BACHINCNC Router Drawing Robot Kit, Pen Plotter & Handwriting Machine，XYZ Plotter iDraw Hand Writing Robot Kit Open Source for Maker, Working Area A4

I have a need to add QR Codes to mats for framed photos and I aIso wanted to add return addresses to the backs of the envelopes that I use for correspondence cards. Looking through the options, this seemed like a good option to try. Assembly took no more than 10 minutes. There are lots of videos on YouTube that show how to put this together. The gantry that carries the Z motion and the pen slips on easily and is secured by 4 knurled nuts that are hand tight. Getting the software up and running took a bit of fiddling since the same software is used for several different Bachin products. My controller speaks GRBL 1.3b G-Code and one of the windows allows you to pass G-Code commands directly to the robot. This helped me get the software to the correct settings and check things out since I could manually send commands to the robot. Build quality is pretty good and I don't think I could build a robot for a lot less money and the time saved was worth the few extra dollars. My version of the Bachin software does have a QR Code encoder, but I opted to import my QR Codes as png files through GIMP so I can have more control over the size and the frame. This fits my needs so I give it a five but people who aren't comfortable with G-Code, stepper motors, limit switches etc... may struggle a bit. On the other hand, if you want to learn how stepper based CNC systems work with G-code, this is a straightforward platform to learn. If your patient, you will be able to get it to work.

UPDATE: It stopped turning on after about a week of use. Checked all the connections. They were kind enough to send me a replacement. The replacement was DOA. I've returned both for a full refund.Super easy to assemble. I wanted a robotic writer for my Christmas cards and letters to clients. This is super easy to assemble.The software is about 70% there.The drawings come out like a dot matrix printer. It just draws it horizontally line by line. Takes for ever. Not sure how to get it to plot out a drawing so it doesn't take an eternity to make a simple drawing. I suppose a CAD engineer can figure this out.The "handwriting" fonts it comes with are not good. It looks like it was done by a 5th grader. The software/website doesn't allow you to upload your handwriting. Perhaps it's a feature in future versions. All the documentation says to go to the company website and download the handwriting app for android. When you try, it doesn't exist - at least the app doesn't exist. Not on their website or on Playstore. So don't expect to see your handwriting or signature on paper with this.This product's documentation is poor. About what you expect for a Chinese company that is too cheap to hire westerners to write the instructions.You do have to calibrate the device to work with each page. Not 100% intuitive. It's taken me some time to figure it out. Being an American, I didn't have a metric ruler in my house. I would suggest you purchase one to help calibrate this device to the exact dimensions of your paper. The youtube instructions are wanting.A forum exists. You can't log in - the "create new user" has been disabled. There is no email or support link. If it doesn't work... too bad.

Building this took less than 10 minutes, you just place the arm and tighten the bolt, the wiring is straight forward too. The only difficulty I had was importing my own handwriting. It tells you that you can only do it through android. But there is a way around it to do it on a iPad, I had to go through a font maker website and then export my writing from there to a google drive and download it on my pc, then it shows up on the fonts. Overall this is a good machine and saves a lot of time. Would recommend it for the price as I’ve gotten cheaper ones and they didn’t work. So do yourself a favor and get this one.

I love the machine and it was super easy to setup and get going. But the software is so clunky and poorly thought out it makes me not want to use the machine. Honestly makes me wish I returned it.

I love the look and feel of this machine, it seems very well built. It is mostly metal and no part feels flimsy or poorly made. To put it together is extremely easy you can almost do it with our reading the instructions. Nice printed instructions are included.It works well and does what it says it does. Now the software is kind of awkward and very limited. The difference with the handwritten type of text and ordinary text is that for the first one, the machine imitates the movement of a hand, it traces each letter. Now the bad part is that the fonts are mediocre in quality and very limited. You can use any other fonts and pictures, but when you do so the machine does not trace, it makes small passes line by line just like a laser engraver. So if you create something with pictures or text that is not the traced text it just looks like a very cheap inkjet job or less.One big advantage (and this is why I bought this machine) is that you can write on things that you can not in a regular printer. You can print on small boxes, wood, cardboard, etc. It all depends on the kind of pen you are using. I discovered that to vary the pressure, the only thing you have to do is put the pen down. Adjust your pen so it touches the surface without pressure. Put the pen up and then push the pen down in the holder just a bit, so it will create some pressure when it comes down by command. How much? it depends on how much pressure you want, it's a try and error thing you will have to learn. So far I can use anything from permanent markers to pens and even regular pencils. I even think I can etch plastic with a sharp tool but I am not sure there is a way to secure the work with enough force as it is not intended for that purpose.