Monthly Archives: July 2012

Windshield Wiper Motor Use for Robotics

Posted by on July 31, 2012 No comments

hexapod-robot-windshield-wiper-motor-mountsHobby servos work great for small robots, but what about if you want to build a somewhat larger bot that needs a motor with a lot of torque?  They may not have the controllability of a servo, but for the price ($16.49 from Monsterguts) they might be an attractive option for your next robot.  They’ve long been used as the drivers for Holiday props, but I haven’t seen many of them used for hobby robots.  Feel free to link to yours in the comments if you’ve built one!

 

milled-windshield-wiper-mountsStraight out of the box, you may think that they will take a lot of work to fasten to your device of choice.  They, at least the motors that I’m using, come with a wiper motor arm linkage sporting a ball joint on the end.  Pretty useless, you might say, why not just a hole for a 1/4 inch bolt?  Well, if you have a Dremel tool, Grinder, or milling machine and a hammer, you’re in luck!  Simply grind off the back side of the ball joint, then fasten it in a vise.  Using a punch (or whatever you have available), Read more »

A Large Hexapod Made of Wood and PVC

Posted by on July 29, 2012 6 comments

pvc-hexapod-floorAlthough this hexapod is still a work in progress at this point, I’m going to start writing about some of the elements used to make it.  This post is an overview of my progress.

A few months ago I had the idea to build a large hexapod using PVC pipe as the legs, wood for the body, and windshield-wiper motors for the actuators.  Unlike my last hexapod robot, PegLeg, the middle legs would use 2 motors for lifting, allowing both to be controlled separately.  This left the potential for some interesting locomotion if everything came together correctly.

As of now, the design has not been tested walking, but I’ve been able to actuate all legs on a test bench as shown in the second video after the “read more.”  In further tests, it was able to barely pick itself up by the middle leg, but some more refinement will be needed before this will walk well.  Most notably Read more »

Buckyballs Safety Recall Lawsuit

Posted by on July 26, 2012 1 comment

Buckyballs and CardBuckyballs, which I first featured in this review in January, have been quite fun to play with.  They can be dangerous though, especially if swallowed.  Children of course enjoy chewing on and swallowing random objects, so the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) thought this was too big a risk for these items to be sold, and has filed a lawsuit to this effect.  I don’t have kids myself (except a dog that I have to keep these away from per warnings in the documentation), and maybe I’d feel differently if I did, but the recall attempt seems a bit extreme in my opinion.  The boxes come with warnings on it, and although I really didn’t think about it before, Buckyballs claims to market exclusively to adults.

So if you bought these on my recommendation, consider yourself warned, this product could be unsafe…  However, Read more »

Old School Update: January 2011 Project Summary

Posted by on July 24, 2012 No comments

setup for Hot Dog Droid stop motion animation videoI was apparently pretty busy in January of 2011.  Here are some highlights:

MAME Controller Part 2: One of the more interesting posts was about converting my MAME Controller to use an encoder.  This worked much better than the keyboard I was using before, even if it wasn’t wireless.  I also “finished” my controller using contact paper to give it a nice “wood grain” finish.  Stain and a Eurethane clear coat would have probably been better, but this gave it a very arcade-like finish in my mind.

Stop Motion Animation: After my controller was done, I started playing with stop motion animation.  Because of a super-simple mount for my Env2 camera phone that I made out of a 2×4, I was able to attach it rigidly to my milling machine to make my first two stop motion videos featuring “Shop Cookies” dancing around on one, and a hot dog and droids on the other.  The third video featured Read more »

A Diffuse “Glow Cube” From a Solar Path Light

Posted by on July 22, 2012 5 comments

LED solar light inserted into diffuser cubeI suppose this could be called a “night light” and would also probably be good lighting for parties if you’re on a budget.  As mentioned on my last component scavenging article, I was given some LED path lights by a relative.  He was probably a bit surprised that I seemed quite excited by these even if I wasn’t that interested in their intended purpose.  My first idea was to make a solar version of the LED throwie that I decided to over engineer in another post.

As it turned out, when disassembled (see pictures after the “Read More”) the solar panel was glass and the rechargeable power supply was the size of a AAA battery. For the most part, it was pretty easy to take apart, as it used standard Phillips head screws.  The actual panel had to be cut/pried out since it was glued.  This assembly wouldn’t have been impossible for throwie use use with a large magnet, but it probably wouldn’t fit inside Read more »