Nerd Crew - My robotic R2D2 build v. still in progress.
 

I have quite a bit of time on my hands considering my GF still works evenings on occasion....usually 2 -3 nights per week, but enough so that I needed to find something to do with my time.

I have a LOT of tools at my disposal, so I wanted to find something that would be fun, intriguing, challenging, and rewarding. Finally, I stumbled on a website called the R2 Builder's Club. I began reading a little and was sold within a few minutes. I started back in June of this year, and have built most everything from scratch so far. I do have many parts on order like the dome (www.300mmdome.com) and some aluminum skins (it's what gives R2 his panels, body, etc).

So I invite you all to check out my build blog, take a look at my progress and just kind of show off what I am proud to have accomplished so far.

http://brandonpaith.blogspot.com

When it's done, it will be taken to area Children's Hospitals along with nursing homes, conventions, and any other thing where people might see him and enjoy the opportunity.

I know this is kind of nerdy on Chiefsplanet, but hopefully everyone will play nice and realize that this is more for charity and bringing joy to people. If you have any questions, feel free to post here or send me a PM.

LINKS.

www.astromech.net (club's website)

http://vfranco.blogspot.com (a finished R2 done step-by-step)

Mods, please move this to the nerd forum.

That's pretty sweet man.

I think you should post pics of your girlfriend though.

Thats already been done before!

This nerd approves.

pretty cool dude

Oh cool then you'll have no problem doing it again.

I always think projects/hobbies that combine a variety of skills (wood working, metal working, mechanics, electronics) are appealing.

Here is one of the both of us in Walt Disney World this past July.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7..._7761504_n.jpg

That is awesome!

Thank you!! I hesitate to tell people because not everyone thinks it's as cool as I do.

needs the drink tray from jedi

Keep us updated when you get it done. Pretty cool project you got yourself.

There is a kit for that....!!

One of the things I have enjoyed as I've grown older is being comfortable with who I am and not worrying about what other people think. If it is exciting to you, your friends and family will be interested just because it is "your thing".

And if you do care what people think, I'm pretty sure that once people see the completed working robot their tune will change. And if you take it around to show kids and others, they'll be appreciative of what you've done even if they do think it is extremely nerdy.

Have you ever thought about hooking up with one of the local school robotics clubs? There are plenty, and they kick ass... If they're part of the FIRST robotics system, they break the seal on their kits in February, then it's six weeks of late nights building their robots...

hmmmm....no I haven't ever thought about that. Might be something to consider.

Great job. That is wonderful.
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It's different, it's NOT battle-bots, but they build them pretty much from scratch, programming and all, to play a game that announced "that night" in February... There was an awesome documentary over the summer about FIRST an ABC, and it really showed what was going on. And the world finals (held in St. Louis for the next two years), was an awesome site to see...

Start here: http://www.usfirst.org/

Then check this out: http://www.youtube.com/user/FIRSTWorldTube

Sweet. I bought the interactive r2d2 for my son for Christmas. Can't wait till he sees it tomorrow. He's three so it will be life size when he plays Luke Skywalker.

She started "working nights" because you were playing with your robot.

shes sucking lando calrissian's big dick sippin on a 40

While Chewie takes her point five past lightspeed.

What about R2's rocket boosters from the prequels?

There's nothing wrong with my homemade mouse droid.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/...cbdaae5c95.jpg

Gonna find some Boba Fett to stick in her Sarlacc pit

Your GF looks pretty.. gj lol

freaking badass, man. don't be ashamed of your nerdiness, embrace it!

Awesomeness

Thanks for all the kind comments guys!! I am hoping that my aluminum dome and aluminum skins show up today, if they do.....i'll post tons of pics!!!!

Curse your metal body, you weren't fast enough!

I also just realized that there is no mail today.......what a bummer.

Tonight I got the coin slots painted and clear coated. It took some doing finding cans of Sonic Blue Pearl, but I managed after going to 3 different stores!!

So here's a look of the unpainted slots, and the two cans of paint I bought.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1324.jpg

Finally, I went and sprayed lighter coats of the blue on. I waited about 10 minutes, and would spray another coat on, and then did this three times. After the 3 coats, I then waited 30 minutes, and did a coat of clear. I waited 2 minutes for each coat of clear and placed two coats of clear on here and allowed to dry. I gave it 4 hours of dry time before taking these photos! I must say, I am very happy with the results.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1325.jpg

Now, it's time to remove the masking tape that protects the ends of the slots. If this tape failed me, then it would pretty much ruin my coin slots.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1326.jpg

so far so good.........
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1327.jpg

and finally, all of the masking tape removed!!!!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1328.jpg

Very happy with how this came out. Took a lot of time masking and prepping, but I think the end result in worth it. The only downside is I still think that this is a darker blue than I would like, however, I am keeping it for now, and will see what it looks like in a more natural light!

December 28th, 2011........what a day!!!

I came home to a big box on my doorstep! I knew what it was by the sender, but it didn't stop me from taking a series of photos!!

Here's the box as it sits...
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1329.jpg

I cut open the edges with a pocket knife.....
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1330.jpg

I open it up to find........another box?!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1331.jpg

Open the other box and reveal this round thing!!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1332.jpg

Now you can start to see the top of something....aluminum, and ROUND?
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1333.jpg

removing some of the packaging, you can see the 300mm dome!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1334.jpg

Here you can see all the pieces laid out side by side!!!!!!!!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1335.jpg

Here is a shot showing how close the two domes are in size!
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1336.jpg

December 28th!!! A day that is now a new holiday for me!!!

Melissa is pretty hot!

how do you know her name?

ROFL Shit just got real http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs/119810_o.gif

everyone has got their own unique hobby i guess

Lets get back to the Melissa thing.

:popcorn:

Today I told myself......"I will cut out some dome panels tonight"......however that just didn't happen. Before I dive into the dome, I want to make sure I know 100% what the hell I am doing, and I am just not there yet. So I took today's beautiful weather to sand and repaint my legs.

To start with, I used a thick sanding block to go over the runs on the legs. Gradually, when I could see the primer coming back and the run line gone, I would move to a different area. Here you can see what the leg looks like partially painted.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1348.jpg

After I got it to this point, I took some 1200 grit sandpaper, and sanded for awhile to smooth things out.

While this was going on, I figured it was a good time to go ahead and paint the middle leg and skirt as well. The painting of them went a LOT smoother than my main legs did the first time. I thought standing them up would give me an advantage the first time, however all it did was cause the paint to run. The paint on these two turned out fairly well, except for the skirt.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1349.jpg

While painting the skirt, I quickly noticed a problem. Because I layered MDF together, and never put a coat of filler or anything on it, all of the lines were starting to show through!!!! Fortunately, this is a very easy fix that just requires some wood filler and sanded. I won't have to do the whole thing, just the sides.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1351.jpg


Next, I laid the main legs on the same paper outside, and got them ready for paint. For these, really after the 1200 sanding, all I do is take a microfiber cloth and scrub them really good. This 'should' pick up any loose particles, but the real test of that will come once they dry. Fortunately, there are no bugs right now where I live (knock on wood).

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1352.jpg

And finally, a shot of when they are all painted. They look 1000000000x better, yes, I said 1000000000x. They are smooth as silk (right now) and have absolutely no runs, tomorrow evening, i'll flip them over and do the opposite side. After that, I want to give them about 2-10 days to fully dry before I clear coat them.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1353.jpg

That's it for today, it's one of those days where a lot was accomplished, and it didn't take very much time. Now that's a good day.

The mighty plastic cocks of R2D2.

This is amazing stuff. I can't make a ruler out of a 12-inch stick, so I'm always impressed by people who can build stuff from scratch.

Yup/ Your R2 unit is pretty interesting. Any chance you want it to run on steam?

Can you make one for me, Mr. God of Thunder?

FAX

I'm in for one. Thanks in advance.

ROFL

Sorry, but that's funny.

Seriously though, cool project! :thumb:

It's not funny when that little coin slot (about 4" long) cost me $45 and shipping!

AND, They can be had for about 3-4k (on the lower end for the building inclined, probably $1200 from styrene.....those that want full aluminum, you're looking around 10k, and for those like myself, 3-4k), so if you want one bad enough........I can point you in all the right direction!

Thank you......it hasn't been an easy road that it for sure. I received templates with the legs that allowed me to just rout right around them and then glue them up. Messed up several of them along the process. The frame is all 100% hand done from some plans I found.....it's taken a lot of trial and error, but it's getting there!

Steam. Care to elaborate? Right now it's planned to run off of two windshield wiper motors. The dome has a Pittman motor with a Syren motor controller

That's great, Mr. God of Thunder.

But, I would like a custom-made one. I would gladly pay cash money. Can you make it so it shoots goo and vacuums and attaches itself to my home security system and communicates with the home office security guys in beep lingo?

FAX

sadly, as much as I hate to say this, but there are already ones out there that do all of this, and tons more.

Can you attach a Fleshlight to one? My...uh...friend was wondering.

Holy crap! First all, this takes forever, about 4 hours to get everything you see here complete. In the end, it looks FANTASTIC with a few minor glitches that I can fix later.

First I want to show all my pie panels drawn out. They are numbered how they are on the outer dome so that I will be able to match them up easier.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1375.jpg

Next up, I start drilling hundreds of tiny holes all around the pie panels......this takes forever. I did it without stopping and only broke 3 drill bits!

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1376.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1377.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1379.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1380.jpg

Next, I had to get the panels out! I did this a unique way. I used my Dremel with a reinforced disk, what I did, was slowly trace along the edge of the drill holes so that I had a "track".......then on one end of the drill holes, I used the Dremel to go ALL THE WAY down through the aluminum.....like pictured below.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1381.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1382.jpg

Then, what I did was throw some WD40 on there, take my hack saw with a handle, and quickly and easily cut the piece out.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1383.jpg


Next up, was to file the inner dome cutouts....I started slowly.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1384.jpg

Eventually, I got them all fairly smooth. I will still go over them again at a later date to make them even smoother, but so far I am more than pleased.

Next, I had to do what any guy would do........test it with my outer dome! As you can see, the results are pretty good!!! I wanted to start filing the cutout pieces (that attach to the bottom of the pie panels) but decided it was time to take a break for a day or so and recoup from this long mess! Here are the test pictures!!

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1385.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1386.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...P/IMG_1387.jpg