GIANT Etch a Sketch

In this instructable I will show you how I made this GIANT Etch A Sketch version.

In the diagram above you can see the different components I have used.

• 2x NEMA 17 stepper
• 2x Stepper driver (DRV8825 or A4988)
• 1x Arduino Leonardo
• 2x Rotatory encoder
• 1x LDC Screen
• 1x 12v 2A Power supply

For the hardware part, you can use some of the designs available in platforms like Thingiverse, or make your own.

Here you can find some designs for different types of pulleys.

A few months ago I programmed an Arduino Leonardo to work as an Etch A Sketch controller so I could play using GIMP.

Shortly after I found, in a box lost in the workshop, a Makelangelo, a very well known vertical plotter. And I thought it might be fun to combine the two concepts, creating a plotter controlled from a remote control in the style of Etch A Sketch.

The operation is simple, everything is based on the Pythagorean theorem.

When we turn on the machine we will introduce the distance between the axes and the initial height of the marker (d¹₁ , d¹₂ and h₁), with this data, we will know the length of both straps, then we will only have to pick up or drop strap depending on the "new triangle" we want to create so that the marker goes to the desired point.

You can find the code here.