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

[RagingRiver01]

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!

 

[MFstooges]

I had been looking at Dimage scanner in the past but most of them lost the tray somehow. I am interested to see how this will end up.

 

[reddesert]

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.

 

[RagingRiver01]

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.

Thanks for replying! I will keep you in mind as I continue to model the Scan Dual III Film Holder. Once I am done with that one, I will be in contact with you to try and get the Scan Dual IV film holder modeled as well. From everything I've seen, it seems like the III and IV use slightly different film holders.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I have a complete Minolta Dimage Scan Elite F-2900, including the film tray for 35mm negatives, and a tray for 35mm slides.

 

[im45so]

Oh! Great, finally see someone asking the same question, I‘ve been looking for fh-u2 for long time but found nothing, if 3d scan success, I hope I can get a copy too! Thanks

 

[rgmcleod]

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.

 

[RagingRiver01]

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.

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.

 

[ant!]

I have a Minolta Scan Elite II, I think the film inserts look very similar to the one of the Scan Dual III I used before, not sure if they are 100% the same. As a starting point, I could send a photo.

Other scanner I have: Epson V800, but the inserts have glass in, and I think these might be still available new so might be not worth the hassle...

 

[ant!]

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.

 

[Ryythrin]

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.

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.

 

[reddesert]

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.

A useful resource, I found from the review of the Dimage Scan Dual IV https://www.filmscanner.info/MinoltaDimageScanDual4.html
that along with the IV, they introduced a filmstrip holder FH-U2, but the same slide holder SH-U1. He says (use google translate if needed) that he preferred the assembly and guide rails of the FH-U2 to those of the FH-U1, but that externally they are compatible. I don't have any experience to compare the two holders, but it is useful that to date the evidence is that the same holders will fit into all of the Scan Dual series.

 

[Barney2024]

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!

I intended to do the same, modeling the film strip tray for my Dimage Scan Elite II. But unfortunately, I could not obtain any tray to copy. When you have the 3d model files, I would be very happy to try out printing them. I think that we need the same type of tray. These are great scanners, but the trays are fragile. Or just disappear in some mysterious way behind some furniture. Thank you, rgmcleod and RagingRiver01, for doing this! You may save THOUSANDS of good scanners...

 

[RagingRiver]

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.

So sorry for the late response! Life has been a bit crazy recently. The files are all on my desktop at home and I'll be away for the next few days. But, I plan to make one more small modification to the file and then upload it so everyone can access it! So, stay tuned!

 

[RagingRiver]

Hey Everyone! The day is finally here... Here is the link to Thingiverse for the .STL files of the FH-U1 film holder for the Minolta ScanDual III Scanner.

Minolta Dimage Scan Dual III Film Holder (FH-U1) Version 1 by RagingRiver

Here is the .STL file I modeled for the Scan Dual III 35mm film holders! It's not perfect, but it does work. The spacing on the little tabs that tell the scanner where the holder is in the scanner is a little bit "off" because my digital caliper is of quite low quality (so the scans won't be...

www.thingiverse.com

Be warned, it's a bit of a pain to print, at least in my experience. But, I am a VERY inexperienced 3D printer operator. Luckily, I had access to my College's Ultimaker s5 for this project.

Happy scanning (and printing)!

 

[Barney2024]

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!

 

[Barney2024]

I have just read the continuation of your post above in the grey field. So if you say it is working as it is, I will not bother with the teeth. I will try to print the slide from PETG maybe from polycarbonate. Whichever is available here in black. So, RagingRiver, thanks for the model once again! I will report on my results.

 

[RagingRiver]

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!

Sorry for my late reply! I'm honestly not sure how the scanner tells the slides tray apart from the negative tray. But, my best guess would be that it is those "position markers / tabs" on the bottom right-hand side of the tray. Those are different on the slides holder than the negative holder, so I assume that it is what tells the scanner to behave accordingly. The rack that interfaces with the sprocket in the scanner is identical between the two, though.

But, here are the .ipt files that I have been working from in Inventor (cause it's free for Students lol): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u1YZ4neYKiPKVvhJI2VtnznfiHqVAriM?usp=sharing

Feel free to look through them and modify them as necessary to your needs.

 

[Borislavo]

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.

Great job done.
Maybe there is more sense to print it with different technilosy like SLA or SLS? Or maybe print as is and then sanding it up to condition fine enough to use?
You can share models you have with community and maybe someone will help

 

[Borislavo]

*different technology