I have acquired quite a pile of LexMark ink jet printers. I am wondering if any of you have ever adapted the ink jet controller to something like an automated soldering station, positioning station for a drill press/mill etc.?
Any other uses that might make this pile of junk into something useful? Dennis
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Strip them and bin the junk. The steppers, sensors and assorted mechanical parts (gears, belts, etc.) may be useful. The ways (is that what you call them in a printer? the long shiny things the print head runs on) are usually pretty good too, so keep them. A pile of dead printers will just take up space; a few good bits of steel plus some motors, gears and belts might come in handy.
From an electronics perspective, bin it. It will be easier to address the motors directly from your own electronics (if you use them).
Tim
If you got any ink cartridges that have not been refilled you may be able to trade them in for packs of paper at your local Staples/OfficeMax/etc.
Depending on the model, some have temperature sensing chips (DS18...), gratucile and quadrature detectors. Look deep, you might find some cool stuff.
Find some good eyeballs and build an iRobot.
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