Cannibalizing a broken printer/scanner. Suggestions?!

My boss asked if i wanted a partially working printer scanner combo jobby today. Dont think he was expecting me to rip it apart for parts.

Ive only got SO far into pulling it to pieces, i will have to go and get a complete Torx driver set tommorow, ive gone as far as i can with >T15.

Anyone got any suggestions as to what i should do with this thing?!

Ive spotted a DC motor with an IR encoder bolted on the back (so thats an encoded DC motor, or a DC motor and an IR encoder depending on how you look at it), a stepper motor, LOADS of nylon sliding guides on steel rods, toothed belts and nylon gears and rubberised feed wheels.

There MUST be a few more feed motors in there, im guessing at.... a minimum of 4

Im hoping i can get the main printhead feed assembly off still on its steel chassis, giving a functioning "axis"

bodgey 3d printer is obvious, but im thinking perhaps a dremel CNC bed might work better (and not require to work out a plastic spool feed device)

or i could just mount a pen to the print head and have it back making images, in a semi analogue way.

or mount the working axis onto the rubber feed wheels rather than a Y axis. So it can "print" onto a surface it "drives" along. (i quite like that idea actually...!)

I’ve been wonderingthe same myself…

I mean, two or three previously enjoyed printers should give enough parts for a significant portion of a home made 3d printer?

Or am I too optimistic?

 

 

the easiest way to get motos

the easiest way to get motos out of old printers is dropping it off a 3 storry buiding.  (i have experiance).  all the plastic brecks open but the motors dont normaly get damaged.