A speedier droid and Robot Shoulders on Sale at Lowes

My instincts were right about the reason for R2's slight power drop. The quick disconnect harness I used for the motors had inferior wire that just didn't cut it gauge wise. It really does make a difference. Instead of the quick disconnect harness I instead installed two toggle switches so the motors can be easily shut down if I ever have to push R2. That way no damage to the electronics due to electric discharge from the motors. AND ... another BIG plus I realized is when I leave R2 idling for a long period of time I usually turn off the transmitter to save batteries. And once that transmitter turns off, the speed controllers and foot motors invariably start making those weird annoying noises. So by turning off the motors, that annoying noise is no longer an issue. R2 is ready for anything now.

In other news, I'm still modifying my workshop to accommodate welding with acetylene and a low end wire feed welder. But at this stage I start going into "visualization" mode. Or compulsive obsessive mode my wife might say. I do a lot of thinking about the upcoming project and look at pictures of the robot I'm planning to build. I spend a lot of time thinking how I can make the individual pieces. There are a million different ways to do it so it's best to come up with one of the better solutions in that million.

So I'm walking through Lowes looking at shop lights and guess what amazing items I find in a box on the clearance rack. The very part of the robot that I've been racking my brain about. I keep thinking it's going to be the hardest part because I didn't have a good idea how I would make it. The robot's shoulders. And there in the clearance box for .89 cents were the large shoulders (.59 for the small ones). I think these will work great. They're some type of electrical junctions but I'm not completely sure. If my camera was back from the repair shop I could post a picture. So officially the steel robot project is started and 3 robots are taking shape even though they only consist of shoulders at this point.

Robot room gets a new roommate

After years of sitting in my garage, R2D2 finally rolled into our living room last night (the robot room). The cat wasn't too sure and watched cautiously as R2 drove through the house trying to navigate the tight doorways. When he finally came to rest in the robot room, the lighting and ambiance of that room made R2 look amazing. We sat and enjoyed the moment as our little droid lit up the room and just looked cool as can be.

However I think one of my upgrades didn't take so well. The wire couplers for the motors use a lighter gauge wire than I originally had. These go directly from the foot motors to the speed controller. Maybe it was my imagination but it seems as if R2 doesn't have the power he did before the upgrade. The problem was even more evident on the carpet in our home. So I'll need to rework that just to be safe. Reminds me of some early power problems R2 had when he first started driving around ... and that also had to do with lighter gauge wire.

I've also been working on a welding booth in my limited garage space. I'm trying to make it safe as can be so I don't burn the house down. I purchased fireproof welding blankets that will ring around my welding area. I'll also get a protective welding screen so I don't burn the neighbors eyes if they happen to look into my garage. And protective clothing and fire extinguishers. Then I will begin the next big project. After the garage gets rearranged our new outdoor robots will slowly begin coming to life.

My droid is officially DONE

Yes, it's been a very very productive week working on R2D2. It's amazing to see him complete and looking good. All the little details are finished and the electronics have been organized and made much more efficient. The ankle cylinders and wedges are installed and the holes in the foot shells are complete and I even started weathering them.

I redid the electric to allow me to completely disconnect the motors in an emergency. Because if you break down and are a ways from your base, it's possible to push the droid. But if you push R2, the motors will generate electricity and I'm told that it could do serious harm to your electronics. So I'm glad I have a quick disconnect system in place which also allows me to remove my main electronics panel quickly. R2 also has a plug and switch that will allow me to put him on a charger with no worries of someone accidentally powering on R2 while the charge is in progress. Because that too will completely fry the electronics. Now the switch can be toggled to "Charge" or "Activate Droid". To Charge, I modified a battery charger and added a plug to the ends that will mate up with the reciprocating plugs on R2. And it works nicely too.

I say R2 is officially done but there will be a phase II which will entail trying to get a periscope to work and possibly an upside down fire extinguisher to make fog via the remote. Plus I'll be working with the new JEDI controller once it is received.

When I get my camera back from warranty work I'll take some pictures. R2 looks and runs great. It's a good feeling after a couple years of working on R2 off and on. A challenging couple years in more ways than I can explain here.

Not as difficult as I thought

Funny how some projects that you worry about the most turn out to be a piece of cake while some of the ones you think will be easy turn out to be a nightmare. That's how it was with the repair of the fiberglass rear R2 feet. I've been thinking about them for months and thought that it would be a very difficult repair. Yesterday I came up with a great solution that looks good and is a practical solution for accessing the motors in the feet.

So now it's onto the final task which shouldn't be too difficult ... just a lot of labor. It involves removing the rear feet, motors and ankles to install the ankle cylinders and wedges. After this is complete I'm going to redo areas of the electrical some and then R2 will be good to go.

I've been experimenting with metal fabrication the last couple weeks and learning what I can in preparation for the next robot challenge. Renting several movies from smartflix.com has taught me about metal sculpture work, welding and brazing so far. Smartflix is like netflix but with "how to" movies. I want to fabricate my next life size robots all of steel. Yesterday while at northern tools pricing a welding torch I discovered how expensive the tanks were !!! After the sticker shock set in I decided to save up some more money and do a little more research before purchasing. Besides with my attention deficit issues, if I get a new tool I'll be screwing around with that all day and R2 will never get complete !

Rear Door ... DONE

After a million ideas and a few lame attempts, My rear skins are (finally) completely mounted in a way to allow easy removal and access to the electronics. It was gnawing away in my mind for quite some time so I'm glad that it's finally completed and solid. Unfortunately my camera broke and won't be back from repair for a few weeks. When I get it back I'll document how I did the internal electronics panels and doors in my R2. It's important to be able to easily access those parts if you're out in public and an issue surfaces.

So now only one big project remains. Covering the chunks of missing fiberglass motor access area in the two rear feet. I'm still not sure how that's going to happen but there's a few ideas sprouting. And after that's complete I'll have spare time on my hands to work with the genius JEDI controllers that are being manufactured by Scott Gray. I'm looking forward to programming the controllers to go into atomatic mode where R2 stands there and looks at people with his dome going back and forth while randomly chirping. Plus it would be nice to have the Dome follow people using PIR Sensors. A little over my head in expertise but definitely learnable.

One of the builders wrote something interesting on the forum the other day. He admitted all the mistakes he made in all his "experiments" but he also said he wouldn't have it any other way. That's what makes the droid building fun and gives you a unique droid. Even though I bought most of my parts, I could relate to that as I have some areas on my droid that are unique and not at all like other droids.

I need a time machine

I'm not into posting on this blog much as this project is winding down. Nevertheless, the last couple weeks much progress has been made and most of the outstanding miscellaneous tasks are now complete. Paint fixed, hinges and magnets mounted to skins for doors to open and close, and the rear door is just about ready to mount after much back and forth how to do it. It will probably be attached with magnets for easy removal and access to the electronics.

As the end of this project is nearing, I sometimes wish I had a time machine knowing what I know now. So many things would be done differently. I absolutely do not like how I mounted my skins. My "better idea" of having the mounting blocks with threaded rod coming out really was a disaster that I'm living with. Putting the skins on is now a major job and those front skins will hopefully remain there for a long time. I also installed the "breadpans" to the frame but then noticed that the door steel for magnets were in the way so I had to pry those off my skins. Good thing I didn't use JB weld. So now I'll have to mount pieces of steel inside my breadpans for the magnets to catch.

Power couplers are now mounted and I have to say they look pretty good. Last night I did a little bit of weathering but not the way most of the guys in the club do. I don't like the layer of brown smear on droids much so I just used some black acrylic paint and a few rags to darken up the edges and cracks ... more like a grease / oil look. It still looks pretty clean but there's more contrast. Weathering is one area I think it's wise to take very slowly.

The two power boards have new mounting hardware and brackets and they are more functional and look more professional. Much easier to remove too. After I finish coming up with mounting techniques for the rear door/skins I can tackle the last remaining big project that I've been putting off. And that's creating a panel to cover the outer feet holes that were needed to mount the motors. That will be a very challenging project and I'm still not sure how it's going to happen.

For side projects, my nephew and I are in the final stages of building his blown up R2 which is basically a full scale R2D2 foot / ankle that looks like it was torn off of a droid in battle with burn marks and wires hanging out. This foot drives via remote control and we made the drive extra heavy duty so it can climb over obstacles and carry a heavy load. So far it looks pretty cool and it's a good chance to do some building with my 10 year old nephew. I'll post pictures when it's done.