1 Hardware Setup
First print the STL files located in the Hardware folder. Right now only the files for an Ender 3 (or similar Ender 3 clone) are provided. It´s adviced to print all the files with a brim so they are perfectly flat and don´t topple over while printing.
For working with 6 colors you need to print 6 pen caps, the pen rack, the pen holder arm and one of the pen holders.
For the pen holder part you can choose between a variant for Sharpies only and one for Sharpies, Amazon Basic Markers and Shuttle Art Markers. The later one is a litte bit lose for Sharpies so it´s adviced to use the first one if you only want to use Sharpie markers.
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recommended printing orientations
To prepare the sharpies for printing, place the end cap on the back of the pen. The cap should hold the pen tightly and don´t slip of easily.
pen with end cap
You need to mount the pen holder to your extruder head first. To do so you need to unscrew the 2 screws shown in the picture.
location of the screws
Now put the mounting part in place and screw everything back in. After that You can mount the pen holder to the mounting part with 3 M2 screws.
mounted pen arm
mounted pen holder
Make sure the pen can slide in and out of the holder easily. If not you may need to sand down the piece a bit.
pen in pen holder
pen in pen holder
The pen rack needs to be mounted to the upper t-slot profile of your printer. If you have an Ender 3 you should have 2 spare screws and corrosponding t nuts you can use for that. To reduce stress on the bowden cable it is adviced to place the rack as far left as possible.
monted pen rack
Important: when mounting the racket you need make sure that a pen sitting in the pen holder can be easily slided in and out of the individual rack holders! If it doesn´t fit perfectly just slightly unscrew the rack and reposition it until it fits.
first pen position
last pen position
Please Help: Right now the parts are designed for an Ender 3 printer but adapting it to other printers should be fairly easy. If you design a different pen arm or rack for your printer please share your design by opening a pull request.