Simone Carriero's Makerplot 3D-Printable Plotter Gets a Serious Upgrade: Meet Makerplot 2.0

Maker Simone Carriero is back with another 3D-printable pen plotter design, the Makerplot 2.0 — a full redesign of the original Makerplot, now offering the ability to scale it to unlimited canvas sizes.

"Makerplot 2.0 is the evolution of the original Makerplot," Carriero explains of the new plotter, "redesigned from the ground up to deliver higher speed, greater precision, and unlimited scalability while preserving the philosophy that made it unique: extreme mechanical simplicity. No linear rails. No ball-bearings. No metal guide rods. No expensive CNC components. Just 3D-printed parts, standard screws, affordable electronics, and your creativity."

The original Makerplot was launched into crowdfunding back in February, offering a minimalist approach to building a device that lifts and lowers a pen in order to draw smooth lines on two-dimensional images. While plotters definitely aren't a new technology, Carriero drew interest thanks to a pretty unique approach: the use of 3D printing for almost everything, from gears to the base and gantry. The electronics, meanwhile, are driven by an Arduino UNO microcontroller board or compatible.

Feedback from the Makerplot's crowdfunding backers led to a redesign, resulting in Makerplot 2.0. The geared motors are gone, replaced by NEMA 17 steppers connected to a motor driver shield. "This configuration provides higher speed, better positioning accuracy, smoother motion, greater reliability, [and] compatibility with the maker ecosystem," Carriero promises. "The result is a machine capable of producing cleaner drawings while significantly reducing plotting time."

At the same time, Carriero has revisited the mechanical framework in order to deliver a boost to scalability. The default canvas, ISO 216 A4 size, is modularized to allow for easy expansion — up to A3, A2, and beyond, the maker claims. Despite this, any size of plotter can be printed using a standard hobbyist-grade fused filament fabrication (FFF, also known as FDM) 3D printer.

Carriero is planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign for the Makerplot 2.0 in the next few days, with rewards starting at €25 (around $29) for the digital 3D print files, firmware, software, and assembly instructions required for the smallest ISO A4 version; a €40 (around $46) "complete edition" includes all the STL files required to print the A4, A3, and A2 versions, plus what Carriero says is the crowdfunding-exclusive "infinitely expandable edition." All rewards are expected to be delivered in August this year.

Interested parties can sign up to be notified when the crowdfunding campaign goes live on Kickstarter.