Evil Mad Scientist Launches the Redesigned AxiDraw MiniKit 2

Evil Mad Scientist is a company that has long been focused on producing kits and assembled products for makers, artists, and engineers. They have a huge product catalog, but some of their most popular designs are robotic plotting machines. These machines are a bit like printers, except they use pens to draw line paths instead of creating pictures with tiny dots — analogous to the difference between vector and raster images. There are a few machines in the AxiDraw plotter lineup, and the AxiDraw MiniKit is the most affordable. Today, Evil Mad Scientist launched the new and improved AxiDraw MiniKit 2 precision pen plotter.

The new AxiDraw MiniKit 2, like its predecessor, is a pen plotter than is capable of writing or drawing on just about any flat surface you place it on. You can, of course, use it to draw on paper, but it can also be used for more interesting materials, like wood sheets. It’s also possible to use the machine for more than just drawing. If you’re an app developer, you can attach a stylus to the machine to test your interface. Attach a laser module and you can do some light laser engraving. The hackability of the AxiDraw MiniKit 2 makes it more desirable for tinkerers than other plotting machines on the market, like the Cricut line of craft cutting machines. You don’t get a massive working area with this model (just 6 x 4 inches), but that’s enough for plenty of projects.

There are a handful of small differences between the new AxiDraw MiniKit 2 and the outgoing model, but the biggest change is the X axis linear rail. That rail forms most of the structure of the machine and is very important. The rail used to be a length of aluminum extrusion, but has been replaced with a solid bar of 6061-T6 aluminum that has been custom machined and anodized. The new rail offers better rigidity and precision. This new machine is only available as a kit, but Evil Mad Scientist offers other models that are fully assembled and tested if you don’t want to put together a kit. If you do want to get your hands on the new AxiDraw MiniKit 2, it is now available for purchase on the Evil Mad Scientist website for $325 with free shipping to the United States. Units will start shipping out on November 30th, so you can get one in time for the holidays.