Chips: The MB622902 is an old gate array from Fujitsu. The Processor is the HD64180 from Hitacht which is a 10 MHz Z180 (Z80 on steroids) CPU. Next to it is a SANYO 32kByte SRAM. The stuff with the many resistors is a basic sinusoid DDS. The MB7112 are small ROMS containing sinusoid waveform data which goes through the drivers to the resisistors to make up a waveform for microcstepping and quiet stepper motor driving. I can see datecodes from 1992 on some ICs.
I knew someone will figure out the details, thanks a lot. I had the feeling that the resistors are some kind of D/A or A/D conversion stuff. But I assumed the stepper drivers were smart enough to handle that alone. Sometimes the details are even smarter as you may think. That's what I like from 1990s stuff. They didn't have all those specialized ICs. They took standard parts and did some external wizardry :-)
I learned manual drafting and technical drawing before CAD and desktop publishing, and I used to have the Rotring version of this device that I got at a flea market for a few dollars, though I never used this device professionally because CAD and DTP was already a thing before I left school. One point I can talk about is that when I was learning drafting in the 80s and 90s we spent weeks just on lettering, labeling, dimensions and other indications. Before lettering plotters like this or CAD drafting there was a whole system to lettering, labeling and dimensioning everything correctly entirely by hand that was like 90% of the work, and we never, ever used stencils because we had to learn hand-lettering first, and once you learned that hand lettering was faster and cleaner than stencils. If you couldn't hand-letter to ISO/ANSI specs you weren't a draftsperson. These mini lettering plotters were super rare and a niche thing that might be used on final master copies of blueprints and plan drawings in a very specific and narrow period of time because of how expensive they were, and there was only a very brief historical window where they made any financial sense, because by the time these were a thing so was CAD software and fully digital drafting workstations, and full sized ink/pen plotters predate these drawing board lettering plotter tools. The price of one of these desktop lettering plotters was very nearly half way to the price of a basic IBM PC Clone CAD/CAM workstation even in 1980 or 1990 prices, at least before you included the price of Autodesk or other CAD/CAM drafting software or including the cost of a plotter or large format printer. So it was kind of a "stop gap" piece of tech where a drafting/blueprint office or team might be able to justify the costs of a lettering pen plotter because they're still drafting by hand and using all-analog blueprint copying machines for reproductions and prints, but they still can't afford a full CAD workstation and software and a full sized plotter and so saving some amount of time on hand-lettering and dimensions is worth the retail cost of the pen plotter for a very brief moment in time.
Just like myself, I had the Rotring pens, rules, set squares and the scriber, to be honest I would rather use a stencil, I was always very accurate with those.
Used to love the sound of pen plotters, I still remember my my first A0 circuit diagram plot,it took 3hrs to plot and when it finished the pen returned home from top right to bottom left without lifting. It decided to cross out all my hard-working 😢😂
@@PlaywithJunk i once set an A0 plot going and came back hrs later to find a credit card size plot in the middle of the sheet. Another funny thing was at one point we could not plot on Fridays. the plot queue blocked on Thursday midnight and released on Friday at midnight. the program vendor said it was a plotter driver issue and the plotter folk said it was a program fault. This went on until the pen plotter was replaced with an ink jet one.
Pen Plotters are so cool! I really like the look. We used to use a large format plotter to make layout for simple prototype jigs. Watching it print was somewhat mesmerizing!
I have an older but very similar scriber branded as a rOtring NC scriber. The case and mechanism is very similar but the electronics on mine were all 1980's DIP IC's on multiple PCB's and tactical switches with hard plastic keys. The kinematics of these is the same as the original Ultimaker 3d printers. I fitted mine with an esp32 running fluidNC firmware so it can draw any vector art sent from a phone or computer via WiFi. I sent the original electronics and power supply to someone restoring one so it wasn't thrown away.
Basically a specialized pen plotter - very interesting device. I'm of an age where I used a number of actual pen plotters from desktop ones to "E" sized beasts - and all were impressive watching them do their work. Thanks!
It would be fair to say it makes a lovely “din”! I remember using very expensive Rotring pens and stencils back in the day. This device would have saved a lot of time!
Mother in law worked for technical bureau for Soviet cinematography as draughtsman (draftswoman?) she still has very tidy writing, especially when completing forms and other official paperwork. My dad trained as an architectural technician but got bored with office life and worked as bricklayer instead. For a little extra money he would draw for people's request for additions/alterations to the local council. He would usually bring me to hold the tape. He never moved to using any kind of CAD, for e-waste this would be ideal for him.
I learned to write Normschrift without a stencil at school in the late 90s. How much would I have loved a device that did that for me and made R2-D2 sounds. Somebody had to write a lot of assembly for that neat machine. I think it should get a laser instead of the pen!
What a flipping awsome bit of kit. What monster would toss this in the garbage? U could even put a laser on it! Add a Hall effects sensor to the drop arm that turns the laser on and off. I hope I come across one one day. U know what I would use it for is probably writing on walls. Could do some giant wall art of schematics! Lol that’s exactly what i would do.
I own my father's old and (then) trusty Mutoh ET-202. Sadly enough, mine it's of a slightly lesser quality than your ET-203 model: while perfectly functionning, its keyboard is made from a crappy sheet of rubber that crumbles apart. I've been searching for a replacement part for over 10 years now. Anyway, your video is an eye candy.
Under arduino control could be a good PCB printer, with a good permanent pen you can do all the traces, pads etc and then use acid to attack the exposed copper.
Sounds like a Mimaki! As I have noticed, every manufacturer of Wide format inkjet printers - ones that got at about 1.6m wide. Have their own distinct sound. If you are in a game long enough, just by the sound you can make out what make and which model is working. Mimaki's stepper drivers are programmed in such a way that they sound almost like a music, maybe it's also a preference of one manufacturers stepper motors, but it seems it's more in way they are driven in software. And this thing has the same sound signature.
from the age before silent stepper drivers were invented. the threading of the wire is interesting, at first i missed the location/point here the wire is fixed on the right side of the machine.
What a useful little device! I'm pretty sure that the "Y" wire is anchored at the pen holder and that the partially hidden wheel is for guiding it along the rail.
The Y wire is fixed to the right side of the chassis. The pen holder is kept in place by rollers only. If the wire would be fixed to the holder, then it couldn't move in X direction
@@PlaywithJunk Aah, now I see! I just assumed that the wire also had a roller on the opposite side just as the X belt, and then it would make no sense. You are right, it is like two cranes working in opposite.
Amazing device! If you one day you get bored and would be interested in donating it, we would happily accept it for our drafting technology exhibition cabinet at METU Faculty of Architecture, in Ankara. 🙂Thanks for the video! Great stuff as usual... Koray.
Those nuts inset in the bottom are neat. I've seen many pieces of equipment that have mounting screws with heads on the outside, which puts you in the position of "Will unscrewing this open the case, or will it make something inside fall off?" With the nuts, no problem: you get the advantage of all-metal mounting, but they can't be removed from the outside.
@@simontay4851 I can ask €1000 for my used socks = this is what Ebay pricing means. Just greedy people trying to make you think something is valuable/rare and so on and asking outrageous prices. Then, 2-3 years later, you see the same stuff still hanging on Ebay...
Hi there! Unfortunately I don't have the original manual. But I found a manual for a similar device from another manufacturer that fits in most parts. But it is in french: archive.org/details/alpiake3100manueldutilisation
I managed to get one of these 2nd hand but have yet to play with it. I also read there was another model ET505. Does anyone know what the difference are? Which is more advanced/recent ET203 or ET505?
Logically the 505 would be the more advanced unit, but I'm not sure. I only managed to find a french manual of a very simiar "clone" machine. I think, I read somewhere that the 505 has a slot for additional fonts. Here is what I found: archive.org/details/alpiake3100manueldutilisation This is very close to the 203... There is also an ET202: archive.org/details/mutoh-scriber-et202-operation-manual
I just searched Mutoh Scriber ET203 on google and these still cost over 500€! Theres even one on amazon for over €1000 What monster would throw this in the bin. WTF is wrong with him/her They need to be sacked from the company and given a slap round the face.
I just went to your account and you don’t have any videos so he can’t be spamming that way, he’s not uploading 10 vids a day. Turn off the bell if you don’t like it. Last thing, are you ok? Did you take ur meds?
