Are you planning on allowing the head to turn a full 360, or just a limited range, like 90 degrees?
Oh, and if you need gears of any sort, let me know. I've got a good sized stock of gears left over from my days working in the print shops.
Printable View
Are you planning on allowing the head to turn a full 360, or just a limited range, like 90 degrees?
Oh, and if you need gears of any sort, let me know. I've got a good sized stock of gears left over from my days working in the print shops.
I'm looking into making it do a full 360 degree rotation. But I'll have to see how everything fits together, to decide how to make it happen.
Crazybillybob
I got a little more done this weekend.
Both feet are bolted the legs and R2 is standing on his own now.:)
Now Everyone wants to get into the Action!!
I also realized that I needed to stiffen the open side of the outer feet, I'll also try and give you a better Ides as to how I've done all the sheet metal work so far.
I started out by making a pattern.
The Pattern is transferred to sheet steel (this is 22guage steel), then it is cut out, I used "Tin Snips" (also called Aviation shears) to do this.
Once that is finished we move to the bending. On these pieces there will be a smaller bend about 1/2" up from the bottom then a hard 90degree bend about an inch up from that. There should be an inch or so flat then arch up into 90.
I start with the hard 90, then the slight angle, and finish off with the arch.
Being a home shop I don't have a sheet metal brake, but I do have a nice piece of angle Iron, and some clamps.
Then Apply Pressure and smooth out the high spots with a ball peen hammer.
Once both angles are bent you get something that looks like this.
To add the Arch I used a piece of Iron gas pipe instead of the angle Iron.
Just apply gentle pressure till the metal is in the shape you want. Smooth the high spots (they look a bit like bubbles) with light taps from the ball peen.
I'll be posting pics of the finished pieces tonight, I seem to have forgot to bring them with me this morning. oops:(
Thanks For Stopping in!
Crazybillybob
great work CBB! i have enjoyed following your work log! keep it coming! :D
hxcguitarist
Quote:
Originally Posted by hxcguitarist
Thanks, HX ....I'll be here till he's done.....Then I'll still be here just with a diffrent mod :D
Crazybillybob
Good Day R2 Fans.....Welcome to another Fun filled update.....
After all that bending and shaping this is what you get.
I've got the piece dry fitted into the foot where it will be. It needs a hole cut out for the end of the scooter motor and a little more adjustment on the gaps but most of that will be taken care of when I clamp it up to weld it all together.
I was also able to get the center ankle cut out. The main part of the ankle is 1/4" (6.35mm). The tip that the bolt will go through is reinforces with a piece of 1/4" and 1/8"(3.175mm) on each side.
The Center foot shell also got the channel path cut out of it.
Now I just need to get the channel cut correctly, and weld it in place.
Moving to the other end of the Droid. I've been asked about how I'm going to get R2's head to spin....
Here's my choice.
It's a 12"(30.4cm) round Lazy Susan (picked up at Lowe’s). I'm still thinking about weather it's going to be driven by a gear or, friction drive type assembly. Both have their pros and cons. One thing for sure I need to have a way to get power up into the dome that still allows 360degree rotation. I've got a few Ideas but they all depend on how I turn it. Let me know if you've got a great Idea (or even a good one...) for these problems....
Thanks for dropping in...I'll be back soon with more from the Backwoods Lab.
Crazybillybob
Lookin' good, crazybillybob!
You know, the thing I love about this worklog the most is that you really get down into the nitty-gritty of a fabrication job like this. It's not just "I'm polishing the heat sink for my fancy new $600 video card", it's "This is how I bent the metal that supports the cam that turns the gear that spins the doodadd I fashioned out of duct tape, aluminum scrap and hillbilly gumption".
Keep up the great work, CBB.
edit: About your drive mechanism - I'd still recommend a gear drive. You can control the speed and accuracy a lot more, at least the way I've got it figured out in my head. If you can build a right-angle lip inside the dome to run a toothed track - such as a flexible drive belt securely attached to the angle lip - and have an appropriately sized gear (you can get very good precision gears at RC shops, but I'm sure you already know that), then you should be good to go. One thing to consider is properly shielding the motor away from any computer components with some sort of Faraday Cage (spelling?) to prevent the electric motor's electromagnetic pulses from interfering with the operation of the system - I've got a great horror story of a friend of mine using an electric screw gun on the inside of his computer and pretty much destroying the data on one of his hard drives.
I'm still stumped on preventing the wiring from tangling or pulling out, especially after repeated turns back and forth, putting stress on your solders.
I'm sure you've got a lot of this down, though - like I said before, you're one hell of a better engineer than I am.
I've been musing about slip rings lately.
The down side is that with the slip ring in the middle I have to work out a gear set that would run around the out side of the bearing. The larger gear would have to attach to the bottom of the plywood and the whole thing can't be to thick (about 1/2" max (1.27cm)). Anyone have software to design a 16"(40.64cm) gear? and a 2" (5.08cm) matching gear? OR a plug-in for AutoCAD that will do it. As I don't know how to calculate all the things needed for a gear (I'm sure they taught use the basics in collage physics...but I don't remember anymore).
Better yet anyone have a 16" -18" (40-45cm) Gear laying around? (that is light weight less then 5 lbs (2.26Kg))...
More or less Thinking out loud here....If you've got Ideas....Join in..!
Also Started looking into Prices on the PC Parts I need. Between Mini-box.com and newegg.com I should be able to get all the parts I need shipped for about $600US. Now I just need to get my Tax info so I can Get my return and order these pieces!!!
Crazybillybob
An idea I had would be to run gear tracking around the lower edge of the head. Then you would just need a motor and a single gear to be able to spin the head as you needed to.
That's the basic Idea with the Gear. I was just going to mount it to the plywood as it's easier to find gears smaller then 18" around. Which is what I'd need to mount it to the dome.
Thanks for the Idea...
Crazybillybob
You know, I've been mulling this thing over all day at work, because I love puzzles like this. I want to work something out on paper when I get some time to actually fiddle with it but one thing I realized is that I'm pretty sure faraday cages don't work for elecrtomagnetic waves, only radio waves and such.
Hmmmm..... how do they do shielding for speakers to prevent damage to CRT screens?
Here is my idea (image in perspective of looking at the underside of the dome)
The motor would need to be large depending on how heavy the dome is, but this is my general idea. Hope it works out for you..
Oh, just realized, it would be a good idea to put a railing on either side of the track or on the gear to make sure it doesn't fall off the track.
That was my first idea, as well. I have another plan I'm just trying to figure out the fine details of right now that might actually work better... I can't wait to see what CBB ends up with for this, though.
I've came up with this design for the Gear if I use slip rings. If the gear comes out nice I'll use it for any setup. As with most of the rest of R2 I'm trying to save money so I'm going to make these gears myself, at home with my small collection of power tools and hand tools(I think the Router and Jigsaw will be getting a work out this weekend):eek: . Don't worry I'll take pics good or bad just so you all can join in the fun!
I went with the gear close to the outside of the dome for one reason clearance between the Bearing (12" OD) and the Motor Gear (about 2"-2.5"). There was no other setup where they wouldn't hit or rub one another.
I still don't have the motor to drive this, but I'm thinking about it. Most likely it will be a small 12Vdc gear motor running about 300-600RPM max. I'll have to see what some of the surplus stores have cheap.
Let Me know what you think, or if there is something really wrong that I missed Let me know that too!;)
Crazybillybob
Yes, Chris it looks like your drawing! Just not mounted to the dome...The dome is egg shaped and this flat gear was hard enough for me to draw I don't want to make it a 3D complex curve.
its awesome
Very cool. Great ideas Hillbilly:D
Well I had a weekend full of fun and building....I blew most of Saturday playing BF2 online (first time in 2 months!) so Sunday I worked on the dome disk and the gears....
First thing was to cut out some rough disks they were about 19"(48.26cm) in diameter I just whipped them out with my jigsaw (no where near round!!!)
Now to make them round. I whipped up a jig for my router table. Not much just a piece of 1/4" plywood bolted to the top. then I measured 9 1/16" from the inside of the 1/4" straight cut bit in the router and set a hole (for a screw). I drilled a slightly bigger hole in the center of each disk (made the screw snug but would let the disk still turn).
Once the disk was screwed on I just had to turn the disk and it would be perfectly round. Action Shot!
Making the jig and pushing out two perfect disks took less then an hour...I may get more done then I thought.....:D
Next I moved on to the spur gear, this little guy will be attached to a motor and run against the ring gear (I hope).
Here I've got the gear all laid out and ready to cut (I printed out the drawing 1:1 and sprayed the back with spray adhesive, then stuck it to the plywood. Easier then trying to draw it out on wood free hand)
After the spur gear was cut out I when after the ring gear. It kicked my butt, This shot is after an hour and 2 batteries on the cordless jigsaw. :(
It's going to be a long day!...:eek:
Well after about 3 tedious hours and 4 batteries I got 1 ring gear (I hope it works I really don't want to have to cut it out again!!!).
Looks kinda nice laying there on the work bench...but I wonder how it looks in the dome? :rolleyes:
The Disk looks good!
The Gears....They Look even better !!:D and they seem to work too! now they just need a little clean up with a file to smooth them all out. (later this week.. cause it was late when I shoot these pics!, and my arms still numb from the jigsaw! :redface: )
All in all it was a good day. I'll get the mounting hole for the bearing drilled and the hole for the slip ring cutout this week and go from there.
Thanks for all the positive response lately, it helps keep me going. The Ideas and drawings are always welcome.
On a little side note I know that before I've said that R2 will not have a working holo-emitter (projector)...Well I've changed my mind....Stay tuned over the coming weeks for the projector mod (it will stay right here but I'll mostly be working on it!), I'm just waiting on parts right now.. my goal make the projector work (display @ min of 5' away) for less then $100 us :eek: (not counting the cost of the emitter cause I've already got it!)....Let's see if I can pull this off. 8)
Till next time!
CrazyBillybob
Can't wait. I can't believe you cut that gear out by hand. You're one crazy hillbilly!
Ever figure out the problem of running the wires in and out of the rotating dome?
Wow.. now thats dedication.. I hope that little R2 unit knows just how lucky he is having a builder like you.. :)
FANTASTIC work..
Thanks, Guys!
It was a bit painful to cut it out, but once it was done I was on cloud 9!!
I think I'm going to try the slip ring approach, It's not going to cost allot and it's easily replaced if it fails! Just gotta order some PC board.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rankenphile
Crazybillybob
Here is the start of a ....Mini Mod? It's really a sub mod as it's still going into R2 but you get the Idea.
I received the two main components of the Holo projector this week. (the Holo- emitter detail is the white thing in the bottom of the pic).
A Hip Gear Screen Xbox controller (new) and a Holiday Projector (new)..You know one of those things your neighbor has out at Christmas to cast a 15' (4.57M) tall Snowflake on his house. What the heck are you going to do with that crap...They have nothing to do with Computers or Star Wars...:? Stay tuned over the next few days (maybe weeks!) to find out!
First thing is for sure!
They didn't last long in there nicely pack homes.....Or in one piece for that matter :eek:
I striped off all the Xbox controller pieces of the hipGear. To Get down to the LCD display goodness.
For those of you that don't know (which was me till about 2 weeks ago), these little LCD screen's electronics can accept regular Video signal...and run on 12Vdc. I've been looking @ a few other sites and I think that the wiring in this controller is a little different then ones other sites have shown, So I'll show you what I've found out so far.
Here is the connector that brings all the wire into the controller. The numbers are for the 6 solder pads in front of the connector, These are the wires that go to the Video/Audio board (the ones That I'm after!)
Here is the wires that attach to the pads (the numbers match between the top an bottom). From left to right: (1)Yellow is the Video input, (2)Brown Video Ground, (2)Black is Audio Ground, (4)White and (3)Red are your Audio line in, (5)Green is the power supply ground, (6)orange is +12Vdc. You will notice that the video and audio grounds go to the same pad.
I've only got the disassembly done on the Hip gear...next I'll wire up some temp connections so we can test the display out.
Now The Holiday Projector has 2 part that fit into one another that make it work.
The first is the light source and image they are house in this little sub frame here.
The light source in this unit is a 12Vac Halogen bulb...Not going to work on DC so I'm looking into other options (low heat and power....LED maybe?)
The Illumination sub frame slides down into the outer housing. The outer housing holds the optics, these focus and enlarge the image.
Really I just need the optics from this unit, but it's a nice housing, I don't have to mess with measuring focal lengths etc, so if it fits in the dome I'm using it too!
That wraps it up for this update, I'll have more soon so stop back in!
CrazyBillybob
Woah this is going to be awesome! :D
I'm excited to see this come together. Thanks for detailing it so precisely, CBB, this is one project I'm sure will be useful for many of us. Expect to see elements of this mini-mod copied many times over by quite a few of us once you get this running.
With all the Q's about LCD's for cases lately, and the low cost of the hip gear screens I figured that we would be seeing allot of them. So I figured ?I've got the tools and the training I'll help the guys (and gals) that don't out.... (All of you guys that work plex do the same for me!).Quote:
Originally Posted by Rankenphile
As for the mini-mod I didn't get allot done this weekend....I've got a rebuilt shoulder (in me not the droid :) ) and it's giving me allot of problems this week so I'm trying to let it rest for a bit. But I did get some testing done....The LCD on the AC adapter, and the Projector with an AC light.....= a 4' Image on the wall @ 10'....Better then I thought it would do! Now I just need to get some pics (to share with all of you) and figure out how to mount it all, then find a DC light source.
If you all start in on your Hip gear screens and have Q's let me know I'll give you all the help I can. (I do read my PM's so don't feel you have to post publicly...If I get allot of the same Q's I'll make a quick post/write up to answer them all @ once...if not it will be one on one!)
Back soon with more!
Crazybillybob
CBB, Are you at all concernd about your wooden gears not being able to withstand the weight of the dome construct? How will you stop them from breaking? Or..... will you just strengthen them?
Amazing work by the way, you truly are an artist.
Steve.
Snickells,
The bearing, not the gears, will support most of the weight of the dome. The gears will only have to be strong enough to make the bearings roll, so they have to be stronger then the friction between the bearings and the raceway (the trace that bearings ride in), the friction can be reduced by applying a thin film of grease to the bearings and raceway. I used Plywood instead of solid wood because it doesn't have a shear face like solid wood does. When you break solid wood you get a nice clean break normally along the growth rings (when the wood is cut in the modern fashion, it's different with quarter sawn ..but they don't do that much any more so we'll skip it). In plywood each layer of wood is placed with the grain perpendicular to the one before it, then they are all glued in place. This is way when you break plywood the edge is uneven and frayed, it doesn't have a common shear point. The only thing that I'm worried about is wear on the faces of the gears where they meet. The plywood my wear faster because it's rubbing together. I'm going to do some testing with CA glue (super glue) applied to the face of plywood and see if this helps cut down on the wear. I hope that in all this I answered your question If not let me know where I lost you (cause I may have lost myself in there somewhere too!).
Thanks for the artist comment! It's scary how Art and Science slam head long into each other allot with me!
Crazybillybob
Have you thought about using a thin piece of Aluminum and covering the edges of the gear...... IF it's done just right, it shouldn't cause a problem and you should have a better wear than just plywood and glue.....
crenn,
After cutting out that gear I'm not in a hurry to cut out a bunch of little bits of aluminum. how would I hold the alum to the face? I'm still not sure wear will be that big of a deal, I mean realy old windmills had wood gears, they wouldn't have used them if they didn't work well!?!
If wear and tear get to bad on the wood gear I can always make a plastic one! I can cut it out myself (a prospect I'm not happy with but would do) or send it to the laser cutters, easier but more expensive in the long run.
Thanks for the Idea not sure how to do it "the right way" though??:? ?? and it's allot of work to do wrong.:eek:
Crazybillybob
So, a new shoulder, eh?Quote:
Originally Posted by crazybillybob
...Got any mods planned for it? :D
I was meaning one long thin strip (not so thin that it will tear easily) stuck on the gears with contact cement/rubber. And I think you may be right about the windmills being made only with wood.... but I think they had 'peg gears' (I think that's what they're called). Although plastic ones would be better.... so if you can get a rubber gear track which should help prevent the shreding of the wooden gears.Quote:
Originally Posted by crazybillybob
The Docs already did the mod about 4-5years back....I've got one heck of a scar to prove it! I Just have issues with muscle spasms and weather some times.. It's getting better, now as long as I don't have to shovel anmore snow for a week or two It will be all good!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rankenphile
Crazybillybob
You know, treating the wood with some liquid electrical tape, or a similar ruberized treatment, would probably help prevent wear on the contacts and would be a lot less work than cutting out an aluminum strip on top. The stuff that they sell at hardware stores for dipping tool handles in would work well for it, you would jsut have to make sure that it has a good temperature resistance and would not stick to itself if it was set up in a gear mechanism like this.Quote:
Originally Posted by crenn
Again, depending on the wood and the way the contact is made, it could all be a moot point. The quarter-inch plywood is pretty strong stuff, and as long as the contact is made gradually and not as a sharp impact, and you're not pushing a huge amount of weight, it should last a good long time.
Welcome R2 Fans, Today here in the hillbilly journal, is the Very Rigged Holo-Projector
Held together with electrical tape, masking tape and luck.
Here is a projected image in a lighted Room...:(
Not very impressive....But ok!
Here It is in a Darkened room (not pitch black but low lighting, much brighter then MML or any LAN I've ever been too!) :eek:
Much better. :D
Yeap, I know the images is backwards, the Lens inverts it when projecting. I flipped it top to bottom to take care of the inversion but never thought of the left to right till I saw this image on the wall….I’ll fix it before the LCD is mounted permanently.
Now mind you this is with an A/C Light, and it seems to give it a yellow cast that isn't show in the pics.
I've ordered one of these 1W Ultrabright LEDs From All Electronics. I'm hoping that it will be bright enough to replace the A/c Bulb. I also ordered some 6"x12" copper clad board to make the slip ring out of, we'll see how that goes when it gets here.
Now I'll move on to moving the PCB for the LCD inside the Projector case, and making it so the wires pass out the rear of the unit.
Thanks for stopping by, let me know what you think!
Crazybillybob
Awesome.
Are you sure a 1W LED is going to do the job? If you're going to replace it, I would recommend using a Luxen LED, they're better if I remember correctly, Find something with high Lumens and get that.... as long as it's price is within limits....
Apparently you need to get another lens to fix the image... but you'll need to work out where to put it to give you your image in the correct orrientation. I did Physics for a while so I might be able to help...
the 1w LED is a Lexon....Just the 1W kind...the 5w ones are a little out of my price range right now....If my wife ever finds out I spent $12 on 1 led she'll kill me as it is!
As for the image I have a lensless solution, I'll flip it over, since it's transperant it will not be an issue! (In theroy right now) I'll let you know if I need help with another lens (hopefully it just works without one :)
Crazybillybob
I see what you mean about the LEDs being expensive:
http://www.ledsales.com.au/cart.php?...category_id=10
I would recommend putting in a convex lens to focus the image, because the picture in a projector is displayed upside down and backwards (if I remember correctly) the convex lens focuses and fixes this problem.
But if you're determined to do it without a lens, then good luck. I don't remember GFx cards with the ability to mirror the image on a screen... but you might be able to find a piece of software that will do that.
Wow.. All I can say "Kick F'n A". Looks like it worked out fine to me.. Per the projector forums I have read, just flipping the LCD should fix your problems no sweat.. Really a nice touch for your R2 unit..
BTW.. anybody tell you lately... You da man?? cuz you da man!!.. heh
Geez, I leave for a whole week to go to Vegas, and come back and still no updates on R2? I'm mighty disappointed in you, Billybob.
:D
