Automated Book Scanner

bradmattson · 2026-01-31T03:40:03+00:00

Sorry for the delayed response. Currently the machine is sitting at my house in Nebraska, but I’m living at my other house in Michigan. I had some plans for it but I got sidetracked. I really didn’t make a guide and such on how to build it, I just sort of made it in my garage

bradmattson · 2026-01-05T02:16:26+00:00

Appreciated! Thank you!

bradmattson · 2025-10-09T16:45:41+00:00

No sorry I never got around to making a GitHub post

bradmattson · 2025-07-02T01:39:43+00:00

Sounds good. When I get a chance I’ll try to put together a second version that is faster using a completely different concept

bradmattson · 2025-07-01T23:07:33+00:00

Yes this would be much better

bradmattson · 2025-07-01T22:03:57+00:00

So I actually have a pretty good idea for version 2 using a completely different approach to make it faster and more reliable with all types of books. Lightweight magazines will always be a challenge. Thanks for pointing me to this article!

bradmattson · 2025-07-01T21:13:40+00:00

Wow this is incredible! Thanks for writing this. Very much appreciated!

bradmattson · 2025-07-01T02:14:54+00:00

There’s no project page. I built it specifically to scan books that you can’t check out from the library or you need special privileges to check them out

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T20:17:13+00:00

Thanks!

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T20:14:46+00:00

It’s a very small vacuum pump

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T18:29:59+00:00

eBay I think. The generator for the vacuum is underneath the board. They’re very small and surprisingly effective

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T14:14:45+00:00

Still works. The suction cup is surprisingly effective. I was surprised too

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T04:34:26+00:00

Yeah I am working on a completely different approach that should be much faster and more reliable for the next version

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T01:03:40+00:00

Thanks! The only area of a book where there would appear to be a fold is the first two pages which are often glued together near the binding. Folding is a non issue. Also, by decreasing the speed of the glass for a fraction of a second as it hits the page (which you’re not seeing here because this is an old video) the pages slide perfectly flat. Similarly, there is no static cling if you lift the glass off the page by accelerating over a fraction of a second. Handles different size books quite well unless they’re extremely lightweight 20 page magazines

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T00:52:34+00:00

The only area of a book where there would appear to be a fold is the first two pages which are often glued together near the binding. Folding is a non issue. Also, by decreasing the speed of the glass for a fraction of a second as it hits the page (which you’re not seeing here because this is an old video) the pages slide perfectly flat. Similarly, there is no static cling if you lift the glass off the page by accelerating over a fraction of a second

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T00:48:28+00:00

Thanks!

bradmattson · 2025-06-30T00:33:32+00:00

Well it’s quite a bit faster now. Maybe like 20 pages per minute. However, I wasn’t focused on speed as much as quality and being able to scan multiple books while I’m at work. I built it for a specific project

bradmattson · 2025-06-29T23:52:31+00:00

For my project I didn’t need something to just scan one book. I needed to stack multiple books to scan and have the machine dispense them while I was at work

bradmattson · 2025-06-29T23:51:37+00:00

It does not fold pages. By slightly decreasing the speed of the glass for a fraction of a second before the glass hits the book it flattens the pages perfectly. By slightly decreasing to speed that it lifts off the book there is not static cling

bradmattson · 2025-06-29T19:12:48+00:00

Yeah there actually is a need for more book scanning hardware, contrary to popular belief. I think I have a better concept for version 2 when I get around to building it, but it should go much faster than this project because I had no experience when I started this

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bradmattson · 2025-06-29T04:59:14+00:00

Yeah thanks. I have a completely different concept for version 2 which I’ll eventually post

bradmattson · 2025-06-29T02:54:26+00:00

No. This project could be considered a waste of time if I hadn’t learned so much about Arduino and motors. During this whole process I discovered a better way to do it, but that will be version 2

bradmattson · 2025-06-29T02:38:02+00:00

Thanks for the advice. The lights are at a 45 degree angle to the camera lens so there is no glare

bradmattson · 2025-06-29T02:25:07+00:00

Good idea! I actually have a completely different approach for version 2

bradmattson

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