The flatbed plotter has a large flat surface for holding the drawing medium. Flatbed plotters typically have table sizes and, hence, drawing sizes ranging from 30" x 30" to over 60" x 80". The drawing medium is held in place through minute holes in the table surface by a vacuum system. The flatbed plotter is popular in engineering and architectural applications where large drawings must be made. The flatbed plotter also allows a wide variety of drawing media (i.e. vellum, tracings, transparencies, etc.) to be used. Across the width of the plotter is a bridge. Thebridge can move along the length of the plotting surface (the x-axis). This movement is controlled by a special type of motor called a stepping motor. The stepping motor moves a fixed increment every time it is energized. This fixed increment regulates the resolution of any line that can be drawn. Typical flatbed resolutions range from .01" to .0001". Also important is the rate at which the motors can be incremented, or the speed of the plotting. Speeds of 1.5 to 40 inches per second are common. The bridge has a carriage containing one or more pens attached to it. The carriage can move along the bridge (the y-axis) and it's movement is controlled by another stepping motor.

The drum plotter is similar in operation to the flatbed plotter. It has a bridge with a carriage pen riding on it providing y-axis movement. Typical widths of drum plotters range from twelve to thirty inches. The main difference between the drum and flatbed is that the drawing surface is wrapped around the perimeter of a drum . The drum is rotated by a stepping motor providing x-axis movement. Since the drawing medium can be wrapped around the drum many times, a very long drawing is possible. Some drum plotters state the capability of making drawings 180 feet long!

Drum plotters are generally smaller than flatbed plotters. Their drum based designs make them more compact, more portable and less expensive. They usually have lower resolutions that flatbeds.

Answered by Arvind Pal , an ibibo Master, at 9:26 AM on September 01, 2008

The flatbed plotter has a large flat surface for holding the drawing medium. Flatbed plotters typically have table sizes and, hence, drawing sizes ranging from 30" x 30" to over 60" x 80". The drawing medium is held in place through minute holes in the table surface by a vacuum system. The flatbed plotter is popular in engineering and architectural applications where large drawings must be made. The flatbed plotter also allows a wide variety of drawing media (i.e. vellum, tracings, transparencies, etc.) to be used. Across the width of the plotter is a bridge. Thebridge can move along the length of the plotting surface (the x-axis). This movement is controlled by a special type of motor called a stepping motor. The stepping motor moves a fixed increment every time it is energized. This fixed increment regulates the resolution of any line that can be drawn. Typical flatbed resolutions range from .01" to .0001". Also important is the rate at which the motors can be incremented, or the speed of the plotting. Speeds of 1.5 to 40 inches per second are common. The bridge has a carriage containing one or more pens attached to it. The carriage can move along the bridge (the y-axis) and it's movement is controlled by another stepping motor.

The drum plotter is similar in operation to the flatbed plotter. It has a bridge with a carriage pen riding on it providing y-axis movement. Typical widths of drum plotters range from twelve to thirty inches. The main difference between the drum and flatbed is that the drawing surface is wrapped around the perimeter of a drum . The drum is rotated by a stepping motor providing x-axis movement. Since the drawing medium can be wrapped around the drum many times, a very long drawing is possible. Some drum plotters state the capability of making drawings 180 feet long!

Drum plotters are generally smaller than flatbed plotters. Their drum based designs make them more compact, more portable and less expensive. They usually have lower resolutions that flatbeds.

Answered by Nagendra , an ibibo Master, at 8:39 AM on September 01, 2008

Kanan a graphics output device that draws by moving a pen in both horizontal and vertical directions over a sheet of paper; the overall size of the drawing is limited by the height and width of this bed. Whereas a type of pen plotter that wraps the paper around a drum with a pin feed attachment. The drum turns to produce one direction of the plot, and the pens move to provide the other. The plotter was the first output device to print graphics and large engineering drawings. Using different colored pens, it could draw in color long before color inkjet printers became viable.

Answered by Keshto Patel , an ibibo Master, at 7:26 PM on August 30, 2008

Well Kanan , A plotter consists of an arm that moves across the paper on which the diagram or graph needs to be drawn . Apen moves along the arm. and the arm itself moves relative to the paper. Acombination of the two thus provides movement along the horizontal and vertical axes.

In some plotters, the paper is held station ary while the arm and the pens move over it. This is called a flat-bed plotter. In the other type of plotter, the paper is wrapped around a drum and anchored at anchored at both ends. The drum rotates while the pen moves laterally along a fixed rail. This is called a drum plotter.

To draw clear and high-qualit diagrams, a plotter needs high-quality pens with special inks of different colors.

A plotter can be connected to a PC through the parallel port. A plotter is more software-dependent than any other peripheral, and needs much more instructions than printer for producing output.

Plotter are used in applications like CAD, which requir high-quality graphics on paper. Many of the plotters now available in the market are desktop models that can be used with PCs. Businesses typically use plotters to present an alysis in terms (bar charts, graphs, diagrams, etc.) as well as for engineering drawings.

For more details , Please visit the source site :

http://www.windowsvistaplace.c om/different-types-of-plotters-expl anation-with-figure/plotter-printer

Answered by Alok Gupta , an ibibo Guru, at 5:16 PM on August 30, 2008