What is an EggBot? An EggBot is a compact, easy to use art robot that can draw on small spherical and egg-shaped objects. The EggBot was originally invented by motion control artist Bruce Shapiro in 1990. Since then, EggBots have been used as educational and artistic pieces in museums and workshops. An EggBot is a highly adjustable machine, designed to draw on all kinds of things that are normally "impossible" to print on. Not just eggs but ping pong balls, golf balls, light bulbs, and even small mini pumpkins. The EggBot Pro The EggBot Pro is a total re-imagining of the EggBot, designed for rigidity, ease of use, and faster setup. Its major components are solid aluminum, CNC machined in the USA, and powder coated or anodized. It's sturdy as can be. The frame has an open front, for greatly improved accessibility and visibility while you are plotting. The most common mechanical adjustments are faster with bicycle-style quick releases, and repositioned thumbscrews for easier access. And, it comes fully assembled and ready to use. Assuming that you've installed the software first, you can be up and printing within minutes of opening the box. The EggBot Pro fits spherical and egg-shaped objects from roughly the size of a gum ball to that of a light bulb — about 1 to 3.5 inches in diameter (2.5 - 9 cm). Perfect for ping pong balls, golf balls, chicken eggs, and similarly sized objects. The movements of the pen and egg motors are controlled by high-torque precision stepping motors, and the pen lift mechanism is a quiet and reliable servo motor. The included EiBotBoard v2.5 (EBB) driver board uses 16× microstepping to give a resolution of 3200 steps/revolution in both axes. A universal-input plug-in power supply (with US-style plug) is included with the EggBot kit, as is a USB cable and one black Sharpie marker. To operate the EggBot Pro, you will need a reasonably modern computer with an available USB port (Mac, Windows or Linux), plus internet access to download necessary software. The EggBot is normally controlled through a set of open-source extensions to Inkscape, the excellent, popular and free vector graphics program. Basic operation is much like that of a printer driver: you import or make a drawing in Inkscape, and use the extensions to plot your drawing onto whatever object you've mounted in the EggBot. It's all handled through an easy to use graphical user interface, and works cleanly on Mac, Windows and Linux. The standard pen holder included with the EggBot kit is designed to fit various art pens including Sharpie Ultra Fine Point and Sharpie Fine Point pens. However, it can actually fit almost any pen of similar size. If you have additional questions about the EggBot, you may want to look at the EggBot FAQ. The EggBot is an open source hardware+software project. Extensive documentation about the EggBot is available here, including usage guides, open source hardware release documents, and example plot files. Downloads: EggBot Pro User Guide (PDF, 12 pages). A printed copy of this guide is included with the kit.
