Post 4: Deconstructing

Once the Microtek MSF-300G arrived I quickly set about deconstructing it. As it had no software with it and there was no drivers I could find online to make it compatible with, I decided this would be the scanner to deconstruct.

I began by unscrewing the lid which also contained the glass. This was relatively easy with the help of a screwdriver. However, I noticed immediately that everything was held in place by tensions pointing to a very specific kind of construction, which is one that uses some sort of manufacturing line. After removing the lid I then had to figure out how the inside functioned. Many flatbed scanners have, for example, three mirrors. Yet, after inspection I found that the Microtek only had two.

I had to decide what parts of the scanner I wanted to keep in tact and what parts I wants to take apart. I decided to keep the "head" which contains the mirrors, light and CCD somewhat in tact so that viewers could see how light actually moved. Part of the difficulty with this was finding a place to add labels.

I also kept part of the belt function. It uses a step device which is really interesting, especially as an older piece of technology. As I disassembled the power supply, I found many small parts such as transistors and capacitors and attempted to follow the stream of electrical current. As I have a background in physics, specifically in experimental physics I have spent a lot of my life playing with circuit boards. I noticed for example that I was able to figure out the resistance of each resistor due to the color scheme.

I had difficulty with lots of the screws that were either glued down or had become rusty and thus the metal became stripped when attempting to unscrew them. Because of this I was unable to completely "open" the analog-to-digital converter. Luckily, I have built an analog-to-digital converter so I was able to understand how it worked. However, in thinking about others conceptualizing this, I'd like to eventually open it up. I will need some power tools to do so.