In with things are coming to get...slowly

So I started the assembly process today and his a few snags.  Photos will be coming soon though and fixes are in the work.  All in all, it's been smooth for the most part.  I honestly am thinking of making this into a tutorial...maybe after I get though a bunch of this, and am working on more the electrical and mechanical stuff, I'll go back and go through it step by step.  Let me know what you think.

In which we restart!

Ho! Lee! Cow!  It's been over 3 years since I've started this blog.  I didn't make it very far last time, mostly because I sucked at making stuff with the tools that I had.
That has now changed!
Last month I joined the TechShop and now have access to tools and help that I never dreamed of having before.  I've got a whole wood shop at my disposal.
But, I also have a FREAKIN' LASER ETCHER/CUTTER!
That's the whole difference.

So, I'll start posting the process here soon.

The R2-D2 build is back on BABY!

In which we discuss ansilary things

I read an article today regarding a PhD student who was doing his project on writing recognition/tracking software that uses an ordinary camera and his open source software. Over the last several months there has been a lot of talk in the Maker Community regarding Microsoft's Kinect hardware and all the nifty applications it can have. Mostly in the space of full body tracking and motion tracking. The implications for this kind of ability in computers is pretty impressive. Anywhere from intefacing with your pc, ala Minority Report, to interfacing with your house, where you wave your hand in a particular manner and the light comes on. The big issue in using Kinect is that you had to have the hardware. Microsoft actually did a good job in building the hardware and making the source code accessible and configurable so the hacker community could, you know, hack it. But you still had to buy the Kinect camera. With what this PhD student did, his software does much the same kind of tracking, but uses the video camera you already have and his algorithm is open source and free. Sweet. Now, the implications for our little 'bot project are kinda cool. If, I say IF, we can get to the point where we've got a running robot, it's possible, by putting linux on an old box and modding it into the R2 unit, and then by placing a camera into the eye or periscope of the R2 unit, to have the robot do some things based on visual cues. That, my friends, would be cool.

In which pictures are shown

So, here's some pics of what I've been working on:

This one is a pic of the nearly completed vacuum table. Looks a bit rickity, but it's still cool.

Here's a pic of the burners under the top (roof) part of the table. They'll be used to heat up the plastic so that it can be formed by the model.

You can see the hole pattern used...a few hundred holes should just about do it. My guess is I've over done it on the holes, but shouldn't have a problem filling in some along the edges once I've fiddled with it.

Here you can see a rail that will be guiding the frame that holds the heated plastic. There's one on each corner.

In which the vacuum table almost gets done

Well, I got a lot closer to finishing the vacuum table today.

Today I added:

• The four posts to the top of the table
• The roof of the table
• The two burners that will heat up the plastic
• The four rails
• Half of the frame built
• Kim bought my roto zip bits

To finish up I'll need to:

• Finish the frame
• Cut the hole in the bottom/inside of the table
• Add the plastic tube and connect it to the leaf blower

Once this is done (hopefully by/on Sunday) I'll be starting the driod proper. To do this, I'll need:

• Some 3/4 inch plywood
• Some 1/2 inch plywood
• Make some templates
• Start a cuttin'!

I'm starting to get excited with the project...having worked on this vacuum table has been a nice starter...I've found another such project that I'll probably work on during the droid build. It's a CNC machine that I can build myself. I've put a link to it on the sidebar in case you'd like to take a look at it. I can see several uses for it in a lot of different things, particularly in the droid build.

In which not much gets done

Well bummer. Didn't get a chance to finish up the vacuum form machine tonight. A haircut and dinner with my MIL and FIL plus two nieces tied up most of the night. I did get to go to the hardware store and get some of the bolts and such I needed to finish my rig. So far I've got 16 bucks sank into it. 6 for the poles and 10 for the bolts and such.

I'm going to have to put together a spread sheet of costs associated with the R2 build.

In which we get started

So, I'm learning about building robots. I've watched and helped with my oldest sons robotics team as he's competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition. I'm helping and leading my youngest sons robotics team in the FIRST Lego League. Now, I'm starting my own robot project, with the help of friends.
My plan is to build as fully functional replica of an R2-D2 Astromech droid as I possibly can.
I have a series of must haves and a set of nice to haves.
First, the must haves:

• Remotely drivable
• Head spins 360 degrees at least once
• Periscope goes up and down on command
• Data port extends out and in on command
• All lights work and flash
• R2 whistles

Nice to haves:

• Legs fold forward to put R2 in an upright position
• Head spins without limit
• Periscope has a functioning camera and microphone (ip camera)
• Data port spins and is possibly functional (not sure what kind of function...electrocution?)
• R2 responds to commands both with whistles and moves (head spins and possibly movement)
• Holoprojector actually projects (that's a bit crazy, but is possible...minus the holo)

So far, I've decided to go with a wood frame and a laser cut styrene dome.

I've not found a step by step tutorial that tells me everything I think I need to know...however, I've found a boatload of partials and other types of tutorials that I'm going to follow, with a heavy dose of my own ideas, as well as input from others who are going to help (Alex, I'm looking at you!). However, one nice pictorial that I'm loosely basing my build on is found here.

This week, I'm starting the prep work by getting my garage in order and building a vacuum form machine loosely based on this tutorial. The vacuum forming is for wooden parts that need to be replicated several times. I'm not much for wood working, so I figure I'll build one to my liking, and vacuum form it the number of times I need too. This is mostly for cosmetic parts of the robot.

My goal with this blog is to have a fully functional tutorial that someone else can follow and build on their own...we'll see about that.

Pictures of the garage work area and vacuum form machine to follow later this week.