Saturday, December 30, 2006

Glorious Hinges




I tell you, Don't use those hinges from McMaster.
There's too much slop in them and they might be cheaper,
But it's not worth it.
I got 2 hinges from www.robart.com and they're perfect.
They cost alittle more, But if you want your panels to stay in place use them.
I placed 2 side by side, The idea I got from Keith and Carolyn.
My panel opens/closes and hooking a servo to it will be alot easier.
I've got some J.B.Weld to clean up, But I had to show these hinges.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Infared Video

http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i124/ctx3201/?action=view&current=MOV01502.flv
I wanted to show how the infareds see the mirror mounted on the dome ring .
I know the video is not that great and my hands shake, But you can get the general idea.
When the Vex is first turned on the motor finds the front position.
As the Ultra is blocked, The motor will turn to that side. If the signal is lost it returns to the front position. If the signal is constant, The motor will pause for 2 seconds then return to the front position.

Monday, December 18, 2006

More Changes



The bumper switches added a drag to the dome when the switch was pressed.
So I changed them to the Infared sensors I had from Vex.
As the dome turns the Infa's light is refected by the mirrors and acts like a on/off switch.
This gives me a No Contact switch and no drag on the motor.
It's still a mess, But I will clean it up after I get some more progress.
Once I replace the rod I bent for the Utility arm movement, I'll add more pics
and video. The rod was bent because I had it on a Remote switch instead of a
Remote joystick. When that thing was activated it flew out full power and bent the rod.
Which I'm glad this happened now, If a kid was infront of R2 and it opened.
The kid would probly need a doctor. LESSON LEARNED!!!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Video

http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i124/ctx3201/?action=view&current=MOV01498.flv
This's a link to view a Video of R2 turning the dome by Remote and by Ultrasonics.
When you see my hand to the left of the screen, R2 is turning the dome not the Remote.
I need to get a quite servo for the dome, But this is what I have so far.
OOOPPSS!!!

Want to see a Mess!!


Heres some of the progress I've made on R2's Vex system.
Once I get the Legs attached and know for sure the length of the wire,
I'll clean it up then.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Vex Mounting


I started putting some of the Vex to the test and it works Great!!
I have some bugs to work out, Like the drive wheel is slipping just alittle and I did'nt buy enough cables to move the Vex to the back of the frame.
That little brown area in the front is made of wood and I'll have to change it to a plastic.
It kinda graps the switches as it hits them, I think it's because the wood is rough.
Once I get enough cables any work out the bugs, I'll post some more pics and I going to find out how to post some video.