides of the chassis. Also check to make sure that all screws on the pen arm are firmly tightened.

* '''Check for drag on the plunger.''' If the plunger is not able to turn easily, then it will provide drag to the "egg." If the tension is too high, the O-ring is rubbing on the back bushing, or the thin nylon washer is not present, there can be increased drag.

* '''Use a smaller/shorter pen.''' The pen arm grips your pen very close to the bottom of the pen. While this generally gives better precision, gripping the pen below the center of mass means that there will be more sway, particularly when the pen has been lifted or is being lowered.

* '''Check for drag on the pen.''' The pen should only lightly touch the surface that it's drawing on. If you use a stiff hinge, or otherwise arrange things such that there's heavy downward force, it can create excess drag at the egg-pen interface.

* '''Reduce lateral play in the plunger.''' Appendix B of the assembly instructions shows how to do this if you would like to do so. In practice, we have not found this to have nearly as much effect in improving precision as the other suggestions listed on this page.

'''Surfaces and Pens:'''

* '''Plot on a smooth surface.''' No matter what you do, Egg-Bot will never produce good results on a tennis ball. Golf balls are okay, though.

* '''Clean your medium before plotting.''' If you remove surface dust and oils before drawing, you'll get a sharper plot. In particular, certain types of pens will show fingerprints-- areas where the pen does not make as strong as a mark, where the object has been handled.

* '''Maintain your pen(s).''' Clean them frequently (if applicable.) And, ''don't let them dry out''.

* '''Use finer point pens.''' The "ultra fine" Sharpie is not nearly as fine as pens come. Check out [[pen choices]] for hints about other types of pens that you may want to consider.

* '''Try a different pen.''' Some pen tips, particularly the tips of extremely fine point felt-tip pens, can "wobble" when dragged one way and then another against the egg surface. This can lead to an apparent backlash in your drawing.

* '''Warm your eggs up.''' Moisture may condense on cold eggs while plotting. Not only will this ruin your plot it may also damage your pens. Be sure to allow cold eggs time to warm up a bit before drawing on them. Placing them in lukewarm water is not only a good way to take the chill off of them, it also prepares them for cleaning. (Do not soak eggs in water if you will be dyeing them: the dye may not take evenly.)

'''Drawing setup:'''

* '''Use a smoother toolpath.''' If your pen travels in a path with sharp corners, you may see ringing at the corners, where the pen vibrates after quickly changing direction. Using a smooth path that provides built-in deceleration and acceleration can prevent this. For example, when [[Creating_filled_regions|filling regions]] the plots made with the "hatch" method generally provide excellent toolpaths with minimum ringing.

* '''Check aspect ratio.''' If you're plotting on eggs-- or anything else taller than it is wide, your shapes will need to be elongated horizontally to give "square" output.

'''Eggbot Control Settings:'''

* '''Slow down the pen speed.''' The faster the pen is moving, the more vibration (and thus slop) you'll have when the pen stops moving. By slowing the speed at which the motors turn, you'll improve your drawings. Conversely, it's okay to speed up until the quality begins to suffer. The correct speed will depend upon your medium (egg shells, glass, etc), your drawing, and your pens -- you'll need to experiment.
* '''Lower the pen more slowly.''' While you can usually raise the pen quickly without trouble, it is generally important to lower the pen carefully. Hammering the pen down by quickly lowering it can "mushroom" the tip out over time, or cause it to simply bounce in place.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:17:26Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

== Additional resources ==

For more about improving the results that you're getting with the EggBot, please see these additional pages on our wiki:

* [[Framing_and_Pen_Centering|Framing and Pen Centering]]
* [[The_Eggbot_coordinate_system|The EggBot Coordinate System]]
* [[Improving_precision|Improving precision]]

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:13:57Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Bumping the pen arm */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Pen arm bumps against frame===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. For more information about positioning the pen arm, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:13:18Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm backer position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:13:09Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm backer position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. For more on positioning the pen, see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering our notes on framing].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:12:20Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm backer position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:12:03Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Horizontal pen arm */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal position of the pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:11:47Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Headstock / Tailstock position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor see [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Framing_and_Pen_Centering here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:10:43Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Loose Eggs & Screws */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right. With the exception of the normal flexing of the hinge, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:09:56Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Loose Eggs & Screws */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our troubleshooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:09:37Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Alignment of the egg in the egg cups */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:09:10Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Timing issues */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, the pen is still shaking.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:05:39Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Timing issues */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines. If this problem persist with the correct speed settings, click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#stairsteps here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T21:03:55Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Motor reversal issues */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#mirrored mirrored image] of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa. If you leave both "reverse motion" setting unchecked, then you will get an [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#upsidedown upside down image].

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:58:53Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Bumping the pen arm */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use. You can also click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here] for more about alignment.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:56:46Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm backer position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat. (See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing this note] from our trouble shooting guide).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:51:18Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Headstock / Tailstock position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment. For more on positioning the motor click [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#framing here].

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:46:47Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Loose Eggs & Screws */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure (you can also check our trouble shooting guide [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#precision here]).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:40:48Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Vertical position of the pen motor */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:40:31Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Loose Eggs & Screws */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:39:53Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Headstock / Tailstock position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:10:17Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Timing issues */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of moving too fast. The "Speed when pen is down" setting was set to 700 steps/s, which is usually too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the pen to shake when drawing.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This can happen when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:09:01Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Motor reversal issues */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

Doh! This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:08:19Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Map Projection */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.
(See also [http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Eggbot_Troubleshooting#ellipses this note] from our troubleshooting guide.)

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:07:36Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Distortion */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Map Projection===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

These two plots show an example file -- a circle inside of a square -- that are plotted on a (roughly) spherical ornament and on an egg. And yet, they don't really look like that-- and this isn't really an "error." While some of the distortion that you see is due to minor misalignments within the EggBot, a more major factor to consider is the change in geometry that comes from projecting our rectangular drawing file onto a non-flat surface. In geometry, this is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection map projection], and the EggBot uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection equirectangular projection], where distances are mapped directly to angles.

On the sphere, the circle appears (more or less) spherical. The square's top and bottom are straight (when photographed from this particular angle), but the other two sides (longitude lines) do not appear straight (when photographed form this angle). On the egg, the distortions are more severe because the curvature is so different in the two axes. We usually compensate for this (when drawing on eggs) by stretching the design horizontally by about 150%.

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T20:00:23Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Bumping the pen arm */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

Here is the "diamond" test pattern, shown without any major quality issues (for reference).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

Here is the same pattern, but drawn with the EggBot misaligned such that the starting position of the pen arm was poor and the pen arm bumped into the tailstock of the EggBot while drawing. When the pen arm reaches the end of its range, it may bend and try to continue plotting there, or the motor may skip a step ("cog") and lose alignment.

If you are having trouble with hitting the sides, check before plotting -- using the manual ("walk motor") commands if necessary -- to make sure that the pen arm has free travel over the entire range that you intend to use.

----

===Distortion===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

This is an example of the distortion created when trying to draw a circle in a square on an egg and a spherical ornament.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T19:55:28Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm backer position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

This drawing is a test of what the outcome should be when everything goes correctly.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

This one is when the starting position of the pen arm was off and the pen arm bumped into the side of the EggBot. With the pen arm not being allowed to go any further, the EggBot continued the drawing at the position it was stuck at.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

----

===Distortion===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

This is an example of the distortion created when trying to draw a circle in a square on an egg and a spherical ornament.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T19:55:10Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Horizontal pen arm */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This photo shows the correct orientation for the distal pen arm and pen. Note that when the tip of the pen contacts the egg, the distal pen arm extends out straight and flat, down towards the center of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

If, on the other hand, the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, it will cause the drawing to be skewed. (You will see similar types of issues when the pen arm backer is in the wrong position.)

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

This drawing is a test of what the outcome should be when everything goes correctly.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

This one is when the starting position of the pen arm was off and the pen arm bumped into the side of the EggBot. With the pen arm not being allowed to go any further, the EggBot continued the drawing at the position it was stuck at.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

----

===Distortion===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

This is an example of the distortion created when trying to draw a circle in a square on an egg and a spherical ornament.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T19:53:03Z

Steven Herzberg:

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This is the correct orientation for the pen arm and pen. Where the pen arm is horizontal and the tip of pen is flat against the egg when in the down position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

This occurs when the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, causing the pen to be skewed. The drawings can then come out slightly distorted. This is similar to when the backer is misaligned.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

----
=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

This drawing is a test of what the outcome should be when everything goes correctly.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

This one is when the starting position of the pen arm was off and the pen arm bumped into the side of the EggBot. With the pen arm not being allowed to go any further, the EggBot continued the drawing at the position it was stuck at.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

----

===Distortion===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

This is an example of the distortion created when trying to draw a circle in a square on an egg and a spherical ornament.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T19:51:40Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Pen arm backer position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

----

=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

----

=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

----

=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

----

=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

----

=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

----

=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is correctly positioned-- dead flat when it the pen tip is contacting the egg -- then the tip of the pen should point ''directly down'' and towards the ''thickest part of the egg''. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer shown above is in the correct position, since the pen tip points directly down and towards the thickest part of the egg, when the distal pen arm extends straight out and flat.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

If the pen arm backer is too close to the pen motor, then you may see this kind of distortion-- curvature of the letters with respect to the pen motor position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

And similarly, when the pen arm backer is too far from the pen motor.

----

=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This is the correct orientation for the pen arm and pen. Where the pen arm is horizontal and the tip of pen is flat against the egg when in the down position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

This occurs when the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, causing the pen to be skewed. The drawings can then come out slightly distorted. This is similar to when the backer is misaligned.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

----

===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

This drawing is a test of what the outcome should be when everything goes correctly.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

This one is when the starting position of the pen arm was off and the pen arm bumped into the side of the EggBot. With the pen arm not being allowed to go any further, the EggBot continued the drawing at the position it was stuck at.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

----

===Distortion===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

This is an example of the distortion created when trying to draw a circle in a square on an egg and a spherical ornament.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

----

=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.

Eggbot Quality Troubleshooting

2014-07-14T19:47:02Z

Steven Herzberg: /* Headstock / Tailstock position */

If you are having quality issues with your prints that might be due to a misalignment of some sort, we hope that this guide will help you to find the source of the problem. This guide contains some helpful pictures that show how configuring the EggBot in different ways can produce different outcomes.

== "Hardware" issues ==

=== Our test file ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1A.jpg

This is the test file that we'll be using for our examples. Note that the print quality is fine and consistent. The "O's" have closed shapes, the vertical parts are vertical, the horizontal parts are horizontal, the slants of the "W's" have consistent width, and so forth. (Some of the examples that we'll show later ''do not'' have these properties!)

You can download the example file here. (TODO: ADD LINK)

This was printed with the Deluxe EggBot on a chicken egg with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.
The egg was oriented with its "fat" side pointing towards the egg motor (headstock).

The print settings were as follows:
* Timing tab:
** Speed when pen is down: 300 steps/s
** Speed when pen is up: 400 steps/s
** Pen raising speed: 50 %/s
** Delay after raising pen: 200 ms
** Pen lowering speed: 20 %/s
** Delay after lowering pen: 400 ms
* Options tab:
** Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen): checked
** Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg): checked
** Egg (x) axis wraps around: checked
** Start with pen centered: checked
** Return home when done: checked
** Enable engraver, if attached: unchecked
** Curve smoothing (lower for more): 0.2

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=== Dry pen ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/3A.jpg

A common problem that can happen when using old pens, or pens that have been left uncapped is that the pen does not start drawing immediately when you expect it to. It is ''usually'' easy to fix this problem by taking a scratch piece of paper and, right before you start your EggBot, "bleeding" your pen a little on the paper to get the ink flowing again, as shown below. Sharpie pens last approximately forever if treated well; if it doesn't start drawing immediately, you might consider leaving it capped for a few days and trying again, rather than throwing it out.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1F-2.jpg

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=== Alignment of the egg in the egg cups ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15A.jpg

This skewed image is the result of misaligning the egg within the couplers, like so (exaggerated for clarity):

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/15B.jpg

In order to avoid this you should place the egg between the couplers with the egg as flush as you can get it against each coupler. To align the egg in place, turn the egg (or the egg coupler) and watch the egg as you turn it. (You may want to use the "Raise pen, turn off motors" option in EggBot Control to make this easy.) Adjust its position until there is as little wobbling as possible; that is, until it doesn't seem to "change shape" as you rotate it.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1E.jpg

This egg is properly aligned.

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=== Loose Eggs & Screws ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17A.jpg

If your plots look like this, with circles that don't close and differing widths of your letter parts, it likely means that something is loose. It can be either the egg itself-- slipping in the coupler -- or a loose screw somewhere on the EggBot. Make sure that the egg has a secure connection to the motor through its coupler, and can't wiggle independently of the motor. And, make sure that the screws on the EggBot are tight and secure.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/17B.jpg

If the hex screw below the pen arm's hinge is loose, the pen arm will move left and right as the pen is dragged across the egg. Try to gently wiggle the pen arm left to right, it should not move at all.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18A.jpg

In this case, the screw that mounts the distal pen arm assembly to the proximal pen arm (shown below) was loose, with the kind of poor results that you might expect.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/18B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19A.jpg

The plot above-- where the pen is wandering "all over the place" was caused by trying to draw when the screw that holds the pen was loose (about to drop the pen).

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/19B.jpg

To check if the pen is securely fastened, gently try to pull it out.

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=== Vertical position of the pen motor ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1C-3.jpg

The pen motor can be moved vertically to adjust the pen arm for drawing on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces. For drawing on chicken eggs, we normally position the pen motor about in the middle of the slots as shown here. For a sphere, position the motor at the very top of its slots. For a more elongated egg (maybe a turkey egg?) you may need to go lower yet in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11A.1.jpg

If the pen motor is positioned too high in the vertical slots (here, at the top of its slots while printing on a chicken egg), the pen will not make contact over the full surface. To correct this, lower the motor in the slots.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/12A.1.jpg

Conversely, if the pen motor is too low in its slots, the pen may not make contact at the edges of the plot region.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/11B.jpg

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=== Headstock / Tailstock position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1D-3.jpg

When the headstock is correction positioned, the shaft of the pen motor points ''directly toward the thickest part'' of the egg (or sphere), as shown above.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14A.1.jpg

When the headstock and tailstock are misplaced such that the pen motor is positioned too far to one side, you will find that (1) the pen cannot reach the surface everywhere that you would expect it to and (2) there will be some distortion of the print due to the misalignment.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/14B.jpg
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/13A.1.jpg

A similar condition, in the opposite direction.

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=== Pen arm backer position ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1B.jpg

When the distal pen arm is in the correct vertical position-- essentially flat when it the pen is contacting the egg -- the tip of the pen should point directly towards the thickest part of the egg. If it does not, that may indicate that the pen arm backer is in the wrong position and that you need to move the whole pen arm closer to, or further from, the pen motor.

This pen arm backer is in the correct position, since pen points at the thickest part of the egg.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9A-1.jpg

This is the result of the backer being inward too much, making the drawing curved to the right.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/9B.jpg

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10A-1.jpg

this is when the backer os too far outward, causing the drawing to be curved to the left.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/10B.jpg

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=== Horizontal pen arm===

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/1G.jpg

This is the correct orientation for the pen arm and pen. Where the pen arm is horizontal and the tip of pen is flat against the egg when in the down position.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16A.jpg

This occurs when the pen arm is not horizontal when in the down position, causing the pen to be skewed. The drawings can then come out slightly distorted. This is similar to when the backer is misaligned.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/16B.jpg

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===Bumping the pen arm===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/20A.jpg

This drawing is a test of what the outcome should be when everything goes correctly.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21A.jpg

This one is when the starting position of the pen arm was off and the pen arm bumped into the side of the EggBot. With the pen arm not being allowed to go any further, the EggBot continued the drawing at the position it was stuck at.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/21B.jpg

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===Distortion===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/22A.jpg

This is an example of the distortion created when trying to draw a circle in a square on an egg and a spherical ornament.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/24A.jpg

== "Software" issues ==

=== Motor reversal issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/5A.jpg

This occurred when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" was left unchecked when the egg was positioned so that its "fat" end was on the headstock. This can also happen when the "Reverse motion of Motor 1 (pen)" is checked, but the eggs "fat" end is in the tailstock.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/6A.jpg

This mirrored image of "Hello World" is the result of "Reverse motion of Motor 2 (egg)" being left unchecked while the "fat" end of the egg is in the headstock, and vice versa.

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=== Timing issues ===
http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/4A.jpg

This is the result of the "Speed when pen is down" setting being set to 700 steps/s, which is too fast to create a neat drawing. The speed of the motor caused the lines to be jagged.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/2A.jpg

With the "Speed when the pen is down" setting set to 500 steps/s, while it is an improvement, is still too fast. There are still jagged lines.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/7A.jpg

This happens when the "Delay after lowering pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to commence the drawing before the pen has actually made contact with the egg, leaving gaps in your drawings.

http://shop.emscdn.com/wiki/eggbot/quality/8A.jpg

This is when the "Delay after raising pen" setting is set too low. The EggBot will start to move to the next destination before the pen is lifted off of the egg, leaving stray marks.