Sandcrawler project

[artoodeeto]

Yep, build's back on. Before I tackle new construction, I need to solve the problem of my pump buzzing. it's started doing that the last couple months, and I only recently thought to dismantle a not-really-working extra pump that I have.
The one I'm using is a Laing DDC-3. The extra one is a 3.25, but it doesn't really work. I can get the central spinner to spin, but as soon as I cut power and then power it back up, it won't spin without help. Usually a "jump-start" spin from my fingers gets it going, but obviously I can't use it since the top needs to be off for the finger-jump-start to work. (perfect sig-quote line LOL).

However, since that central spinner is the only moving part in the whole thing, it must be that it's wobbling slightly, which tells me that maybe my mounting method is at fault. I'm going to try remounting it in a different spot where I can hopefully get it level. But of course this'll involve draining the system, replacing a couple hoses with longer sections, and refilling it.

The pump, sans top:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-23DSC_0001.jpg


With the central spinner removed, and the inner workings removed from the outer shell:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-23DSC_0004.jpg

[artoodeeto]

So I learned something today. Don't use an air compressor to blow your coolant out of your system without hanging onto the hose through which the coolant exits the system and enters whatever receptacle you've chosen. Otherwise this might result:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-24DSC_0001.jpg

Yep. Damn stuff sprayed everywhere, it was like something out of a cartoon. got all over the carpet, bedsheets, my clothes, chair, chair mat, scanner, router, computer, etc etc. Luckily it didn't seem to stain too much, came right out of the carpet after spraying with water. Live and learn, eh? :facepalm:

I got the pump switched out, and the new placement seems to be working. It's making hardly any noise now, which is a big relief. What specifically did I do? I didn't just move it. I dismantled it, replaced the outer shell with my extra one that didn't have a broken-off screw mount, switched the central spinner with the extra one (I doubt it makes any difference though), and mounted it down below where it used to be. There's a piece of thin foam rubber between the bottom of the pump and the base, for vibration absorbtion.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-24DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-24DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-24DSC_0006.jpg

New placement - on the base instead of up high. The only downside is it won't be visible from the upper cutaway opening on that side, but I'd rather that than letting it continue buzzing the way it was.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-24DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-24DSC_0008.jpg

So there you have it. Pump taken care of. I hope. The annoying part is only time will tell, but given that it was buzzing like crazy before and now it's barely whispering, I'd say it worked. :D

[artoodeeto]

To finish off the coolant disaster...I got it all cleaned up this morning. Luckily with warm water and a sponge (and a lot of gentle scrubbing) the dye came right off the wall.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-26DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-26DSC_0007.jpg

As you can see, I had to unhook the computer, scanner, printer, cable modem, routers, etc, and move that whole table out of there to get to the wall. I took the opportunity to do a little cable management in the back area of the computer - the fan power cables were a bit of a mess and got in the way of the various monitor, power, speaker cords.

Before:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-26DSC_0003.jpg

After (all it took was one ziptie):
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-26DSC_0009.jpg

Since these little UV lights kept falling out due to my superglue not holding them in place, I hit them with hot glue. Seems to have worked:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-26DSC_0011.jpg

So here's the end result, with 2 DVI cables, power cable, keyboard/mouse cable, microphone, speakers, webcam and scanner USB cables all plugged in. I had to hold the camera behind the computer pointed back toward me, as I can't get into that corner between the computer table and my desk:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-26DSC_0015.jpg

Oh and that pump. It's still buzzing slightly. ARG!!!!!!! I have one more theory though. It wasn't buzzing at all, until I topped off the system with more coolant. I'm wondering if the coolant's expanding as it heats up, and extra air bubbles act as a bit of a cushion. Without that cushion, maybe the coolant pressure is getting higher than the pump can smoothly handle? I dunno...it's easy enough to test, just need to pull a bit out with an eye dropper and see if that quiets things down...

[artoodeeto]

For today, I have a little progress and....some concept art! woo hoo! well, ok it's mostly old, but some of it I just created.

I don't remember why I drew this. But I did, back in 2007 sometime. I think it may have been to see the concept of the central chamber for the fans.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/07CrawlerDiagram.jpg

This was the drawing I did for the boarding ramps. Below the drawing is a photo of the finished part.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/09--06BoardingRamps.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--04-26DSC_0009.jpg

Next up, I'm going to build a crane inside the front main loading door. This is my concept art for it; after drawing these designs, I found some model parts that'll work equally well and will be similar, but not the same as these designs.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/09Crane1.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/09Crane2.jpg

Here's the drawing I made when I re-made the tank treads.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/09NewTreads.jpg

And lastly, a drawing I just did yesterday of the lower side openings on the crawler. The intent was to get the basic concept of what would go inside. Following the drawing are photos showing what I've been working on the last few days.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-30LowerSideOpening.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-01DSC_0017.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-01DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-01DSC_0019.jpg

Yikes! These are the floor coverings for the lower openings on each side. Guess there’s a bit more room on one side than the other…I *think* it’s because I had to leave room for add-in cards on one side, which left less room for the interior stuff in the model. Luckily it’s not possible to see both sides at the same time. Not really, anyway.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-01DSC_0020.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-01DSC_0021.jpg

What have we here? Hmm…well, this’ll be a box. Note in my drawing above that I wanted a recessed area low on the wall backing up to the outside recessed area. This piece of Bristol vellum will be that low recessed spot.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0025.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0026.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0027.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0028.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0032.jpg

Ok. I know the popsicle sticks in all their multicolorific glory look a little silly. It’ll be better once it’s painted. Honest.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0029.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0030.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-02DSC_0033.jpg

Finally, I created the stuff in the lowest opening, on the right side only (all other openings are duplicated on the left side of the crawler). The pieces that make up the door frame are mount halves from my Danger Den reservoirs. I couldn’t use their mounts, and I broke a couple of the halves in trying, so I had these leftover pieces just sitting around. Luckily they make a great door! The yellow tube is from an ultra-cheap mini basketball hoop toy, it connected the two plastic tubes together that held up the backboard. Everything else you see in there is electronic junk. There’ll be a LOT more of that going in elsewhere in this build :D Oh yes, and that IS another R2D2 you see. Painted properly, so I saved him for a little more visible spot than the one in the cockpit. Like that one, this is left over from an old Ertl X-wing model I no longer have.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-29DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-28DSC_0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-29DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-29DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-29DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-01DSC_0015.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--09-01DSC_0016.jpg

Oh yeah. The mess on my table. And this is just with the electronic junk sorted out; the extra model pieces are still in a bag…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-30DSC_0011.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-30DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-30DSC_0013.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--08-30DSC_0014.jpg

If anyone can guess what that larger thing is between my wooden X-Acto knife box and the edge of the table in the second-to-last photo, I’d be curious to know. It’s heavy, seems like it should be an electric motor (coiled wire, piece of metal inside to act as an electro-magnet) but there’s no shaft or anything coming out of it. Not sure yet if I’ll use it, I might.

That's it for now, more after Labor Day!

[x88x]

The lolipop guild, we represent. Yes we do. ..hmmm, on second thought, maybe that should be the popsicle guild. :P


If anyone can guess what that larger thing is between my wooden X-Acto knife box and the edge of the table in the second-to-last photo, I’d be curious to know. It’s heavy, seems like it should be an electric motor (coiled wire, piece of metal inside to act as an electro-magnet) but there’s no shaft or anything coming out of it. Not sure yet if I’ll use it, I might.

That's a transformer coil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer

[artoodeeto]

The lolipop guild, we represent. Yes we do. ..hmmm, on second thought, maybe that should be the popsicle guild. :P

LOL :D yeah...I used the popsicle sticks on some of the spots visible on the outside, and they looked equally ridiculous til I painted them. Then it was cool. Someday I'll have a job again and will be able to afford sheet styrene, which is really what I should be using. But til then, I'll continue being creative with what I've got.

[SXRguyinMA]

if there's a total plastics near you get styrene there. I got a 4'x6' sheet for $25 :D

[artoodeeto]

*dig dig dig....that's me searching through the old pages trying to find where this log had gotten buried :) I really should update it more often...anyways. I've made a bit more progress - there's now, inside the main loading bay on the first level, sliding doors that can cover up the big bright blue LED 120mm fan, and a retracting conveyor belt between the doors.

I need to add (a lot) more detail in there, but I realized that I need to approach the interior in stages. That means I need to gradually build up the interior, keeping the detail level uniform, so I don't over-detail one area and run out of stuff to detail another area. The upper section is next on the list, if I get my act together and actually work on it. :whistler:

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/10--10-22DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/10--10-22DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/10--10-22DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/10--10-22DSC_0009.jpg

*note on the links on the conveyor. Technically there's 1 "extra" link on there, which is why it looks so saggy in that side view. It was tighter, but in the course of putting everything together I accidentally broke the links apart. It was really tough stretching it to fit before I installed it in the crawler, so it was near impossible reconnecting the links after it was in there. So for the moment I've added the extra link, and if I know myself, at some point it'll bother me enough that I'll unscrew the whole conveyor, pull it out, fix it, and put it back in. One of these days...

[x88x]

Good to see progress on this again. :up:

[nevermind1534]

It's good to see this getting worked on again.

[billygoat333]

sweet... love this project and its good to see it isn't falling by the wayside like mine has been. haha

[SXRguyinMA]

lookin good! :D

[artoodeeto]

Thanks guys! Nice to know folks are still enthusiastic about this :) I tend to switch between excitement and irritation.

So... Why is it that I feel compelled to keep changing stuff? I’ve long ago switched my thinking on this from progress to evolution…

I’ve known for awhile I would have to add slightly raised floors in the upper sections to cover up the LEDs illuminating the lower parts. In doing this, I began looking at the walls in the upper section, and thinking how dull they were just being all flat and stuff (kinda like a good Texas roadkill). So I decided to…modify…them a bit. First off, the floor photos, before and after. As with a lot of the detail parts in this build, I’m using Bristol vellum in lieu of styrene, since I have the vellum and don’t have the $$ for styrene. And the vellum’s REALLY easy to work with, being, you know, paper and all. :D Incidentally, those floors were ridiculously difficult to measure accurately enough to make these pieces. I’m a little surprised I managed it. And even more surprised that I almost don’t have to glue them in, they fit so well.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-24DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-24DSC_0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-24DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-24DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-24DSC_0006.jpg

Ok, now for the walls. You’ll notice in the photos above they’re very square and vertical. I debated for awhile whether or not to cut them out and add some depth, and while it’s rather a pain in the rear, I’m already glad I did it.

I have about 1 inch of space that they can be pushed in, before they (might) hit a couple of the tubes in the water cooling system. Everywhere else, I had about an inch and a half of space, but I decided to be uniform and push them in by an inch all the way ‘round. The easiest shape would be a squared-off C shape, in cross section it’d look like this bracket: [ . But I didn’t want to be that simple. Instead, the “ceiling” of the recessed portion is perpendicular to the wall, but the “floor” angles up pretty steeply. Also, the original wall angles in toward the front. At the very front on the inside, the recessed section needed to be nearly flush with the original wall since it angles in far enough that it’s almost touching the radiator.

As you can imagine, it’s taken awhile and a couple abortive attempts to get the measurements figured out. One reason I’m REAL glad I’m using thick paper is, as it turns out, the walls have to have a slight twist to them to fit correctly. To get this twist, since the paper wants to be straight, I’ve had to glue the new wall section in one portion at a time, and hold that portion until the glue sets enough. Time-consuming PITA…

To maintain visibility of the Danger Den Rad Res’s, I made windows in the new wall. I used clear styrene, the last of a sheet I’ve had for something like 15 YEARS. It’s nice to finally use it for something LOL. In fact I have no memory of why I originally bought it. I put the windows high up, in the vertical portion of the recessed area, so that only the reservoirs would be visible and the radiator, UV LED, and wiring for the LED are all hidden. I didn’t make windows forward of that interior support brace because when everything’s put together, there isn’t much to see in there. There’s no real way I could re-do the wires running the ceiling LEDs in the upper section, so those wires are going to remain fully visible. I’ll just have to be creative about making them look like part of the crawler interior. :D

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-28DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-28DSC_0009.jpg

These next few photos show the wall progressing from test fit to almost fully glued in.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-29DSC_0013.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-29DSC_0015.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-29DSC_0016.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-29DSC_0017.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-29DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-29DSC_0019.jpg

That’s it for now. I’ll be tackling the wall on the other side next, and I’m really hoping it goes a bit quicker than this first one did. More soon….

[billygoat333]

thats some awesome bending skills (and cutting so the bends work!) good job!

[artoodeeto]

Made some more progress, and more importantly made a list of the remaining major tasks so I don’t have to re-create that list in my head every time I sit down to work on this. First off, the progress.

My “helper.” She LOVES “tool time” when I’ve got bits of stuff strewn everywhere that she can swat to her little heart’s content. In particular she really likes attacking that clear plastic ruler in the pic.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-30DSC_0001.jpg

Those of you who showed computers at the Exploratorium this past February will no doubt recognize the sticker in this photo. I have 2 of the stickers; the other one is on the underside of the front-most roof panel. :D It will be hidden once the roof panel is back on, but obviously is fully visible with the panel removed. However, I really took this photo to show that I re-ran the wires so they wouldn’t be visible. On one side there was enough slack that I only had to drill a hole in the cross-brace and run a ziptie through it to secure the wires where I wanted them. On the other side, I had to snip the wires, drill a couple holes in the cross-brace and run the wires through the holes, then re-solder.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-31DSC_0002.jpg
My main progress has been to cover up the remaining gaps and rough edges from my wall re-design.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--10-31DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-1DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-2DSC_0014.jpg

I also worked on the motor that will run the conveyor belts in the upper section. Specifically, it needed the shafts extended to reach out on either side, and I had to figure out a way to attach the Lego shafts to the metal rod shaft on the motor. Hopefully what I did will work. After a rather arduous time removing the original plastic wheels from each end of the shaft (turns out they had a little clip inside them that clipped into a groove in the shaft), I used a candle (pineapple cilantro scent, smells great) to heat up the ends of the shaft. I stuck the Lego shafts halfway into the plastic gear wheels, then put the metal rod in the other half, and the heat allowed it to melt its way in for a hopefully perfect fit. I used some superglue to keep it from easily falling off, although it won’t support any weight very well. That shouldn’t be a problem because it won’t really have to support any weight; the only resistance will be in the turning motion.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-2DSC_0009.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-2DSC_0010.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-2DSC_0011.jpg
Now I need to get a resistor to knock the 12V power line down to 3V (I have no idea what voltage the motor is, I ordered it from Electronic Goldmine awhile back, and the motor doesn’t say what it is, and I don’t recall their website said either. I figure 3V should be safe), install the motor, mount the conveyors, and the major parts of the upper section will be nearly done.

[SXRguyinMA]

you can swap the connetors in the molex (swap the red and yellow on te motor side) and get 5v. try that first to be sure that motor will spin at 5v, then you should be able to drop it to 3v pretty easily form there if it'll spin at that low of a voltage

[artoodeeto]

Actually what I was worried about was giving it too high a voltage and killing it. I do have a Zalman fan speed controller I thought about using, but I don't know its voltage range (or do those adjust current? I'm not sure). I'd rather use a resistor, though. Maybe what I'll do is run it on the controller and gradually increase the speed, see if it even spins at the lowest setting, which I would guess is around 3V.

[SXRguyinMA]

IIRC the zalman controller ranges from ~5 to ~11VDC :up:

[artoodeeto]

that DEFINITELY really counts :P Thanks! +rep :up:

[x88x]

you can swap the connetors in the molex (swap the red and yellow on te motor side) and get 5v. try that first to be sure that motor will spin at 5v, then you should be able to drop it to 3v pretty easily form there if it'll spin at that low of a voltage

Or pull off an unused SATA power connection. The orange wires are 3.3V, so you wouldn't need to really do much at all electrically.

Great work on the walls. I agree, they look much better. :up:

[SXRguyinMA]

that DEFINITELY really counts :P Thanks! +rep :up:

well I thought it stood for If I Remember Correctly lol :D


Or pull off an unused SATA power connection. The orange wires are 3.3V, so you wouldn't need to really do much at all electrically.

that I did not know! thanks! +rep :D

[artoodeeto]

well I thought it stood for If I Remember Correctly lol :D

Oh. :facepalm: that reminds me of the first time I saw "LOL" I thought it stood for Little Old Lady.


Or pull off an unused SATA power connection. The orange wires are 3.3V, so you wouldn't need to really do much at all electrically.

Great work on the walls. I agree, they look much better. :up:

Thanks for the reminder! I forgot about that. and I think one of the wires is 5V...I want to say the orange is 5V and the red is 3.3V on a normal molex. Still, I'll use the fan controller first, to get an idea of what voltage the motor needs to spin at a good speed, then maybe run a wire up from the plug. I might have done that already...can't remember.

[x88x]

Thanks for the reminder! I forgot about that. and I think one of the wires is 5V...I want to say the orange is 5V and the red is 3.3V on a normal molex.

On a standard PSU:
yellow: 12V
red: 5V
orange: 3.3V
black: ground

molex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molex):
yellow, black, black, red

SATA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA#Power_supply):
orange, black, red, black, yellow

[SXRguyinMA]

your standard 4-pin molex has yellow, red and 2 black. both blacks are grounds, the yellow is 12v and the red is 5v :D

:edit: too slow :D

[artoodeeto]

Thanks guys! I just hooked it up to the 5V line, then the 3.3V. If anything, that told me I might want it running on LESS than 3.3V...of course, I then risk it not running at all. Still, I think I'll experiment with a resistor or two on the 3.3V line and see what happens. I need to keep in mind that with the shaft spinning by itself, it's probably a little faster than it'll spin when it has to drive 2 conveyors even though there won't be tons of resistance from them.

[x88x]

Do you have any hefty potentiometers? If so you can hook one up with any of the lines and give it a range from 0-maxV. Just make sure you hook it up as a pot, not as a variable resistor...or you'll blow up the pot...not that I'd know from personal experience or anything, of course not.. :whistler:

[artoodeeto]

Do you have any hefty potentiometers? If so you can hook one up with any of the lines and give it a range from 0-maxV. Just make sure you hook it up as a pot, not as a variable resistor...or you'll blow up the pot...not that I'd know from personal experience or anything, of course not.. :whistler:

LOL - I'm sure it's exactly the same way that I'm aware, though of *course* not through personal experience, that hooking up 24 LEDs in parallel on a 12V line is not the same as hooking the same LEDs up in series on the same line, and thus is a good way to blow them to pieces.

Sadly, the only pot-type thing I've got is that zalman speed controller, which Sxrguy has already said starts at 5V, so that won't really help. It looks like I'll need a 300-ohm 0.5W resistor to knock 12V down to 2V, so I'm going to see if I have one and if not I might buzz over to radio shack.

[x88x]

Were there none in your box-o-stuff from Electronics Goldmine? I got two...though, idk which box they were in, come to think of it...

[artoodeeto]

Nope. At least, nothing with a knob installed on it. There's a whole bunch of things that might be though, but sans knobs:

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-3DSC_0001.jpg

I have quite a few of these little jobbies, and up til now I hadn't a clue what they are. I Googled potentiometer pics and these are the only things I have that even come close to resembling them.

[x88x]

Yup, those are little trim pots. They probably wouldn't be able to handle the current levels you'll need, but you could always try and find a datasheet for one of them and see what its specs are.

[artoodeeto]

yeah....tried that. It's one of those things where all the stuff that came up, I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at LOL. It's ok, I need to run to the hardware store anyway and pick up some cheap little corner brackets - they work well for mounting the shafts for the conveyors, and while I'm out I'll get a few resistors. And maybe a switch, since the motor makes enough noise that I won't really want it running all the time.

[artoodeeto]

After far too long, the motor and conveyors are in there. I’m *really* crossing my fingers that the motor moves the conveyors – while it should be plenty strong enough, there is some tension that the belt places on the shafts, so I’m hopin’ they’re up to the task. The motor itself works perfectly fine, and while I haven’t wired it up yet, I got a little toggle power switch for it. I’ll mount it somewhere unnoticeable yet accessible, because the motor does make noise so most of the time I’ll leave it off.

First, I had to mount the motor inside. Because of the gearbox orientation, I had to mount it vertically. I might have been able to use screws, at least into the gearbox, but I didn’t feel like risking breaking it, so I glued it to a flat board instead. I covered the front interior wall with my Bristol paneling, leaving out a chunk where the motor would go. I didn’t want it only glued to the Bristol. While it probably would have been ok, it’s definitely more stable gluing it directly to the wall. Also, I “decorated” the motor to help it blend in to its surroundings a bit more.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-4DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-4DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-5DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-5DSC_0008.jpg

This is that wall covering, right after I sprayed adhesive on the back side. It’s all bubbly and sticky and smelly and nasty, but it works well :)

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-4DSC_0002.jpg

Oh yes, and I didn’t notice this little bracket til the next day – I somehow managed to get it stuck on one of the magnets that holds the main loading door shut LOL

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-4DSC_0003.jpg

Back to the conveyors. I used small ¾” metal corner brackets to hold the shafts for the conveyor wheels. It’s all glued down, because the floor of the upper section is the ceiling of the lower section, and I didn’t want screws poking through. Also, the white upper floors are more Bristol covering the tops of the LEDs illuminating the lower section, and I *definitely* don’t want screws poking into those. The tension in the conveyor isn’t as high as I’d like, since I don’t want it breaking the glue bonds holding those brackets down.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-6DSC_0009.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-6DSC_0010.jpg

Yay! Almost-finished conveyor belts!

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-6DSC_0011.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-6DSC_0012.jpg

I say almost finished because I’m going to put one more wheel on each one, about midway through. It won’t serve much purpose other than looks.

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. To power the motor, I'm going to run a wire up from the 5V connector on the molex that currently runs the lights (up til now I only had a 12V line coming off it). I'm using a 10 ohm resistor to knock it down to about 3V. I have no idea what amperage the motor is, and that's made it difficult to figure out resistor value. Rather than buy a lot of resistors and test them all, I'm going with what I have since it works well enough.

[x88x]

Looking good.

[artoodeeto]

Thanks! This is one of the rare times that I wish I had a camera that could do video. Anyway, I hooked the motor up to a couple of 1.5V AA batteries (total of 3V, about what it'll get when it's really hooked up), and...it works! It's a bit noisy like I feared, and one of the conveyors is ever so slightly crooked (too late to fix it now), so I need to put some kind of cap on that axle to keep the wheel from derailing inside the conveyor. But other than that little snag, no problems at all, and I must say it's a big relief.
Now to finish a few larger details in those upper sections, build a crane for the main loading bay, and put in the large details in the rear sections. Then it'll be fine detailing throughout the interior, and painting...and dare I say done? :P

[artoodeeto]

ok guys. I've given myself a deadline on this thing. December 6th -ish, it's gonna be done. Not just mostly done. Done done. I told my fiancee I intend to finish it before we get a christmas tree :D ... pics to come soon, later today probly when I dig out my camera from the morass that is my work table, but. I've wired up the motor with a power switch and it works, I've test-fit the top section (with the re-done walls around the radiator chamber) and miracle of miracles, it fits! Actually fits really well. I've made but not glued in yet the platforms for the upper sections, above the conveyor belts. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel here... more to come soon.

[Waynio]

Wowzers, less than a month :banana:, hope you get it done mate just don't go on a mad rush :D.

[billygoat333]

we need video!!

[artoodeeto]

Wowzers, less than a month :banana:, hope you get it done mate just don't go on a mad rush :D.

Aw, but mad rushes are how I get things done on this thing!!


we need video!!

I'd be happy to oblige except for one teeny weeny detail - I don't have a camera that can do video. I was all set on using my fiancee's cheapie little Kodak digital cam, but unfortunately it's highly likely that it's still sitting in a restaurant in Italy somewhere (she put it down and apparently didn't pick it back up again).

I can do the next best thing - more pics! I'm making a lot of progress on the bigger details.

Beginning work on the platforms to go above the conveyor belts:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-9DSC_0001.jpg

As you can see, it's a really weird shape, and since I'm having to stick a ruler, tape measure, and/or foldable "stick" of paper inside the model to take measurements, these platforms took a LOT of test fits before I'd shaved enough off in the right places so they fit correctly. They're also not quite the same as each other. I discovered when I added the windowed walls in the upper section that one wall was angled in slightly more than the other. This had the direct result that one platform needs to be about 1.5cm deeper than the other to fit properly. It shouldn't be very noticeable - after all you can't see both sides at the same time.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-9DSC_0002.jpg

I decided, both for visual effect and so light would still illuminate the conveyors, to use screen mesh for the floor of the platform, and to make it recessed. I didn't just cut out the whole middle of the floor though - this is, to a certain extent, wedged in place, and I didn't want that tension to break the platform.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-9DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-10DSC_0005.jpg

Oh, the power switch for the motor that runs the conveyors. I had to run a 5V wire up from the molex connector that runs the lights, and then I soldered on a 10 ohm resistor. Given that the motor now runs more or less as fast as it did on a 3V connection, I'm guessing its current draw is about 0.33A. Happily, with the soldering of this the electrical part of the build is FINALLY DONE!!!! I keep thinking of things to add, but I'm drawing the line. Enough is enough. In this case it's more than enough LOL.

Anyway. This is switch #2. Switch #1 succumbed to the heat of my soldering gun. I wasn't paying enough attention and the gun heated up the metal lead on the switch so much that the hot lead melted the plastic, and it lost contact inside with the switch itself. It might have been fixable, but it was easier to run to Radio Shack and spend a couple bucks on a new one. Lesson learned....I was a little afraid to solder on switch #2 but I was a LOT more careful. While I haven't plugged it back in yet to verify it's working, flipping the toggle back and forth feels normal, whereas with the first one it felt super loose after I messed it up. So it should be fine.

Funny thing - my fiancee came home after I'd soldered switch #2 and said it smelled really good inside the apartment. I looked at her and was like...really??? I told her what she was smelling was slightly melted plastic and solder, and it was anything BUT good. She didn't believe me til I said it *did* have a slightly sweet aroma. I suppose as far as corrosive awful smells go it really was quite good LOL.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-11DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-11DSC_0007.jpg

And now for the engines! This may seem a somewhat simple arrangement of PVC back there, but it was somewhat of a challenge to figure out how to fit what I had in the space available, and make the top portion of it duplicatable for the other side. You may remember that the other side's opening panel is much smaller, due to my original design which had the PSU box sitting back there. By the time I rearranged things, the exterior was finished and there's no way I'm cutting a larger hole back there now, even though I've got the space to duplicate the bigger engine room. So yeah, the engine needed to be something I could easily duplicate the top portion of. To get it all to fit the way I wanted, rather than partially screwing on the cap on the smaller PVC, I flipped the cap upside down and glued it on. You'll notice some large capacitors arranged around the upper section, and some thingies that look like reddish color springs, but are maybe small transformers? I dunno. They look cool, which is all that mattered to me. :D

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-11DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-13DSC_0009.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-13DSC_0011.jpg

Lastly, this conveyor closeup shows my solution for tension in the belt dragging the axle around side to side, which resulted in the wheel derailing the belt. I just stuck 2 extra wheels on each side of the main wheel, which should provide more than enough resistance and prevent that axle from moving.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-13DSC_0013.jpg

More tomorrow! My goals are to get the platforms glued in place, add at least large details that should go in before the platforms do, finish up the engines and other large details in the engine rooms, add a floor back into the top-only engine room (I removed the original floor back when I had mounted my pump up there. I had to move the pump because it wasn't secure there and ended up being really noisy), and use up as much of the electrical junk as I can before switching over to my bag of old model pieces for final detailing. I can tell you this - my table's slowly but surely getting cleaner!

[x88x]

Looks like it's coming along great! I can't wait to see it if ..when..right, when.. :whistler: you get it finished soon.

Oh, and btw, those things are inductors.

[artoodeeto]

If. har har. :D nah, at this point it's definitely when, not if. more pics later today...

inductors eh? I looked them up on wikipedia, and not being super familiar with electronic terminology, felt my brain exploding. I'll just think of them as nifty little engine-ish gadgets. :rolleyes:

[artoodeeto]

Some more progress...I'm reasonably sure that at least 95% of the larger interior parts are now done. I can really only think of one more major bit to go in (on top of the platforms in the upper sections along the sides) but even that isn't a big thing. Otherwise, I'm at the same point with the inside now as I was with the outside when I started kitbashing. Note how clean my table is now :D incidentally, for scale reference, the table is 6 feet long and 3 feet wide.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0019.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-15DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-15DSC_0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-15DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0016.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0017.jpg

Engine rooms – pretty much complete now, except for maybe adding some smaller model pieces:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0013.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0011.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0010.jpg

Remember those gray pipes that used to be where my Danger Dan Rad Res’s are now? For awhile I’d thought I wouldn’t be able to reuse the pipes, but I found some spots that they fit after a date with my hacksaw. The last photo in this set is taken with the roof removed, looking toward the rear of the model. With everything put together you don’t really get this view – the roof and cooling system are in the way. Anyway, that cut gray pipe quite nicely fills in what would have been a rather large empty spot in the upper engine room.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0009.jpg

Back on March 8, 2010:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--03-08DSC_0027.jpg

November 16, 2010:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-16DSC_0020.jpg

[Waynio]

I love how silly bits & bobs like straws look & then it gets the airbrush magic & then all of a sudden it looks nice & awesome :D.

[TheMainMan]

Love how this has come together, the engine room looks amazing! 19 days to the deadline... You can do it!

[x88x]

Good start (on the inside)..now get bashing! :D

On a side note, are those little, round, flat things on the far right of the first pic their 5.5V 0.22F supercaps (http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G17623)? If so, I'm impressed that they threw that many of them in a surprise box.

[artoodeeto]

Thanks guys!


I love how silly bits & bobs like straws look & then it gets the airbrush magic & then all of a sudden it looks nice & awesome :D.

so true – just go back and look at the photos of the outside right before I painted it. It looked ridiculous. And then that magic paint stuff got on there and voila! Instant sandcrawler.

@ X88X - nope, those are little potentiometers that have are highly likely to end up as droid parts.

So today I … ok really it’s been the last couple days. Anyway. Today I made a connecting walkway that goes around the motor driving the upper conveyor belts, connecting the above-the-conveyor platforms on each side of the model. The walkway came out a bit crooked – it looks more crooked in the photo than it does in real life, probably partly because it’s *really* tough to see up in there where it is. Even looking through the side opening panels it’s hard to see that walkway. Eh well. I didn’t exactly spend gobs of time on it either.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0007.jpg

I also decided I didn’t like the way one of the main support braces kinda cuts off the rear of the upper platform from its front, so I decided to turn that brace into a wall with a permanently closed door. There isn’t a lot of physical depth, but when it’s painted and with the lights on it should look fine. I did add a recessed model part on one side to give it *some* extra depth…I think the part is a car radiator from an early model Ford or something. First photo below is the test-fit of the template piece I made; because of the brace I had to make sets for each side, so that template piece you see, I had to make 4 of those. Amazingly enough, I had to make only super minor modifications to the template to get it to fit in the other 3 places.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-17DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-17DSC_0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-17DSC_0003.jpg

I also added elevators to access the platforms. I was initially going to make them either permanently up or permanently down, but then I thought of a way I could use some scrap styrene and make them moveable. Granted you have to move them manually, but they move. :) First pic is of the drawn not-yet-cut-out T-shaped pieces that are glued under the elevator platform and go through the support wall. I’ve only glued in the elevator on one side so far, but the other one is done too. Just haven’t put it in yet.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0009.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0010.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0011.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0013.jpg

Lastly, I got the final horrifically tedious part of the build out of the way at long last. I covered the insides of all 10 opening flaps with paneling same as I did on the outside. Took me quite awhile to do it, and I went slower because I hated every second of it. But it’s done now, which makes me happy. As you can see in the photo below, though the white looks a little odd, it’s definitely a step up from fiberboard with sharpie all over it.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-18DSC_0014.jpg

So what’s left? Well, the cargo bay is currently devoid of one rather important piece of equipment. And…that’s it. Aside from adding a TON of detail pieces, control panels, pipes, etc etc. And painting of course. Anyway, that thing going into the cargo bay, I gotta figure out how I’m going to make it. I have the design, just not sure how to build it.

It’s getting close, after almost 4 years and so many revisions and reworkings it’s almost a completely different model than what I started with. (wow…4 years. April 2008 was when I started designing it, although I don’t think I started building til May or June 2008.)

[x88x]

Congrats, it looks great! I love those elevators. :D +rep

[billygoat333]

what a massive case. :D

[artoodeeto]

I’ve finally gotten my act together after being out of town for a week, then sick for a week, and resumed finishing this thing. It’s getting VERY close now – just some more detail parts to glue on (necessitating yet another trip to the hardware store today for yet another tube of glue), then masking and painting. The first few photos are from about a month ago, when I built the loading crane inside the front bay. I cut a slot in the ceiling of the bay, and used a washer and screw through that slot into the dowel of the crane so it can slide back and forth. It sort of works. I used square dowels to line the slot, mostly to hide the rough edge. And I used a magnet at the base of the crane so that metal necklace chain you see is held entirely by magnetic force. :D

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-19DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-19DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-19DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-19DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-19DSC_0006.jpg

Next was the loading door – I wanted to hide the back ends of the LED “headlights” so when the door was open, it would look like machinery or some such there. So I made simple boxes to cover up the lamps, then surrounded them with electronics bits (and I’ll likely add some model bits too).

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-20DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-20DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--11-21DSC_0009.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0044.jpg

The engine rooms are done. The lower cutaways are pretty much done too. What remains to be finished are pipe and little detail bits under the walkways and on the walls of the upper sections. Also, I’ll probably add some more bits inside the loading bay. I *should* have enough random pieces left over so I can do some junk piles, to be added in a few spots after I paint the inside.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0040.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0041.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0042.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0043.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0045.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0046.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0047.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0048.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-13DSC_0049.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

lookin good!

[x88x]

Looks great. One thing, and this is really more of a personal preference than anything..maybe let the chain dangle a little bit more?

[artoodeeto]

Looks great. One thing, and this is really more of a personal preference than anything..maybe let the chain dangle a little bit more?

Thanks! I probably will dangle the chain more. At the moment I just stuck it on there, to keep it out of the way and so I wouldn't lose it. My table is less messy than it used to be, but it's still pretty easy to lose track of things on it.

[nevermind1534]

Were you able to use any of those vintage caps that I sent you with the P4 combo?

[artoodeeto]

Were you able to use any of those vintage caps that I sent you with the P4 combo?

Unfortunately not - I was afraid that in the long run the paint would end up flaking off pretty easily because of the waxy coating. Still, I appreciate that you sent them, it was worth a shot. and I have yet to do anything with that P4 combo - I have everything I need to get it running, but I *really* want this crawler done first :) And over a month ago I ordered a couple of USB foot pedals to use for page up and page down, from Hong Kong, and they have yet to show up :( ...urrgh....

[artoodeeto]

ok guys .... stay tuned ... the end is in sight ... :eek:

[artoodeeto]

Whew! I’ve gotten all parts glued in that I wanted in there prior to painting, and I got the outside of the model masked off. I must say, this was the mother of all masking jobs – I came away from it with a new appreciation for those artists who wrap buildings. My own efforts look a bit like a Christmas present wrapped by a blind one-handed elf, but hey, who cares. :D First off, though, the pre-wrapping pics. These detail shots will look substantially different (and better) once it’s all painted.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0006.jpg

Is that a B-wing cockpit back there? Hmmm….how’d THAT get there?
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0007.jpg

Capacitors? CAPACITORS??? I don’ gotta show you no stinkin’ capacitors…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0009.jpg

Remember this room from way back when? A blue and white R2D2 will be going in here, along with some other homemade “junk” robots.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0010.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0011.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0013.jpg

Inner doors closed…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0014.jpg

And open…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0015.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0016.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0017.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0019.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0020.jpg

Now on to the masking. First off, the lights. How to deal with those? The vast majority of them are in the ceilings inside. I could have, but REALLY didn’t want to, use brushable latex and “paint” each LED with latex that could be pulled off after airbrushing. But the tediousness of that (not to mention the painful positions I’d have had to sit in to get my hand and brush in at the right angles) would have defied all reasonable belief. So…all that painstaking work to glue each light down was for naught, as I popped most of them out, then covered the holes with tape on the top to prevent paint from spraying through. At this point in the afternoon I still had hopes of painting today. Silly me…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0021.jpg

I saved the vellum cutouts from when I cut the window openings inside to use as masks for protecting those windows.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0022.jpg

This spot on the inside of the rear engine door needed to be covered, as it’s visible from the rear when the door is shut.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0023.jpg

I tried to show the tape covering a couple LEDs in this shot. They’re hard to see, so you can imagine how hard it was to get the tape in there.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0024.jpg

And voila! I know, it’s bloody insane, but I covered the whole $%$$@$#%% thing with tape and newspaper. The good news is I can spray paint away, worry free. The bad news is though I used low-tack painters tape, I’ll still need to be fairly careful when removing it all. It’s rather like a scab…I can’t wait to peel it off. :P
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0025.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0026.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0027.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0028.jpg

And lastly, the inside of the loading door. I really only needed to cover the inside bottom of the door, since that’s all that will be exposed inside with the door shut when I spray paint the innermost parts black. By innermost I mean the walls lining the computer chamber.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-16DSC_0029.jpg

And there you have it. Next update…painting! (and then *gasp* it’s done!)

[x88x]

Wow, seeing it all at once..the level of detail is really amazing on this thing. I can't wait to see it all painted. :D

[artoodeeto]

I’m either hardcore, obsessed, or nuts. That’s the only explanation I can think of for being outside in 52 degree, rainy weather, painting under a dripping tarp.

See? 52 degrees! (I should add that I’m in southern California and it NEVER gets that cold here. I don’t wanna hear any comments about other much colder areas. I grew up in a chillier climate than I live in now. :D )
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0000.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0002.jpg

That was the tarp setup. A previous tenant in my apartment thoughtfully put those hooks up, just for me to use to hang my tarp. Yep. I periodically had to unhook it on one end and carefully prop it up so as to drain the water out of it. Did I mention it was cold? Someday I’ll have a house and a garage for this sort of stuff.

Before I painted the inside black (again) :
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0003.jpg

And after:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0005.jpg

Getting going with the gray primer:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0008.jpg

And some black streakiness.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0010.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0011.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0013.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0014.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0015.jpg

And after I airbrushed a lighter gray over most of the black to fade it a bit, brought everything back inside, removed the tape and newspaper masking (took about 10 minutes, whereas putting it on took HOURS), glued back on a few panels that came off with the tape, and promptly discovered that due to very poor/dim lighting conditions outside because of the rain, I couldn’t really see what I was doing inside this thing as I painted and the gray tone is quite a lot darker than I meant it to be. Oh well. I ain’t tapin’ it all back up again and re-spraying it.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-17DSC_0019.jpg

Tomorrow or Sunday will be detail painting, and I plan on hitting it with a generous coating of a similar powder pastel that I used on the outside, to give it a nice dusty beat up appearance. I’m hoping that’ll lighten it up a bit, and it should really help blend everything together. Prior to that powder coat I’ll add some junk piles and a couple other little surprises.

[Waynio]

Whatever temp your used to a good 20c below the norm is cold :D, my aussie cousins were over a while ago in summer & they were shivering lol & to us it was the hottest day of the year lol :D.

Straight away as soon as it turned black or got the primer on it looked brilliant, it's good to see it finally getting painted, well done in getting there on schedule mate :):up: :banana:.

[artoodeeto]

Ok guys…the moment long awaited (mostly by me)…. It. Is. …. DONE!!!!! (don’t move it to the done section just yet though…still another update or two to come).

:banana:

Almost 4 years. Except for the outer frame, I built nearly everything at least twice. And in keeping with how things have gone on this build, there’s still 2 problems to fix, and one more thing to make.

Problem 1 – one of the PVC “engines” in the rear engine room is currently resting on one of the heatsinks in the PSU (and thus slightly elevating the rear of the case). I need to use a heated knife to slice out a chunk of the pipe to make room for the heatsink. Annoying, but not too hard to take care of.

Problem 2 – the conveyors don’t really work. I’m not sure why, it could be that when I painted the conveyor belts some of the links are sticking now, or it could be that some of the junk piles I added are interfering with the belt motion. It might be hard to figure out the exact cause, since I have to have the computer pulled out from the wall to see the other side of the case. All I know is, before I added all the detail and painted, it worked just fine.

Item to make: the “sand” – covered base. Next week when I have time, I’ll get a piece of fiberboard or thin plywood, and use newspaper-covered cardboard to create a slightly contoured landscape. Then I’ll sift my powdered walnut shells over it using a spray glue formulated for model train diorama scenery, and viola! Instant sandiness.

Now for the pics! The first shot is after painting, before junk piles:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0007.jpg

And a wide shot with some junk piles added:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0016.jpg

A series of shots showing the various junk piles. Pay attention to the left side of the loading bay. If you’ve ever wondered what happened with Sputnik that is. :D
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0017.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0019.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0020.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0021.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0022.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0023.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0025.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0026.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0027.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-21DSC_0028.jpg

And now, with the “dirt” added. The dirt is a darker powder pastel than I used on the outside, and I dusted most of the lower horizontal interior surfaces with it. I used the lighter toned dust in a few spots just to create a little more color variation.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0029.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0030.jpg

R2D2!
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0031.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0032.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0036.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0037.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0038.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0039.jpg

Remember that bit about Sputnik?
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0040.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0042.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0043.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0045.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0047.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0048.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0049.jpg

And now a few shots showing the lighting. Sorry if they’re a little blurry – I didn’t feel like digging the tripod out of the closet.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0050.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0051.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0052.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0053.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0054.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0055.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0056.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0059.jpg

Remember that pipe that’s sitting on the heatsink? This is it:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0062.jpg

And taken with the flash:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0064.jpg

And lastly…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0060.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-22DSC_0061.jpg


That’s it! Look for one or two more updates next week to fix the issues described above…

[SXRguyinMA]

that came out effing AWESOME! +rep

[x88x]

Wow, looks amazing dude! The 'dirt' really did the trick. :D:up:

[Waynio]

LOL where the lollipop sticks & straws go :D.
Looks awesome mate, congrats :up: +rep :yellow_green:.

[billygoat333]

awesome!! +rep

[CorsePerVita]

this is freaking awesome!

[Mark_Hardware]

That looks awesome man! The attention to detail, the tedious as hell work, the creative use of misc items... Win, all the way. +rep

[artoodeeto]

Thanks guys! It means a lot to me - while I think it looks good and I've surprised myself, it's nice to know it's not the beer goggles that (sometimes :) ) are my ego making it look good LOL. Hopefully in a couple days I'll have it finished - it was raining today and I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow I think, so maybe on New Year's Eve...probably one tick before midnight it'll be totally done. We'll see.

[artoodeeto]

Well, at least I can say I finished the crawler itself before 2010 ended. Maybe I should retitle this thread “How to Build Your Very Own Sandcrawler in LESS THAN 4 Years!”.

Unfortunately, in my zeal to cut out a chunk of that PVC pipe, I used my soldering gun (the hot knife blade initially pictured just wasn’t…er…cutting it if you’ll pardon the pun). While the chunk of plastic, mostly melted, came out eventually, and the remaining bits from the viewable angle looks decent, my computer room now smells strongly of melted ABS. ugh. Hopefully the smell will fade in a day or two.

The pipe prior to the exercise in mutilation.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0002.jpg

The initial mutilating equipment: old X-Acto knife to be heated with the candle.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0003.jpg

After the knife failed (it was working but probably would have taken the whole afternoon), I pulled out my 2,000 degree soldering gun. This pic was after I started melting the pipe with it.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0004.jpg

Unfortunately it’s hard to see in this pic the amount of smoke coming out of this thing. It definitely looked to be on fire.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0008.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0009.jpg

The melted chunk after removal. It took a good half hour to get this thing out of there.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0011.jpg

The rest of the pipe:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0014.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0015.jpg

And with the top of the case on the computer again:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0016.jpg

Incidentally, I examined the conveyor belt, and it doesn’t appear that anything is blocking it. But for some reason I can’t figure out, the motor won’t turn on, and before I did all my detailing it worked just fine, switch included. It could be a problem with the power switch, I just don’t know. I’ll probably revisit it eventually.

And, I got started on the base! It’s a sheet of ¼” pine plywood, cut to fit on the tabletop where my sandcrawler sits. I had to cut out notches in the corners since the legs of the table stick up slightly. I also made an extension piece to go on the front, so the loading door isn’t just hanging off the edge when open. However, since there’s a cross-piece on the table between the two legs that also sticks up slightly over the top, I’m not sure yet how I’ll attach the extension piece…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0017.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0018.jpg

This is what the front extension piece is supposed to fix, if I can figure out how to mount it onto the rest and still fit correctly on the table.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/10--12-31DSC_0019.jpg

I ran out of daylight today to work more on the base, so I’ll finish it up this weekend. But the official build dates on the crawler are April 27, 2007 to December 31, 2010.

[Waynio]

But the official build dates on the crawler are April 27, 2007 to December 31, 2010.

:) Awesome work bud :up: & all the best for 2011 :yellow_green::banana::yellow_green:.

[x88x]

Nice work. ...now you just need to build a custom table for it.. :whistler:

[artoodeeto]

:) Awesome work bud :up: & all the best for 2011 :yellow_green::banana::yellow_green:.

Thanks!!!


Nice work. ...now you just need to build a custom table for it.. :whistler:

Thanks! Yeah, custom table will happen when I have the room...probably will be years though. *sigh....

LAST SANDCRAWLER UPDATE! It is officially done; nothing else that *needs* to be added to complete it. I may still add things like sculpted jawas at some point, but not right away. The base is done, although I’m not 100% happy with how it came out. It sorta looks like sand, but I lack the space for a larger base that would have room to add the surrounding stuff I’d wanted. There are some things like tracks behind the treads, slightly mounded sand in front of the treads, etc., that I *could* do on this base that might improve it, but I’ll need to get more “Scenic Cement” glue as I went through a whole bottle making this base today. I just don’t know if it’s really worth it to make those additions on this base, since someday I hope to have the space for a much larger one that can be much more detailed. I certainly have plenty of powdered walnut shells left, I maybe used a pound from the 10lb bag today.

So, on to the last 10 pics. I didn’t do any more detail shots of the model since it hasn’t changed from a few days ago when I posted all the detail photos.

The pine plywood sheet, 10 pound bag of powdered walnut shells, spoon, glue, etc.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0001.jpg

After spraying the sheet with glue and coating it with the powdered shells.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0005.jpg

I then gave it a final, VERY generous coating of glue that finished off the bottle, but mostly ensured that the shells won’t come off the board.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0006.jpg

And lastly, the crawler on its base. The blue light coming out the front isn’t nearly as bright in real life as it appears in the photo.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0014.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0017.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0020.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/crawler%20update/11--01-01DSC_0011.jpg

[x88x]

Awesome. Congrats on finally finishing it. :D