While at Maker Faire last weekend we did a lot of talking with people about how to build droids. It stands mentioning because usually at Con's people just love R2 for who he is, they get their pics and move on. They don't really consider what it takes to make him work, or anything.
While Chris was on break I did this interview in his place. Gerard didn't want to get in front of the camera, so he just pointed them to me (I guess he already has my personality nailed). I just thought I would share my moment in the sun with my readers (all 2 of you). Please forgive the sound levels. It was a noisy warehouse and required talking loudly to be heard, which would have been fine if they had done some editing for the final product.
Here is another one from Education Day.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Attaching the Rockler Bearing
It was a good weekend at Maker Faire. We won 4 "Editor's Choice" awards, and they can't wait to have us back again next year. We also made it into the NY Times and the Official Star Wars Blog.
Monday was like Christmas. My Rockler Bearing and my center foot arrived. The center foot box had been cut open for inspection. I guess Homeland Security doesn't like small, heavy packages that contain large amounts of steel.
So, tonight I finally had time to head to the garage and work on mounting my bearing.
First, I removed all of the little rubber feet that are inserted into the rings. I tapped up the bearing with masking tape to prevent metal flakes from ruining it, and marked out the areas on the outer ring where the rubber feet had been removed.
The v4 Frame is tapped in 4 places for a 1/4" screw, so I marked off 4 of the 8 partial holes for drilling out. Once the holes were drilled and the tape CAREFULLY removed I checked the holes to be sure that everything fit well.
With that done, I added the 3 screws to the inner ring that will be used to hold the dome and dome plate in place.
All that was left after that was bolting the bearing into place with the 4 screws. I used a split lock washer and a lock nut on each one.
Now that I have that done, its back to the waiting game again. I am currently waiting on my PSI's and my 300mm Dome to arrive.
I'm also trying to find a way to get in on both of the current runs of aluminum legs and steel outer feet which is difficult when you are on a budget.
I think that budget and run timing will continue to be a problem for me. I was introduced to the group by Chris, who has built an impeccable droid, with all aluminum. After seeing such an amazing piece of work, I have a hard time compromising on other materials for parts.
Having said that, I will probably be using resin for any of the blue parts and also for the half moon foot details. That will save me some money (and weight) without compromising the look in any way.
Monday was like Christmas. My Rockler Bearing and my center foot arrived. The center foot box had been cut open for inspection. I guess Homeland Security doesn't like small, heavy packages that contain large amounts of steel.
So, tonight I finally had time to head to the garage and work on mounting my bearing.
First, I removed all of the little rubber feet that are inserted into the rings. I tapped up the bearing with masking tape to prevent metal flakes from ruining it, and marked out the areas on the outer ring where the rubber feet had been removed.The v4 Frame is tapped in 4 places for a 1/4" screw, so I marked off 4 of the 8 partial holes for drilling out. Once the holes were drilled and the tape CAREFULLY removed I checked the holes to be sure that everything fit well.
With that done, I added the 3 screws to the inner ring that will be used to hold the dome and dome plate in place.
All that was left after that was bolting the bearing into place with the 4 screws. I used a split lock washer and a lock nut on each one.Now that I have that done, its back to the waiting game again. I am currently waiting on my PSI's and my 300mm Dome to arrive.
I'm also trying to find a way to get in on both of the current runs of aluminum legs and steel outer feet which is difficult when you are on a budget.
I think that budget and run timing will continue to be a problem for me. I was introduced to the group by Chris, who has built an impeccable droid, with all aluminum. After seeing such an amazing piece of work, I have a hard time compromising on other materials for parts.
Having said that, I will probably be using resin for any of the blue parts and also for the half moon foot details. That will save me some money (and weight) without compromising the look in any way.
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