“It’s funny how the most random event can lead you on some multi-years quest. My passion for plotters started with such an event.
My friend Alexandre had a broken desktop printer and, knowing my passion for dismantling things, proposed to give it to me. I spent a great evening marvelling at the inner complexity of such a common appliance, not knowing that it was the beginning of my passion for CNC machines.
CNC machines (for Computer Numerical Control) are tools that transform bits into atoms. I spend the following summer self-teaching practical electronics with my Friend Sebastian (who went on working at Festo), to be able, by myself, to build some.
A weird kind of printer
My first home-built printer was probably one of the strangest. It was an arduino-powered printer that used a solenoid with a needle as a head. The result? Some sort of perforated/embossed image. I personally used it as a quick replacement for silk-screens.”