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Sparkfun Electronics RB-Spa-508 Assembly Instructions Manual

Sparkfun electronics rb-spa-508 thermal printer
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''Internet of Things'' Printer Assembly Instructions
In the future, everything will be connected to the internet. And all restaurants will be Taco Bell!
The "Internet of Things" refers to the idea of pervasive, ambient connections between physical objects
and the virtual world. If every modest sensor or output device could share information via the internet,
what new paradigms will arise? Our little printer is one such experiment. What value can be culled from
the internet without a browser interface, or even a computer screen for that matter?
Parts List
The Internet of Things Printer Project Pack includes the following items:
Mini Thermal Receipt Printer.
50' roll of thermal paper.
Metal on/off toggle button with green LED.
Panel-mount DC barrel jack.
5V 2A DC switching power supply.
Break-away strip male header (single piece similar to product ID #400).
A short length of ribbon cable.
Seven (7) laser-cut acrylic pieces.
Eleven (11) 1/2" #4-40 machine screws.
Twelve (12) #4-40 steel nuts.
Not shown: a short length of heat-shrink tube.
Because many users already have Arduino hardware, the kit does not include microcontroller and/or
network boards. You will need to additionally purchase or bring:

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Summary of Contents for Sparkfun Electronics RB-Spa-508

  • Page 1 ''Internet of Things'' Printer Assembly Instructions In the future, everything will be connected to the internet. And all restaurants will be Taco Bell! The "Internet of Things" refers to the idea of pervasive, ambient connections between physical objects and the virtual world. If every modest sensor or output device could share information via the internet, what new paradigms will arise? Our little printer is one such experiment.
  • Page 2  an Arduino Ethernet board and a USB-to-serial programming adapter such as the FTDI Friend or TTL-232 Cable. -or-  an Arduino Uno board and Ethernet Shield. Directions are provided for both. In either case, you will also need:  Cables for USB programming and Ethernet.
  • Page 3 Preparation  If using the Arduino Ethernet (board, not shield), gently remove the 6-pin 90-degree male programming header from its socket.  If using the Arduino Uno + Ethernet Shield, remove the Ethernet Shield if it's currently installed.  Peel the backing paper off the acrylic parts. This may create a static charge, so building the kit with a grounding mat or wrist strap is recommended.
  • Page 4 Assembly 1: Prepare pin headers  Using pliers or wire cutters, snap off three sections of pin header: two, three and five pins.  If using an Arduino Uno with Ethernet Shield, the three- and five-pin headers should be bent at 90 degrees to allow clearance inside the case.
  • Page 5  The power button has five solder legs. Looking at the back of the button, turn it so that the legs are toward the bottom, forming a "smile" arrangement. Then use the following guide to solder the wires to the legs shown. Note that the second leg is not connected, and the fourth leg is joined to both the orange and red wires.
  • Page 6 orange wires. The red and brown wires can be left mostly together — peel apart about 2 inches near the end. 3: Install DC power jack  Locate the back piece of the acrylic case (with the Adafruit logo) and insert the DC power jack from the outside, then secure it from the inside with the included nylon nut.
  • Page 7 4: Solder row headers  Strip about 1/2" (13mm) of insulation from all of the unconnected wire ends, and twist each to prevent fraying.  The wires are then soldered to the row headers. Pinch the tip of a wire against the header's plastic support and wrap the wire around the pin.
  • Page 8 5: Install printer in top plate  Slide the thermal printer through the large cutout in the top piece of the case:...
  • Page 9  Secure the printer using the two plastic wedges. Screw down gently so as not to crack the acrylic. Connect the power and serial cables into the back of the printer. Note the functions of each wire as labeled on the printer — we'll refer back to these later.
  • Page 10 6: Attach board to bottom plate This varies slightly between the Arduino Ethernet and the Uno + Ethernet Shield. In either case, only three of the four mounting holes are used, but it's different for each board type. For Arduino Ethernet Board: ...
  • Page 11 Only the screw near the Ethernet jack has the extra "standoff" nut — the others pass straight through. Once installed, the board will be very slightly canted. This is normal and won't show once finished, and does not adversely affect operation. For Arduino Uno + Shield: ...
  • Page 12  Identify the "middle" acrylic piece. This is the only piece not spoken for yet. It has a small round bite out of one end, and a large square bite out of the other (these are the top and bottom, respectively).
  • Page 13 8: Join case back and second case side  Things start to get tricky now — the back and top pieces of the case are joined by a wire at this point, so the two can't be separated very far. Work slowly and methodically to make sure you don't break the wire or get anything tangled.
  • Page 14 9: Install case top  Route the two cables from the printer (power and serial) down through the middle of the box.  On one side of the case, loosen the two lower screws just a couple of turns. Then loosen, but do not completely remove, the two upper screws on the same side.
  • Page 15 10: Connect wires and install case bottom  Connect 3-pin header to Arduino power pins. Two wires — white and brown — connect to GND, while the red wire connects to 5V.  Connect 5-pin header to Arduino pins 3 through 7. The single green wire should go to pin 3, and there will now be bare protruding pins.
  • Page 16  Connect 2-pin header to the power socket (2 wires) from the printer. Orange connects to red, and black to black. Because this connection doesn't go to a fixed socket, it could shift around inside the case and come in contact with exposed metal. Danger! It is vitally important to cover this exposed header with a bit of tape, heat-shrink tube, or a dollop of Sugru.
  • Page 17 11: Install front face  One last time with the screw-loosening trick…this time around with the front of the case, enough to insert the tabs from the white acrylic front piece into the circular holes in the side pieces. There are only two tabs here…it acts as a hinge. ...
  • Page 18 Download In addition to the Arduino IDE software itself (if not already installed), two downloads are required:  First, retrieve the thermal printer Arduino library from our repository on GitHub. Click the DOWNLOAD ZIP button near the upper left, extract the archive and then rename the uncompressed folder to Thermal.
  • Page 19  The code uses DHCP (which dynamically assigns an IP address) by default. If your network doesn't use DHCP, or if you just want to provide a fallback address in case of a problem, edit the IPAddress value in the code. ...

  • Page 20: Troubleshooting

    Use it!  Attach Ethernet and power cables to the back of the unit. The other ends should be connected to your network router and the included DC power adapter, respectively.  Install a roll of thermal receipt paper in the printer. This is accessed by pulling up the lever to the left side of the paper slot.
  • Page 21 current status at each stage of its operation. Most likely, the network settings will need to be edited.  It might also be a simple paper issue. Open the printer top latch and confirm that thermal paper is loaded and properly fed out the top. ...