Cuttlebot is our latest and most flexible drawing robot. Designed to be low-cost, highly customisable, and part of a community ecosystem, we hope the Cuttlebot will be a great entry point for people who want to learn how to make art with machines.

The Hardware

The project is based around the Micro:bit educational microcontroller. You can 3D-print the body from the shared STL files. The central base is the largest 3D-printed part. A caster attaches to the front (two options available), and a pen tower at the back contains the pen-lift mechanism. These attach to the base body with screws.

The main control board is a Kitronik Simple Servo Control Board for BBC micro:bit. This allows the Micro:bit to control three servo motors. Two for the wheels and one for the pen-lift. This is the most expensive single component (apart from the Micro:bit) - but it is still less than £10. It's a great little board and will also be used for some exciting future projects.

Other parts needed are two 360-degree servos, a 180-degree servo, a ball bearing or pre-made caster, some wheels (3D-printed options are available, or you can buy off-the-shelf ones), pens, 3D-printable pen-holders and AA batteries. Overall, the parts should cost less than £20, with our goal of reducing this further to £15. At the moment, the project is very much do-it-yourself, but we plan to make kits of Cuttlebot parts available in the future - this is how we plan to reduce the cost further.

The Software

The software is a key aspect of the Cuttlebot project. We are starting with a simple MakeCode project that lets you create drawings with repeated line and turn operations, inspired by pioneering digital artist Harold Cohen. This software is included in the download. It shows you how to control the Cuttlebot. Further projects will become available. If you have your own Cuttlebot software that you would like to share, please send it to us, and we will include it in the project download.

Make Cuttlebot Your Own

Cuttlebot is designed to be customisable. All of the 3D-printing files are available for free, and the base has mounting holes for your own attachments. In fact, it doesn't even need to be used as a drawing robot! Again, send us your customisations, and we will share them with other Cuttlebot fans.

Plans for the Future

We're launching Cuttlebot at the V&A Design Weekend 18th - 20th September 2026 with the Computer Arts Society. This will be an opportunity to test the project thoroughly and get feedback. We will then refine the design and software and begin developing our user community. The next planned add-on will be a Grove connector for adding additional components, such as an ultrasonic sensor and coloured LEDs. We are also working on a different type of drawing machine inspired by the artist Jack Tait.

Download the Files

The latest build instructions and software for Cuttlebot are stored on GitHub. You can subscribe to the repository to get the latest updates as they are released, or download the .zip file and check for updates from time to time. This early release includes everything you need to build your own Cuttlebot, but it is currently better suited for people with some maker experience. As the project develops, we will provide much more detailed build instructions and videos.

• Cuttlebot on GitHub

Keep in Touch

We're very excited to see how Cuttlebot develops. We want it to be the focus of a creative community of people interested in digital art and drawing machines. If you would like to join us on this journey, please get in touch, and we will add you to the Cuttlebot mailing list. Send a message to Sean Clark at seanc@interactdigitalarts.uk.

Get computer art news and other updates from Sean Clark's Instagram page at @seancuttlefish.