MegaSteve

[megaman935]

Ok, me and Steve Joblin have teamed up to make this:

If you want to learn how to make this, follow along with us- If you wait for us to get it done, you won't have to worry because most likely one of us will put it in the member tutorials..

[megaman935]

Megaman - is there room for one more?  I'd like to join in as well...

I recently purchased a bunch of parts from www.phenostream.com  the scale of their building materials is really small (personally, I like small, but it may be too small for some).

In terms of a gripper design, I have looked at http://www.budgetrobotics.com/shop/?shop=1&cat=135 and http://mivasecure.abac.com/bpatton/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RS&Product_Code=GKWOS&Category_Code=RPAM as simple ideas to copy... Parallax also sells one (http://www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=28202), but seems mechanically "overengineered"

Sounds good. I've thought of possibly having a thin sheet of material in a L shape- 2 holes in the longer part. the servos would attach to those holes (the part that spins goes through the hole) and the claws are 2 separate pieces- each connects to one of the two servos. Why the "L" shape? because on the shorter part another servo would be so that the "wrist" would turn 90 degrees to pick up/grap different objects. (It could grap a wheel of another robot then let go, turn clockwise, and grab the body). in reality, the "L" shape would be 90 degrees clockwise (the shorter part points downward). 

[Steve Joblin]

totally confused by your design... can you sketch it out... I can't follow your thought.  Is it like any of the ones I noted in my post?

[Steve Joblin]

We should probably start with an overall outline:

Base Platform size (max)
Base Platform material
Drive Motors
Wheels (size)
Wheels (material)
Motor Controller
Main Microcontroller
Sensors (what types, how many, physical placement)
Gripper Design (materials, actuators)

[megaman935]

sounds good- I'd have to email you the design (tinypic I now realize ruins the computer)
and yes lets start at point 1, material... I was thinking about a wood- is that ok?

EDIT: If you look at the pic, the boxes are three servos- one standing and two laying/hanging.

[Steve Joblin]

wood is a good material because it is easy to work with, but typically doesn't work well in small scale... I want to focus on something that is no bigger than 5" x 5" x 2" at the absolute most... One idea is for us to each take a slightly different approach to the mechanics and size, but try to stay consistent on overall architecture (that is, I can make one out of metal that i 3x4x2 and you could make one out of wood that is 12x12x8, but share a similar design, use the same electronics, same type of motor, same sensor arrangement, etc.  Sound good?

Should we continue this as an offline exercise, or is there value in having others read and follow our thought process?  My vote is to keep going on this thread, but just want to check with you.

[sotu]

What do you want to achieve by making allmost the same robot but in different materials and sizes, what u mean about team if you each build your own robot? Anyhow if you both buy the same products and meet a really HUGE mistake/difficulty that cant be fixed u have both done something stupid

[megaman935]

wood is a good material because it is easy to work with, but typically doesn't work well in small scale... I want to focus on something that is no bigger than 5" x 5" x 2" at the absolute most... One idea is for us to each take a slightly different approach to the mechanics and size, but try to stay consistent on overall architecture (that is, I can make one out of metal that i 3x4x2 and you could make one out of wood that is 12x12x8, but share a similar design, use the same electronics, same type of motor, same sensor arrangement, etc.  Sound good?

Should we continue this as an offline exercise, or is there value in having others read and follow our thought process?  My vote is to keep going on this thread, but just want to check with you.

I'd rather continue this here. And yes, that does sound good. I have a piece of pine about 9 3/8x9 7/8x 3/4
because I'd rather start out with a large piece in case we need to get something larger for it. most likely I'll cut it down in size. I may not use wood but I just think it would be better if I have a robot hand on the front of it to better level out the weight distribution.

What do you want to achieve by making allmost the same robot but in different materials and sizes, what u mean about team if you each build your own robot? Anyhow if you both buy the same products and meet a really HUGE mistake/difficulty that cant be fixed u have both done something stupid

Team because Say, I'm not too experienced and if I have someone doing almost the same thing, and we do encounter a problem that we can't fix, we don't feel quite as stupid as we would if we were alone making the mistake, we are less likely to notice it in planning. I'm planning on mapping it out for about another month at least so that we won't as likely run into a problem.

[megaman935]

One thing I can be sure of- I'm going to use the microcontroller:
Arduino USB Board- 34.95 at www.sparkfunelectronics.com

[Steve Joblin]

I don't think this is going to work for me... the size you want is too big for my personal taste, and I don't know Wiring programming language, just BASIC.  Sorry... it was a good try, but best to find someone else.  Thanks anyway,

Steve

[S. Karim]

mistakes are the last things you guys should worry about. mistakes is what makes a professional. more mistakes i bump into, the more experience i have more than anyone else. shit...you should be begging for mistakes, the next time you build a robot you'll have so much knowledge (and ideas that grew from solving these mistakes), no one will be able to intimidate you.

[sotu]

I'm on a C/C++ code right now, its not with sensors though so if im making another robot without sensors and much same as the robot im working on now i can just adjust the code (Degrees of servo and position) After whats fitting my robot best!

[megaman935]

I don't think this is going to work for me... the size you want is too big for my personal taste, and I don't know Wiring programming language, just BASIC.  Sorry... it was a good try, but best to find someone else.  Thanks anyway,

Steve

I think it's rather large also- I'm open to Ideas- and I only know English lol....but if you don't want to continue... If anyone would like to make one of these with me, lease respond....If Steve says that he doesn't want to do it anymore....

[megaman935]

OK, so I guess I'm looking for a new partner, maybe with some experience in the wiring language (don't have to be good with it, I'm just looking for someone whom has used this arduino usb board before). If you aren't very good with it at all or don't know it at all, you are still welcome to team up with me. The more, the merrier!