Looking to 3D Model Film trays for Old Scanners! Can anyone help?

reddesert said:

I didn't see this earlier. I have a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV with the 35mm and mounted-slide holders/trays. I am not sure if these holders are the same as the model III - they look similar from a quick google search. They are relatively complex shapes with what looks like a molded rack on the side to fit a pinion gear (I didn't look inside the scanner to check if that's how the drive works). If you need some measurements or photos of the trays I could take them.

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rgmcleod said:

I have a Konica-Minolta Scan Dual IV scanner with both the FH-U2 and SH-U1 trays. I have been looking for additional trays off and on for several years, but have not been successful. I have a lot of slides and film to scan and having additional trays would be very useful and time saving.

After seeing this thread the other day, I decided to bite the bullet and start modeling the FH-U2 tray. I've only started this process, but attached is what the bottom half of the tray looks like at this point. My intent is to model the trays as they exist, and then figure out how to adapt them to 3D printing.

Adapting these trays for 3D printing is going to be an interesting process. I have a FDM type 3D printer and have made lots of projects, but the prospect of duplicating these trays has been a daunting task. I have come to the conclusion that, for the FH-U2 at least, the bottom part will probably need to be split into two pieces to make 3D printing a possibility.

I am open to any comments or suggestions, and plan to post any designs that work somewhere on line (thingiverse.com probably). And if someone already has a 3D design, I would be willing to take the .stl file, print it and test on my scanner.

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RagingRiver01 said:

That's awesome to hear! I literally just wrapped up modeling and testing both the bottom and top halves of the FH-U1 film tray! I got the whole model to print on an Ultimaker S5 quite successfully. It took some problem-solving to get the model to interface with the scanner, but I figured it out and it's working now with my current revisions. I will be uploading the files in the next week or so once I get a few things finalized and wrapped up.

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ant! said:

https://www.filmscanner.info/MinoltaDimageScanElite2.html says my scanner uses the SH-U1 for framed slides and FH-U1 for film strips, so seems to be the same as some of the other models.

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RagingRiver01 said:

I'm currently running a project where I am going to 3D model film trays for old scanners (specifically Minolta Dimage Dualscan scanners, but am willing to look at other types as well) so that these older scanners can still be used and not thrown away. The trays are often almost impossible to find, therefore rendering the scanners useless without them. I currently have a mint-condition Minolta Dimage Dualscan III that I will create a 3D printable film tray for. However, I'm looking to help more people out.

Would anyone who has any of these film trays be willing to work with me so that I can mock up a 3D model of them and send the model off to you to test if the 3D print will work with the scanner? I know it's a long shot, but I thought it would be worthwhile to ask anyway! I'm honestly surprised that (seemingly) no one has done this before, and I want to take a crack at it. I would just love to see these scanners get used like they should be.

Thanks for reading!

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Ryythrin said:

This timing is so crazy. My friend and I are currently working through the logistics of printing it. Do you have the files? We're trying to do film in a more wallet-friendly and all these cheap scanners have no slides or power supplies lol.

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Barney2024 said:

Thank you, RagingRiver, this is great! I have an SH-U1 frame (for slides), and the "tabs" or teeth of the rack on the side are identical. They are trapezoidal. Tomorrow I will try to make a negative with plaster or maybe with a piece of polycaprolactone, and I will measure the angle. Could you please, upload a format that is easier to edit? The current files cannot be modified in Shapr3D. Fusion does not install on my High Sierra OS. Sketchup, STEP or something similar format would most probably be useful. I am by far not an expert either, but I would try to modify the model a bit, once I could measure the teeth properly. One more question, could you identify what tells the scanner if it is an SH-U1 or an FH-U1 frame? Is it the hole at the front (loading) end?

Thanks a lot!

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rgmcleod said:

I have a Konica-Minolta Scan Dual IV scanner with both the FH-U2 and SH-U1 trays. I have been looking for additional trays off and on for several years, but have not been successful. I have a lot of slides and film to scan and having additional trays would be very useful and time saving.

After seeing this thread the other day, I decided to bite the bullet and start modeling the FH-U2 tray. I've only started this process, but attached is what the bottom half of the tray looks like at this point. My intent is to model the trays as they exist, and then figure out how to adapt them to 3D printing.

Adapting these trays for 3D printing is going to be an interesting process. I have a FDM type 3D printer and have made lots of projects, but the prospect of duplicating these trays has been a daunting task. I have come to the conclusion that, for the FH-U2 at least, the bottom part will probably need to be split into two pieces to make 3D printing a possibility.

I am open to any comments or suggestions, and plan to post any designs that work somewhere on line (thingiverse.com probably). And if someone already has a 3D design, I would be willing to take the .stl file, print it and test on my scanner.

Click to expand...

BOKEN4 said:

@RagingRiver & @Hunter_Compton - What incredible timing! Thank you for putting this into the world when you did. I recently bought a used Dimage Scan Dual III and needed to print the FH-U1.

See here my remix of the design on Thingverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7141263
I also attached the same files to this comment for you to access.

I am an engineer and fairly familiar with 3D printing. We have a Bambu XC1 at my work and it has an AMS so I thought I would simplify things and recombine the bottom part so that it was one part again.
I utilized a trick of the trade - PETG does not stick to PLA, so it makes an excellent interface surface for supports when printing a PLA part. In this way, I think I solved both of the main problems. So here is the Bambu gcode file for printing my version, in PLA, with a PETG support interface layer!

I've included the STEP files as well as the Bambu gcode.

I also changed the film guides to better retain the filmstrip against the bottom plate by overlapping the edge of the film with a chamfer - I found I needed 3 hands to get the film in and the top closed otherwise!

I added a small clip that is thin enough to go into the scanner but still strong enough to hold the ends of the FH-U1 closed if the fit between top and bottom comes out a little loose.

Finally, I changed the top to remove the interference at the hinge (another chamfer). Makes it easier to put the top on.

Click to expand...

BOKEN4 said:

@RagingRiver & @Hunter_Compton - What incredible timing! Thank you for putting this into the world when you did. I recently bought a used Dimage Scan Dual III and needed to print the FH-U1.

See here my remix of the design on Thingverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7141263
I also attached the same files to this comment for you to access.

I am an engineer and fairly familiar with 3D printing. We have a Bambu XC1 at my work and it has an AMS so I thought I would simplify things and recombine the bottom part so that it was one part again.
I utilized a trick of the trade - PETG does not stick to PLA, so it makes an excellent interface surface for supports when printing a PLA part. In this way, I think I solved both of the main problems. So here is the Bambu gcode file for printing my version, in PLA, with a PETG support interface layer!

I've included the STEP files as well as the Bambu gcode.

I also changed the film guides to better retain the filmstrip against the bottom plate by overlapping the edge of the film with a chamfer - I found I needed 3 hands to get the film in and the top closed otherwise!

I added a small clip that is thin enough to go into the scanner but still strong enough to hold the ends of the FH-U1 closed if the fit between top and bottom comes out a little loose.

Finally, I changed the top to remove the interference at the hinge (another chamfer). Makes it easier to put the top on.

Click to expand...

Borislavo said:

Thank you, great job done!)

Do you have SH-U1 slide holder to reverse-engineer it too?

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