The user puts a book
in the
machine and

opens it. The


cameras
to the left
and right


are set up
in such a way, that


they are

orthogonal
to the
plates of
glass, when
these


plates
are in the

lower position.
The

aforementioned
glass
plates
are
moved

down
until

they flatten the book
pages

(lower

position), after
which
the
user
triggers
both
cameras


through a button in

the
handle.
Then the
glas-V may be



elevated, until the

page can be

turned

underneath (upper


position) and the

whole
procedure

may then
be

repeated as

needed.

The V-shaped book
cradle
allows for

books of various


thickness
via a
width-
a

djustable
support design,

which can


accommodate
a

book spine of any

realistic

width
between
the two

supports.


Additionally, the

cradle is covered
with a

dark-g
rey

rubber to be
slip-r
esistant
and

prevent unintended


movement of the

book
during

the
scanning process.
The


whole book
cradle is mounted

on
linear
rails and can
be


moved
horizontally from
left
to
right;
two glass
panes form a


wedge,
which is
mounted on

linear rails

and can
be moved

vertically.
The weight
of the

wedge is


counterbalanced
with

a
weight,
resourcefully

fashioned from a


Club-Mate
bottle


filled with nails. The


wedge and the

counterweight
are


connected via a
metal
chain,
that
runs
over
custom-t

urned
aluminium
pulleys

mounted on
ball bearings.

The cameras run the

alternative firmware

for Canon
cameras


called CHDK, the



Canon Hack
Development Kit.

This

firmware
adds
features to
these
cameras,
which
are

usually
only found in



professional,
prohibitively

expensive
devices.

Especially


relevant
was the
firmware’s

support of PTP, a

protocol

which

allows a computer to


control every

function
of a
digital
camera.
The
software

spreads (
github.com/DIYBookScanner/sp..)


trigger
the cameras
and

download the
pictures.


Afterwards,
the
pictures are run


through a
chain of
different
tools, for
example


ScanTailor,


djvubind, tesseract
or

cuneiform; this
process is

managed
by

spreads.
In the

end, an ebook is
created.

The biggest cost
factor of this
project
was
the digital

cameras,

at about
200€ each.

The
linear
rails, pulleys,

bearings, and

other

mechanical parts

altogether cost

about

150€, and
the
used
wood totalled

ca. 50€.

Approximately
100€
was then

required


for various sundry

parts, cables,

power
supply
units, adapter

and plugs.
The
total

costs of
this project
came
to
700€ and

were covered by

myself.

With the utility of my
newly-built
book

scanner, I was



successfully able to
scan
all

necessary
and optional books


for
my
studies.
Further, having
all
these books

always
with
me
in
digital
form had
unforeseen

practical benefits,
making
me
a

very

popular student at
my
university.
The
speed of

scanning

for the unpractised


user
averages 800
pages per

hour, but

with
only several

thousand pages

experience, a


user
may scan
approx.
1000

pages per hour.
The device is

fully

operational and
is

currently
housed in
c-b
ase e.V. in
Berlin.

It is available to all


members of
c-base
for
free.