This is the foundation of the device. From now on, things will be mounted over it.

PCB + NEMA + bottom

1. place the PCB and the NEMA assembly together in the A_bottom;
2. pay close attention on the PCB slot on the A_bottom to ease the insertion process;
3. screw 4x m3x20 underneath to attach the NEMA;

+ Pillars

1. proceeed to use 2x m3x20 screws to hold the pillars, also from the bottom;

+ Lateral screws

1. now, use 3x m3x20 screws from the side to firmly hold the PCB in place

Result

The servo, together with the hall sensor, is one of the most critical sub systems of the device.

Please, be focused and follow thoroughly.

Servo: connection

1. it is advisable to roll the excess cable with a wire strap to keep it tidy;
2. the correct connector order when facing the PCB is: GND (brown), VCC (red), SIGNAL (orange);
3. use an allen key to help push it to the header.

Servo: homing

Servos receive PWM signals to reach directly to a specific angle, in this case from 0 to 180 degrees.

It is unpredictable in which angle a given unit is delivered to you. Because of that, we’ll be turning the machine on to make sure it is homed in the resting angle.

1. make sure you have already flashed both the firmware and data files (SPIFFS) into the PCB;
2. connect the display to the PCB;
3. plug the 12DC power source into the PCB;
4. wait for the “E-TKT” splash animation and the servo will be homed to its resting position.

Press

1. place a m6 washer into the P_press;
2. this is intended to ease the movement between the P_press while keeping it perpendicular to the servo axis;

Press: alignment

Now that the servo is homed, we can put the P_press by using its own visual cue.

1. don’t forget to keep the device connected to the power source;
2. place the servo on a surface longitudinally;
3. use the lateral line of the P_press to keep it aligned;
4. aim the P_press hole to the servo hub and press gently until fitting it;
5. do not twist, we need to “carve” the P_press plastic to the “cog” shape of the hub!
6. place an m3x6 with washer and screw tightly
7. there must be absolutely no lateral play (force it a bit to test) between the servo and the P_press, otherwise it will miss the daisy wheel’s tooth when forced.

Chassis

1. disconnect the power source from the PCB;
2. remove the display and reserve it;
3. to ease mounting the servo on the A_bottom, place 2x nuts and pass 2x m3x20 with washers;
4. screw both lightly, just to grab the nuts onto the other side;
5. keep a gap between the washers and the A_bottom;
6. align the servo to both screws and “click” it through;
7. tighten both screws while making sure the servo is as inward and pressed against to the A_bottom as possible;

Result & check

Just to make sure the P_press is aligned: with the machine turned off, twist the press a bit and turn the device on again.

It should home to rest position. That means the lateral of the P_press should be 100% vertical, together with the servo outline.

If not, you will need to print another P_press and repeat the previous steps.

The 28BYJ is a reduced stepper motor and it’s responsible for feeding the tape forward through the guiding track.

28BYJ + gear

1. place the gear into the stepper axis;
2. pay attention to the chamfer: one of the screws must face it;
3. tighten both screws;

+ Wall

1. put the 28BYJ stepper into the B_wall;
2. place two nuts into the slots;
3. from the other side, tighten 2x m3x6 screws;
4. as with the stepper, it is recommended to wrap the excess cables for this stepper motor with wire strap.
5. connect the cable to the PCB with the red to the left, when facing the PCB;

+ Chassis

1. place the B_wall into the A_bottom;
2. the stepper cable should not pass the further away as possible from the NEMA axis;
3. organize the cables on the other side;
4. fix both parts together by using 2x m3x20 from underneath.

+ Wall_track and D_pillar

1. now, keep the C_wall_track into the B_wall while attaching the D_pillar;
2. observe the servo cable while doing it;
3. fix the D_pillar with one m3x20 screw.

Result

The leading character of the device, the daisy wheel is responsible for embossing the letters into the tape.

1. start by picking the device from the side, as indicated above;
2. make sure the magnet on the I_nema_wheel_hub is facing the hall sensor, which also means the both I_nema_wheel_hub screws are are looking to you;
3. pay attention now
4. align the bottom part of the daisy wheel (with the teeth) to have the letter “J” facing the P_press on the right;
5. that will also mean the wheel’s only big tooth (for cutting) will be facing you, together with to both I_nema_wheel_hub screws;
6. “click” the daisy wheel into the I_nema_wheel_hub;

Wheel coupling bottom

1. now, place the top part of the daisy wheel, observing the alignment fittings;
2. then, place the N_wheel_coupling_bottom in the hole while respecting the alignment mark;

Wheel coupling top

1. insert the 608ZZ bearing into the O_wheel_coupling_top;
2. from the other side, insert one m3x16 screw;
3. while firmly holding the daisy wheel assembly, tighten the screw until there is no clearance.

Result

Top + display

1. place the OLED display into the craddle, with the wires to the outmost part of the J_top piece;
2. cover it with the K_top_screenholder;
3. progressively tighten each of the 2x m3x6mm screws to make sure the screen is flat (check the outside).

Top + LEDs

1. pass the flat cables for both DIP LEDs through the pathway;
2. “click” the LEDs into their slots, and you might need carefully to cut a bit of material just enough to make sure it fits firmly;
3. using a flat plier might help pressing them;
4. strech the cables and make sure no segments are falling outside the boundaries, otherwise the daisywheel might be prevented from spinning;
5. crimp the dupont connectors observing the polarity: arrows shoud be ground;
6. place 2x 2-via 2.54mm caps.

Top + LEDs & display + PCB

1. connect the LEDs connectors;
2. then the display connector;
3. carefully close the K_top_screenholder while observing the PCB, servo and B_walland their respective fittings;

Top + servo

1. place one nut into the servo slot of the J_top;
2. place one m3x20 with a washer to fix the servo;
3. while you firmly grip the J_top against the A_bottom, press the servo inward and tighten the screw;

Top + pillars

1. place 4x m3x20screws to attach the J_top vertically to the pillars and wall;
2. finish by using 2x m3x20 screws on the side.

Result

The feeder is a springed mechanism that helps the cog gain traction against the tape by gently denting the adhesive liner.

Feeder + bearing

1. surround 2x 623ZZ bearings with 2x washers, one on each extremity;
2. slide them into the L_top_tapefeeder;
3. use one m3x16 screw and carefully insert it, making sure to have the washers aligned on both ends;
4. place a nut on the other side and then tighten the screw.

Feeder + top

1. put the L_top_tapefeeder into its slot in J_top;
2. use one m3x40 transversally to reach the B_wall on the other end, and tighten it;
3. pick one m4x10 screw and lightly attach against the J_top through to the upper hole of the L_top_tapefeeder;
4. do not tighten it yet, just enough to keep it in place.

Result

These are the few last steps.

PS: the wheel cover serves for removing the daisy wheel without needing to disassemble anything else.

Wheel cover

1. slide the M_top_wheel_cover into the J_top;
2. use 2x m3x10 screws to lightly touch the bearing, but we will finish tightening them on the final step;

D_pillar

1. use 2x m3x20 screws to fix the D_pillar against the A_bottom and J_top;

Wheel hub height

1. as you might already have noticed, the daisy wheel might be lose, but we needed to have the whole structure stable before adjusting it;
2. rotate the daisy wheel assembly until you find a chamfer on the bottom of the I_nema_wheel_hub;
3. place a scredriver to leverage the I_nema_wheel_hub against the H_nema_cover;
4. while keeping it up, tighten very whell both screws of the I_nema_wheel_hub;
5. also, tighten both screws on the M_top_wheel_cover;
6. test to see if the daisy wheel is properly fixed, without clearance.

🎈 congratulations, now we are ready to proceed to connecting it, adding a reel and finally calibrating!

The device must be connected to a 2.4GHz Wireless Local Area Network.

1. In the device

• turn it on;
• check if it is asking for be connected (if not, you might want to reset wi-fi — see the bottom of the page);

2. In the smartphone

• connect to the “E-TKT” network;
• a captive portal will show (if not, open by clicking on the configuration icon);
• click on “Configure Wifi: ;
• select the desired network, insert the password and hit “save”.

3. Success, now scan the QR code or manually access the URL to open the app

To reset the wifi configuration (disconnect from current network)

• press and hold the physical “WI-FI” button on the device;
• either turn the device off and on again, or press reset;
• wait for the splash screen and then for the confirmation that the wi-fi has been cleared;
• release the “WI-FI” button.

The E-TKT uses generic 9mm DYMO-compatible label reel. They are cheap and come in different colors.

To add a new reel

1. find the slit on the back of the machine, between the J_top and the C_wall_track

2. place the tape on it

3. make sure the tape is touching the cog and the metal bearings

4. in the app, go to “SETUP” and the press “+ REEL”, then reassure the step 3, confirm and wait

PS: if the tape is skidding, try tightening the m4 screw on the feeder mechanism

This final part of the process will make sure the letter alignment is finely adjusted, and together with the correct imprinting pressure.

« attention is needed here, please »

• reboot your E-TKT;
• after the splash screen the machine will home by rotating until the magnet meets the hall sensor;
• check the letter “J” position in the top window: if the letter is visually centered (right image), then proceed to the step 4.

In case the letter “J” does not meet the above criteria, follow the instructions below, otherwise move on to "Fine tuning"

• « TURN OFF the device » otherwise you might short circuit the hall sensor terminals;
• delicately adjust the hall sensor position following the tangent (cyan) axis in the image:
  • if “J” is too much to the right, push the hall sensor inward the device (yellow);
  • if “J” is too much to the left, pull the hall sensor outward the device (magenta);
• make sure to keep the same distance on the transversal (red) axis;
• only when the letter “J” is visually centered in the top window, you might proceed to the next step;

Also important: when turning the machine on, the press angle should be at 2mm from the I_nema_wheel_hub. If not, then you might need to go back to the assembly step #4

Fine tuning

In the app, click on “SETUP”.

You will see a x-ray of the machine, and now we will proceed to the first part of the calibration: the alignment (magenta).

Alignment

 The image above shows the exact moment the press is moved to the tooth.

• the align values ranges from 1 to 9, having 5 as a default (middle).
• now click the “TEST” button to the right side of “align”;
• the machine will slowly and lightly press the carousel letter;
• the goal is to have the press to be fully aligned with the character, that should also be right in the middle of the character window;
• adjust the values and test to make sure it is alright;

Force

 The image above shows several tests with progressive “force” values, and it is noticeable that up from a certain point there is no real difference.

• now we will adjust the peak servo angle, that will determine if the letter will be lightly or heavily pressed against the tape;
• the default value is 1 in a scale from 1 to 9;
• increase it one at a time and hit the big test button;
• take the opportunity to see if the alignment is correct, and if not adjust it too;

🕐 when you are happy with the result, click save and wait for the machine to reboot.

🎉 congratulations, you are now ready to label around! 🎉