Got Astromech?

New Blog Site

2011-04-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

This Blog has moved to GotAstromech.com

Moving Time

2011-04-26T10:18:00.001-07:00

It is almost that time. This blog will be moving to it's new home soon. The new domain is up, and the blog engine is running. just need to import\export and the transition will be complete. More to come.

Gwinnett Gladiators Game 3/26/2011 More Pics

2011-03-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

The puck drop:

Troopers on ice!The Turner\Cartoon Network folks:

Victory!

R2 got his sweater!

Gwinnett Gladiators Game

2011-03-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

R2 and the Ga501st had an event sponsored by Turner and the Cartoon Network for the season finale of Star Wars the Clone Wars.

Ceremonial first puck drop:

Working with Lexan

2011-01-14T10:04:00.001-08:00

While working on my electronics panel, I needed to add a bunch of hole that were close together and a few large holes. Lexan likes to chip if you drill it and break if it is near other holes. To get the holes I needed I used a spade hole bit for drilling holes in wood. Set to low speed it made short work of the Ledxan without any ninding or chipping. I could get the holes as close as i wanted.

Star Wars Charity Event

2010-12-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the Lucas Film Charity event held in Atlanta.

I can see the light...

2009-09-15T06:27:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has been going on. The electronics work is about 80% done. The dome is about 90% done since I just have to finish cutting the dome panels and the front logic displays. The Rear logics are mounted, but they still need the fiber optic conversion. The logib displays on are hold until I can get more bezels for them. PSIs are now done. The outside of the droid only needs the battery harnesses, flat side plate, side vents, and a mounting system for the center vent surrounds to be complete. He is now pushing 175-200lbs fully loaded. I have to figure out hwo get him in a weigh in.

Lots going on, no pictures...

2009-07-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

R2 was taken completely apart and pieces were ground down and adjusted to make way for electronics. The feet now have the NPC motors mounted and new wires pulled up the through the new holes in the feet and legs. The wires currently are just pulled into the body. The new electronics panel was cut out of 1/4" Lexan and mounting brackets were made to fit it to the frame. Some of the vertical rods on the frame were moved back to allow room for the hinges for the doors on the skins. All this done in a weekend. I now jsut have to positions the motor controllers and fuse blocks wire them up and R2 should be moving. Then I need to finish cutting the inner dome for the hinges and the dome can go back together.

R2 is almost talking

2009-05-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

I just finished the setup of the sound system. The system consists of a VMusic2, Arduino, and speakers. I formatted a USB drive and updated the firmware on the VMusic2. I then created sound files for each sound and put them on the USB drive and created a little sketch to play all the sounds on the drive. I jsut have to write a little more logic to control the sounds through my Wii nunchucks and then install all the wiring in the droid

Kitty Litter PSI lenses and Dome moutning plates

2009-04-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

I finished one PSI and started work on the other one. I used the large 40 pound litter containers for material. They make great PSI lenses.

The starting container

The rear plate being fitted. The holes are drilled in the dome and the plastic is clamped in place. 1 hole is drilled through the plastic and then a screw is inserted through the dome and the plastic. A T-nut is screwed to hold the plastic in place. The clamps are moved to a new location and a heat gun heats the plastic while slowly screwing the clamps down. Once the plastic is mostly in place, I used crushed ice in a baggie to cool and the plastic to form. Repeat the drilling process until the whole plate is in place.

The completed product (front). The holoprojector still needs to be cut out.

Back side of the front plate. The PSI LED holder will be changed out and the cone will have a new holder mounted soon.

PSI setup

2009-03-03T05:27:00.000-08:00

I have been toying with some materials to use for my PSI lenses. The main concern has been that they need to hold up against poking fingers. The next thing is the space needed to diffuse the hotspots, and since I am using a multicolored LED to create any color I want it also needs to help mix the colors. After many trials and errors I think I may have found a cheap solution.

If you have or know someone who has cats, the litter can come in huge white plastic buckets. These buckets need to be able to hold 20lb-40lb, so the plastic is nice and string. I cut one of the buckets up and did a few tests and they work great with one layer of material and even better with 2 sandwiched together. The setup consists of 1 or 2 layers of litter bin material and a LED source. The barrel to contain the light source is the smaller cup of a bar tenders jigger with the bottom cut out of it. Since the jigger is metal, it reflects the light just fine.

Even More Update Pics

2008-10-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

Been busy around here. First there was DragonCon then we had to get ready to leave for Hawaii. A week in Hawaii... so there has not been much time to work on R2.

Here are some update pictures of what he looks like now.

More Updated pictures

2008-09-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

He is missing his bottom ring and\or skirt because I am still working on the rear door and the rear Power Coupler mounting.

Front ViewSide View
3/4 View
Shoulder

DragonCon

2008-09-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Even Cookie Monster showed up, though we didn't get a great picture of him

Update Pics

2008-09-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Just a couple update pictures:

Status Update

2008-09-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well DragonCon is over. I only spent a day there, but I did get some R2 building done. I made a major push to get some things complete. Over the weekend I shaved the center ankle mounting block down adn now the center foot is mounted. I finished painting all the feet, ankles, and legs. This includes all the blue parts too. The Radar Eye is also painted blue too. I then moved to the dome where I cut the large hole for the 1 piece Front Logic Port (FLP). I then drilled and counter sunk screws for the FLP, Rear Logic Port, and all Holoprojectors. He is now looking more like a complete R2 droid.

Photos coming soon....

Leg to Ankle Upgrade

2008-08-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

Well the leg to ankle upgrade is complete, well sort of. I plan on adding a 1/8" plate that will run all the way down the ankle to the axle, but for now there are just some nuts JB Welded to the ankle. i used Grade 8 bolts to ensure that they would not shear and drilled out the ankles and legs to fit the new bolts.

I JB Welded nuts to the plate inside the ankle to give the bolts something to screw into. As mention before, one set of nuts is there until I create the 1/8" plate. Right now they only keep the leg in place.

I got some 1/4" aluminum plates and drilled them so they will fit between the leg and ankle and keep the correct spacing on the bracelet.

All Assembled

Painting 102

2008-08-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

No real pictures of this... not very interesting. All leg pieces have been masked and primed.

Painting 101

2008-08-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Not much done physically to R2 over the weekend. The Olympics were on and while watching and listening to the stupid comments from the commentators I took apart R2... again. I was hoping to get the new plates to update the leg to ankle joint and have him up on his feet and assembled for a progress picture. Now he is in pieces again, but they are now all masked off and ready to be primed and painted. I hop to have the primer coats on by the end of Tuesday. The final layers may have to wait as they are calling for some major rain here.

Shoulder Hub Update

2008-08-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

As promised here are the pictures. I mounted the hubs using rare earth magnets.

Here is is an update photo on what the feet currently look like.

Shoulder Hubs

2008-08-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

I finished mounting the shoulder hubs. I will update later with pictures. I attached the magnets together with some wax paper between them. I them applied some JB Weld to the new magnet and put the shoulder hub into the leg. After a while I pulled the hub out and separated the magnets. I then put the magnets back into position with another magnets, on the other side of the leg, holding them in place and squeezed towards the leg wall.

Weekend Update 2

2008-08-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Finished drilling the shoulder hubs. I JB Welded some rare earth magnets in the holes. They are now ready for mounting. I just need to attach some magnets on the legs. It will be interesting to see how the JB Weld reacts with the magnets. You can acually see the JB Weld interact with the magnetic fields.

I finished the final foot shell, and applied some white primer to the shells. I also cut all the craided hose and tubes. I now need to cut the nuts that will hold the KHFs on the feet.

Weendend Update 1

2008-08-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

I mounted the rockler bearing on the top ring. I had mounting holes on the top ring, but they got in the way of the shoulder hubs and the large data port. I had to drill out the other holes on the outer bearing and drill new holes in the top ring. I then tapped the ring and reassembled. This should be the last time the frame needs to be taken apart for some time.

I also filed down the last ankle wedge. These things just didn't line up at all. I don't really think the wedges are the problem. I think there were some issues in the production of the ankles where some durfaces are not completely flat and the angles are off.

I have a few thing on my list to try and get done this weekend. Ipdates and pictures coming...

Just some little things

2008-08-06T23:43:00.000-07:00

Updated status

Feet:
I have the battery boxes semi attached to the foot shells. There are some minor modifications that need to be done to get them fully attached. I will probably leave the lower attachment until I get the motors hooked up. I just need to make some adjustments to the KHF holes on one foot ans the foot shells are done and ready for their white primer. I have 1 braided hose done. I just need to grind down the nuts to fasten the KHF fittings on the feet and the battery boxes and the feet are completely finished.

Ankles:
I have 1 more wedge\cylinder combo to file and adjust to make it fit the center ankle. The only outstanding issue to to get the center ankle mounting block ground down to fit the ankle.

Legs:
I don't have to, at this point, but I will probably dill out the leg to ankle joint to upgrade the bolts that I already purchased. I have to finish mounting the under the shoulder details. The only other thing I need on the Legs is the Shoulder hubs. I think I have an idea on how to mount them, I just need to get some time to drill out the backs of the hubs to accept the magnets.

I will probably post an image of where r2 is at some point.

Alternate Krider Blue Test

2008-08-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

Ok I used some scrap to test the blue using the Krylon X-Metal Purple. I used a white primer and then 2 coats of the purple. I let the purple dry over night and masked it off. I sprayed the Duplicolor Blue on in 2 coats and then the clear in 3 coats. I did one more test with this setup. On half of the finished blue, I used an acrylic wax and sealant. I know I should have let the clear dry for 24-48 hours, but with the light coats and quicker time intervals the paint was fairly dry for this test.

The Purple with the White primer masked off

The blue in diffferent lighting: (You can start to see the purple show through in the highlights)

Pay no attention to the blemishes on the paint. The painting was done outside without a paint booth to cover it. The days were hto and humid... rain in the area. Take notice of the color\deep rich change in the blue in each picture. The acrylic sealant gave the blue a much deeper\wetter look. The video i have show this transition a little better.

This video shows how the Color changes in different lighting, well as much as I can show it. Take notice at the end of the video how the reflection of the light changes where the acrylic layer starts.

LDP Installed

2008-08-05T05:05:00.001-07:00

Last night I got the LDP install. I had to drill through the LDP on at least one hole to get the the screws to bite. I plan on filling this hole before it is painted, so it will not be seen. I reassembled the frame and skins afterwards and everything lines up.

Weekend Build

2008-08-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

Busy build weekend. The first thing I worked on is cutting 1 of the braided hoses and testing out the KHF. It looks like I will need to cut the hose a little longer as the braided hose expanded a little and shortened the length as I put a section of tube in side.

I moved to putting a coat of white primer on the center foot. This is just a base coat for the foot since I plan on using Satin White later, but I already used a gray primer to stop any rust on the foot. The white primer will cover up the gray one better.

I needed to put the mounting screws in the battery boxes so I can start figuring out how to attach the boxes so they don't rattle. I marked the location of the holes and then drilled and tapped them.

Next I drilled and tapped the ankle cylinders so the wedges can attach to the cylinders. I lined up and measured the first cylinder and made a jig to do the other 3. A few adjustments need to be made before the cylinders and attached wedges can be moutned on to the ankles. I expanded a few holes, but the center ankle has one wedge combo that is really going to need some fitting.

I primed and test sprayed a piece of scrap to test the Krylon X-Metal purple as an alternative to the elusive Rustoleum. More to come on that.

The last thing I worked on was mounting the LDP to the frame. I mounted the LDP and marked it's location. I then drilled and counter sunk holes for screws. I now just have to drill and tap holes in the LDP.

Back to the Feet

2008-07-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

Not much going on since I have been busy. I did counter sink the holes in the center foot shell and attached some screws to the foot strips. I will do the same for the outer shells tomorrow.

PSI Test

2008-07-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ok so now a test with the PSIs. This is a lit room, and the camera exposure adjustment is going a little crazy causing some weird color transitions that aren't there in person.

Update:
The color transitions are are fade the color switches immediately using a different command.

The tube is a resin on from Keith. The the filters are pieces of milks jugs. There are 2 inside the tube and the one that is being held is the rough part, usually at the handle. The color test is the same test routine as was done with the holoprojectors. The tube is open at the back and the inside should be lined with aluminum tape to improve the lighting effect. There is a little bit of a hot spot, not as much as it appears in the video, but if the LED is moved further away it goes away without any decrease in the lighting

My Archnemisis

2008-07-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

Well my ambitious plans to have the feet and legs 98% done over the weekend went down in flames, as real life stepped in. I did get to play around with my new LEDs for the Holoprojectors some though.

Some things I did get done over the weekend:
1) enlarged the holes on 1 foot shell to allow the KHFings to fit with the foot strip in the correct position.

2) I started cutting some more of 1 leg to figure out how to install the under the shoulder details.

3) I took on my archnemisis... the top ring of the frame.

For my Large Data Ports to fit, I have to cut back the top ring's slot about a 1/4". This piece has gone through a couple fo cutting disks without and head way. Well I started cutting perpendicular slots for about 1" along the area to be cut. I then dremeled down until at least this area was cut off. Now that I had a little area to work with, the recip saw came out and took care of the rest of the ring.

Ace Hardware

2008-07-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Ace is a great place to find almost anyhting you need to build your droid. the problem is store are really hit or miss as to how good they are.

At the risk of giving up a good resource. Those builders in Atlanta, I have found one of the best. This one is on Highway 120 just above I-285 and off of I-75N. It is across the street from Sherlock's. This store just opened up as it moved from another site. The selection of hardware is one of the largest I have seen and almost everything is in stock. The store is wider than it is deep and the entire back wall is lined with screws, nuts, and bolts. They have stuff in their drawers I have not seen at other stores and put The Big H and L to shame.

Holoprojector Illumination

2008-07-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Well I now have a new toy to play with. I have just been testing it now as it just came in last night. These look like they are going to work out very well. A quick teaser until I can get some photos and have the time to write something up on it. I also wanted to test out how the our HD camera's video shows up on the blog.

BTW, the video was taken in a lit room with all the windows open. This setup is only the default color switching. The real setup will be a blue flickering. The flickering can be sequenced to sound or programed into the LED. The programed version makes only power vires to be run up to the LED to trigger the color changing.

Ankle Details

2008-07-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Nothing special today. During lunch I went to check out an Ace near my work. It turns out the Ace is fully stocked in screws and hardware. I picked up a bunch of new screws and lock washers to mount he ankle details. These replaced the hex socket cap screws that came with the hardware.

I plan on going back tomorrow to get some more screws and other hardware for some ideas I have to mount the other details on the legs.

Hoses and Feet

2008-07-22T04:59:00.000-07:00

Had to goto a homeowners meeting so I only had enough time to enlarge the hole for the hose fittings. No picture since this was a basic operation.

More Foot Work

2008-07-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Rounding out the weekend, I decided to work on the feet some more. I marked out the holes in the side of the foot shells for the motor mounts. I then cut the holes out using my Dremel. I then mounted the motor mounts and marked and drilled the holes to mount them to the foot shells.

I decided to also take a look at the under the shoulder details. I drilled a small hole to tap a threaded rod into. I will cut a hole in the legs to allow me to use a wing nut to attach the detail to the legs.

Booster Mounting

2008-07-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

Toady I decided to mount eh booster covers on the legs. I have some older legs that do not have the keyhole slots sut in them, so I had to make my own mounting system. First I fitted everything together and marked out where the boosters sit on the leg. I used the center strut as a guide.

Next I measured where the holes where on the booster and marked them on the legs.

I then double checked my measurements with the blueprints and I even put a piece of paper on the boosters and punched holes in it where the screws go. I then lined the paper on the legs, just to triple check everything. I drilled the holes for the screws and then drilled a larger hole .375 inches above the smaller ones. I used a small thin hack saw blade to cut teh connecting piece between the two holes. Once I had a channel between the two holes I filed the channel flat.

Large Data Port

2008-07-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

I had a few panels on the skins pop off, so I cleaned them up and re JB Welded them on.

i also took the frame apart and looked at the large data port slot. Thsi slot need to be cut to allow the piece to sit further back. I took the top most horizontal piece off the Utility Arm carrier and then put the LDP into the opening. I clamped the LDP ontot he top ring and marked the cut. I now just have to cut the frame. Looks like it is time for reciprocating saw to come out.

Foot Work

2008-07-16T05:27:00.000-07:00

I need to cut the holes for the foot motors. I started marking out the hole on the foot shell and took out the handy Dremel. I almost finished the first one before I had to stop for the night.

No pictures yet... I so covered in metal filings, slag, and pieces of cutting disk that i didn't want that all over the camera.

Rear Door Attachment

2008-07-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

I started attaching the rear Door to the back of the droid. I am still waiting on some magnets, but I fashioned a "channel" for the top of the skins to slide into. I used some scrape pieces of skin since they had the correct curvature. I JB Welded them onto the top and will attach the bottom of the skins with magnets. The top slides on perfect.

A Labor of Love

2008-07-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

I realy thought that the skins would all be done today... BUT I had an issue come up last night an I was only able to get a few of the remaining panels on. I only have 3 more panels to attach and the skins, minus the doors, will be done. I am kind of burned out on skins at the moment and looking back I probably should have worked on somethign else after doing the rears. There is much innovative stuff to doing the skins, but, file, glue, then clamp. At least this weekend I will be able to move on to mounting brackets, feet, and the dome. I haven't really decided on what to do next. I may move onto the mounting brackets to get some skin panels attached. I do have to cut the holes for the feet as well. I probably will do a little of both. I have some ideas on mounting the detail pieces, but we will have to see.

Skin Me

2008-07-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

1 more night and the skins will be done, except for the doors. Tonight The front skins got one last filing and then were JB Welded together.

I actually used every single clamp I have and I could still have used a few more. I went the JB Weld route on the front because there aren't too many panels like the rear door to apply JB Weld from the rear to fix any issues. So now I am covered in JB Weld marks, but the skins are almost done. I used the coins slots to help align the skins, but once the skins were clamped I removed them. Toothpicks make great helpers in clamping the skins between the coin slot openings.

I also foudn some spots where the rear door was pulling apart. I clamped it together and applied some JB Weld to hold the pieces together.

Some Fixing, Finishing, and Some Prepping

2008-07-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

I lightly sanded the feet and sprayed another coat of primer on them. This should do them until the white paint... or more primer after I cut the motor holes.

I then fixed the skins in the the area where the Super 77 didn't adhere the skins very well. I mixed up some JB Weld and clamped the skins together.

Next I started preparing the front skins to be bonded together. First I needed the coin slots to be able to attach to the skins. I had already cut the holes, but I needed to coutner sink the screw heads to be flush with the inner skins. I then used some of the JB Weld mixture and welded the screw heads onto the inner skins.

Yes, from the images you can see that the coin slots are backwards. This is to keep the coin slots away from the JB Weld on the screws but still keeping the screws aligned and in position.

The Prime Directive

2008-07-07T19:38:00.001-07:00

After another quick cleanup I primed the feet. I made sure that the inside got good coverage, especially on the welds and seams. I will probably lightly sand the outsides tomorrow and give them another light coat on the outside. The CLR really took the rust right off. I just applied teh CLR liberally to the foot shell and let it sit of a minute. I scrubbed the shell with a metal brush and wipe it down with another rag soaked in CLR. I did this about 3 times. After the 3rd time I coated the shells in CLR again and scrubbed them with a 3M scuffing pad and wiped clean with a dry rag. After they were dry I primed the shells.

I still haven't decided how much foot work I am going to do just yet. I know I need to get the front skins done so they are out of the way.

Feet

2008-07-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, something besides skins. Well I pulled out my feet today and noticed a little bit of rust. Yea, I know I should have primed them before, but they were stuck in the back of the storage unit and I couldn't get to them. I rearranged the whole thing this weekend, so I found the feet and decided to prime them. Well I saw the rust, so out came the wire brush, chemical rust remover, and sander. The rust remover took the rust right off. I had to do a couple of passes of the chemical and wire brush, but they are now nice and shiny. The feet are now rust free and will be primed tomorrow.

Full Frontal

2008-07-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well with the rear skins adn door done, I have moved onto the front skins. I got all the doors and panels cut out and the small door and the 2 long doors JB Welded up.

For cutting I have found the best tools to use is a hacksaw blade. The blade is just the right size for the slots, so it cuts almost all the tab away. It also only take about 3 swipes of the hack saw to remove each tab.

The Rear is Done

2008-07-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well I attached the last of the panels to the back door. The rear skins are now done. I just have to attach the doors, when I decided on hinges. I also have to make a mounting system for the rear door.

Time to move on to the front skins. I have to also cut the LDP slot back in the front. I am not really looking forward to this. I also may rewire the front logics and start wiring up the rear logics. I have to start figuring out what to do for hinges too. The dome maybe next on the list of items to cut. As it stands the outer dome panels are cut and filed, but the inner panels need to be cut. All the circular holes have been cut as well. The Radar Eye has also been mounted, so I really just need hinges to really move the dome along.

Method to My Madness

2008-07-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

OK, so I am working on the skins at the moment. There really is a method to my madness. The first thing is to cut the inner rear door before all the panel are removed. This gives the skins a more rigid structure so the skins don't get a bent out of shape. After the inner door is cut and double checked, the inner panels are removed. I then removed the outer panels and JB Welded the inner and outer doors and panels together. I fit the doors and panels to the skins while the skins are clamped to the frame. This gives the correct curve the panels and doors. If you have handled the inner and outer skins for a while, it is amazing how rigid they get when glued together.

With the panels JB Welded together I used them on the rear door to make sure it was at the correct curvature.

So my steps to forming and attaching the skins were:

!) Remove the outer panels.
2) Cut the Rear Door
3) Remove the inner panels.
4) Clamp the skins back on the frame
5) JB Weld the doors together using the frame and skins to make sure the doors keep their curve
6) Super 77 the skins and door together, using the frame again as a guide.
7) Since the skins and door are still flexible, now use the doors and panels on the skins to shape them while they are JB Welded together.

Thanks to Darren for the Super 77'ing the skins together idea.

More Rear End Work

2008-07-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

The little panel on the rear skins wasn't holding too well, I could push it out with my finger very easily. I decided to JB Weld it in from the back side.

I then went on to attach the large panel on the rear door. I again JB Welded this panel on to the door. After a while I checked to make sure the clamps did no adhere to the door.

Rear Door Work

2008-06-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

We had a picture party with the group we went to Israel with, so I didn't have too much time to do much on R2. I took out 2 of the rear panels and mixed up some JB Weld. I applied the mess to the edges of the skins openings and clamped the panels in place. Next will be the large panel at the top and the 3 smaller ones at the bottom. The center door, I think I may make it a door as was shown in EPII.

Skin Attachment

2008-06-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

God has looked down on me and said that I can do some R2 work. We did have some storms come through, but it seemed that everytime I went outside teh sun came out. There wasn't any hail or tornadoes. So...

Got to work on R2, for a little bit! For about 15 minutes on Friday I cut Out the inner rear skins octagonal port. Sunday I cut the front octagonal ports adn the power coupler. I then went to work on the rear skins. I detached the outer skins door panel. I then filed down any remaining burrs and tabs in the inner and outer skins. A quick clean up of the skins and they were ready to be attached.

I decided to go the Super 77 route. Sprayed the inner skin's outside and the outer skin's inside, make sense? :) I attached the inner skin to the frame and started wrapping the out skin around. I used my cheap clamps the hold the skins in place as i went. I was going to take picture of the steps involved, but this stuff dries quick and needs to be put on while tacky. Just to be sure I kept the skins clamped for about 30 minutes. I took the clamps off and everything was solid.

i then moved onto the rear door. Again I clean the panels and sprayed each side and let dry. I positioned the panels and started attaching and clamping. After about 30 minutes and Took some the clamps off to see how it worked. The were some spots that did not stick, os I wiped up some JB Weld to seal the open seams. I didn't think the Super 77 was going to hold well on the areas where there isn't a lot of surface area. I will probably JB Weld the rear door's panels on since that area will see some abuse being a door.

Building Delays

2008-06-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well we are back from our trip to Israel. Preparing for the trip took away all building time before the trip, and now that we are back building time... Well there is a road block. We have to organize our picture before we forget what they are. I took about 250 pictures while we were there. My wife took well over 1,000. Then there is the over 3 hours of HD video to go over.

The trip was an amazing trip, one I would highly recommend to anyone. We just happened to arrive in Jerusalem during the 40th anniversary Jerusalem Day. A great time by all who didn't have their hotel rooms right outside the place where the University of Israel puts on a huge concert every year. My wife and I first get into our room and step outside on the balcony and say... Hmm I wonder what teh huge stage is for? Well we found out that night, and were reminded about it until 6AM. For some reason the hotel front desk didn't know the English word for refund at 1AM. Pictures coming as soon as I get through them.

Extreme R2 Building

2008-05-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

I really wasn't going to do a post about how i can't build, but I really have been cursed lately. I am trying to get something done before our trip to Israel on the 26th. I really want to get the inner skins cut so I can weld the inner and out skins together.

So far Monday we get a huge beef tenderloin, so I have to preform surgery on it and put it into the freezer. After clean up, it is too late and dark to be outside grinding away at metal. Oh well we have some good steaks to eat later. I am sure cooking them will eat up more building time in the future.

Next the Gods took exception to me trying to get the skins cut. It looked like rain, but I still went outside on our covered deck. Rain was coming down, but I was dry. I proceeded to lower the Dremel onto the cut line. It starts to cut and the power goes out. The wind starts to pick up and I get all the tools and R2 parts put away, in the dark, when it begins to hail. Lots of hail.
The wind picks up a little more, when we hear about a tornado warning in our area. Funny how you can't hear the tornado sirens with a Dremel cutting metal. No damage to our place, but I do feel a certain dedication to my R2 now that I have done some building in a tornado. The gauntlet has been thrown down by Darth Moose to run out in a lightning storm with R2's metal skins above one's head. I would do it, but the neighbors already think I am a little crazy.

Some picture updates

2008-05-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

I still have to adjust the utility arms, but they are installed on the frame now.

Not really sure if I am going to sut the inner skins to make the octagonal ports flush with the outter skins or not. They look good the way the are now. I do have to make some adjustments to the vertical support rods to allow them to line up with the holes a little better.

Power coupler cutouts still need to be cut out, hopefully tonight.

Weekend Update

2008-05-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

Well the weekend was filled with the R2 building I had hoped. The whole "real life" thing burned up time and I was not able to get to the store until late Sunday. I am lucky enough to have a Harbor Freight store near my place. The only issue with it is that it is up the interstate, so during the week it is near impossible to get to during rush hour, or hours as it is around here. So I must weight for the weekend to head up there.

To continue with my skins I am in need of so clamps with more pressure, and lots of them. This is where Harbor Freight comes in. I went to the store and looked through there clamp isle. i had gone online and found the 16 piece clamp set for $5.99. In the astromech chat I was told of a 10 piece for $4.99, but 6 more clapms for $1 isn't bad. I didn't find the clamp set I was looking for, but I did find another one.

How about 22 clamps for $3.99...

Only issue I see with these is that I don't think they are going to go back into their container...

I did clean up the rear door a little more and I marked the cutout for the power coupler. Tonight I will cut the power coupler area out and hopefully glue up the skins.

R2 build - Mother's Day Weekend Edition

2008-05-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

With this being Mother's Day Weekend, not much was done. On Friday I finished cleanup of the last of the panels on the rear skins. Each night I JB Welded 1 of the 3 panels.

This week the plans are to maybe cut the holes for the power couplers. Once these are done I can start putting the skins together. The main thing to get done this week though are the front panels, then I will be done with all the doors.

I hope to at least get the rest of the doors and maybe the rear door done this week. Next week maybe busy and build will stop again, until June, after that with our trip to Israel.

Back to work: More Skin Panels

2008-05-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Just got into town after being on vacation. I started taking off more skin panels and prepping them for JB Welding. I need to go to the store and get some supplies, so I should be able to get them together tomorrow night.

Velcro Alternative

2008-05-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

I was going around the R2 Blogs one day and while looking at Chris' I saw the reference about Velcro. In my travels at my previous job I had to find ways of mounting object to places, like the printer station that was basically a pole. This printer needed to be on the network, so I printer server was used. The problem was where to put the printer server. Well I found these little items called Superlock Fasteners at Radio Shack (#m's Dual Lock). I tried them out and they held. I was able to attach the printer server to the side of the printer.

Well I have always used these things when ever I thought about Velcro. If I bought something and it came with Velcro, it was replaced with the Superlocks.

Here is a link that explains a little bit about this product.

Another good link.

Vex Controller

2008-04-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

For the time being, after chatting with Dan... not the other one... the one in Germany, I have decided to go with the Vex controller for my R\C stuff. I picked up a controller off eBay for about $22 shipped. This 6 channel transmitter will be fine for the drive system. I plan to have a lot of moving items on my droid so another transmitter will be in order down the line.

One other option I have been thinking about doing is use an XBee attached to my transmitter. Since I will already have an Arduino in the droid I should be able to make a button panel to control doors and lights using the XBees as wireless link and leave the Vex transmitter for the drive system. It may end up being a $100 add on to expand my transmitter's I\O with this method. I will have to see how this pans out.

Panel Doors Part 2

2008-04-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

I took the clamps off the panels and one of them didn't weld together. I mixed up some more Jb Wled and resealed the panel.

I cut the center panel off the rear door and welded it together, just in case I do something with it in the future.

Coin Slots

2008-04-27T17:10:00.005-07:00

First thing I had to do was check to see if the Coin slots fit the skins. A dry fit showed that they did not. I tested the openings to see which areas needed to be filed. After the openings were widened, I marked the location on the frame rings to be cut. A notch had to be made to allow the coin slot strip to sit in it's proper place. After The marks were made, the dremel came out. A test fit and adjustment later, everything fit. I just have to mount the strip to the inner skins and they are done.

Panel Doors

2008-04-27T17:10:00.003-07:00

After the back door was cut I started removing panels. The first panels to be removed were the two large side doors in the back. I slipped my hacksaw into the slot and took out each tab holding the panel on. After the panel was detached I filed the tabs smooth. A quick clean up with acetone, the JB Weld was mixed up. The JB Weld was applied to the edge of the inner panel and then mated to the outer panel. Large black binder clips were used to hold the pieces together while the JB Weld hardened.

Large Data Port

2008-04-26T17:11:00.000-07:00

I have 2 sets of large data ports, LDP. The first set is in 4 pieces and the second one is a 1 piece. Neither of the LDPs fits the frame opening, so the frame is going to have to be cut to make them fit.

Rear Door

2008-04-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

i attached the inner rear skins to the frame and clamped the outer skins on. Using a pencil I marked the outline for the door. After the door was marked, I measured 1/8" in and marked the cut line. Taking out the Dremel and a reinforced cutoff wheel, I slowly cut the inner skins. I just lined up the wheel on the line and let the wheel sink into the skins. I then moved the wheel up the line and repeated. This gave a pretty straight line. Every now and then I would stop and just make sure the line was not showing by lining up the outer skins. This was really just for my own sanity. A quick file down on the edges and the back door was cut off.

Center vents Part 2

2008-04-23T07:52:00.001-07:00

Same procedure as with the upper center vent. This time after taping everything together I dry fit the vents into the surround. A lot of filing had to be done to get them to fit. After everything fit, I super glued the vents in place to tack them in and JB Wleded the seams.

Here are both center vents assembled.

Center Vents

2008-04-22T04:46:00.001-07:00

I assembled the upper center vent. I filed down the tabs and made sure everything fit. I taped everything in place and super glued the back side to tack them in place. Once the super glue was set, i mixed up some JB Weld adn applied it to teh non-visible seams. Tapbe came off oncethe JB Weld was set.

Skin Mounting

2008-04-19T20:02:00.001-07:00

I clamped the inner skins to the frame and lined up the center mounting bracket. i had to grind some of the bracket down to get it to fit. After everything was in place I marked the positions and took the skins off. Next I drilled holes in the frame and then clamped the brackets to the frame and drill them using the holes in the frame as a guide. I then screwed the center brackets into the frame.

I hooked up the skin brackets and and marked the hole placements on the skins. I took the brackets off the frame and drilled the skins. Then just as with center brackets I used the holes in the skins as guide to drill out the brackets. slowly I countersunk the holes on the skins, testing the screws for flushness (wow spellchecker thinks that is a word!). A quick bolt up of everything and the the skins snap right on the frame.

The Build Begins - Again

2008-04-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

After years, and I do mean years of collecting parts, the build begins... again.

I have had blogs and web pages about the build before, but it is time for a fresh start. The older pictures of the parts and assembly are somewhere in a box, perhaps in storage. When I find them they will be added.