I'm done taking apart my old retired Canon Pixma multi-function inkjet, with salvaging its scanner flatbed glass as my final act. While this marks the end of my teardown, this is not the end of my MX340 adventure: there are many components that have future project potential. I have several ideas that may or may not put certain parts to other use. But the end of my teardown is a good place to take a break, let those ideas stew for a while.

Since I want a change of pace, I need to clear MX340 components off my workbench. And since I want to reuse them in the future (or at least preserve the option) I can't just sweep them into a box. There are some fairly fragile parts here, with my top concern being the X-axis optical encoder strip and its Y-axis counterpart encoder disc. Also, the contact image sensor bar would be more useful if it does not get scratched up.

I decided the minimum effort way to store these components is to revisit an idea I had earlier with prototype circuits: mount components on a sheet of cardboard. My priority here is to ensure parts don't damage each other and that wires are not jerked around. I cut apart a cardboard shipping box and started punching holes for me to secure components with twist ties.

I can even power up the system in this state and watch it go through its power-on self test, probing any circuitry if needed. If I want to run the test, though, I need to make sure the print carriage is dangling over the edge of my table. Given how it extends slightly below cardboard level.

I wouldn't call this safely packaged -- I wouldn't ship it in this condition, for one thing -- but it should be good enough for me to keep everything together without causing damage. Having all of these literal loose ends tied up on a sheet of cardboard means I have the option to stand it vertical leaning against a wall. This only consumes only a few square inches of desktop space, and far less than the full volume of an intact MX340. It's a good way to clear my workbench so I can think about other things.

That takes care of physical organization, next up is my first stab at information organization.

This teardown ran far longer than I originally thought it would. Click here to rewind back to where this adventure started.