1 cool thing about insect bots!!

I am geitting ready to cut cut some parts, finally, and 1 thing nice about the little bots is that you can print a layout on letter size paper and see how big it is and whether the actual components really do fit...hahaha

especially when your bot is only 6" square...ouch!!

I've been looking at the layout invarios cad/cam software on a 42" monitor, so the thing looks enormous.

When parts started coming in, I was saying wow...is that small!!!

Now I can arrang ethem on asheet of paper and figure out where to place the gray area stuff, like on/off switch and whatever

Maybe everyone here has already heard of these tricks, but I'll share anyway:

Before we had CNC, I would occasionally print small part drawings actual size onto transparent label sheets (get 'em at Office Depot), stick them to the stock, and voila! instant guidelines.

I have also printed onto cardstock and cut out openings with an Xacto knife to test fit onto a pre-existing part (like when making motor mounts). This prevented me from spending hours machining a part, only to discover that I had either calcualted or measured incorrectly. Yes, CADding up both parts, doing an assembly, and checking for interference is the more sophisticated way (and I recommend it), but this approach gives a real 'hands on feel' that can sometimes reveal someting the virtual environment wont.

Actually on-topic: I have never bulit below 12lbs, and I cannot imagine the space & weight nightmares that small brings up--on the other hand, I'll bet it's a lot cheaper!

I've been a cad oerson since 1984....but no question that hindsite is an exact science and the ability to think in 3d is not always at 100% level

I just did the layout on paper, cause

1) my printer can finally print a full scale 2d layout, cause the bots are so small

2) I'm half brain dead (robot overload) so I need visual aids...haha

3) I have serous battery space challenges, so this allowed me to move stuff around a bit ....

4) I don't have everything drawn up in cad, so little bracket lips. etc can cause space problems

all in all it's going well, but with 1 week left, I still haven't cut any parts...lol

but soon

Quote :

I have never bulit below 12lbs, and I cannot imagine the space & weight nightmares that small brings up--on the other hand, I'll bet it's a lot cheaper!

NOT TRUE!! Triangle Bot was a mere 8 pounds at NERC and 10 pounds at Youth Fair. The most it has ever weighed is 13 lbs (its current state).

haha it's definitely cheaper, but I don't know about easier... gripping parts as small as they need to be can sometimes be challenging. Parts don't like having less than a 1/4" engagement in the vice when you're milling the top face.....

As far as layouts go, I have a system which works very well that I partially credit my dad for. My dad is a very 2D-CAD kinda guy. He still uses AutoCAD 2000 (and he designs and build huge assembly lines and automated machinery with it!!) so he used that for his bot. I have learned how to use it, and it's very simple and efficient. No relations, no geometry, just lines on an infinite blackboard-style page. It's all lines that are drawn to scale. This makes things very simple to adjust and tweak and correct and copy to another spot on the page and change something, and compare the two designs next to each other... So I just play in 2D CAD (usually top-down, but sometimes I do side views to double check things). When I make sure everything will fit, I then switch to solidworks and model EVERYTHING in 3D to check weight and any 3D interferences I might have missed in 2D AutoCAD. This works for me... I find it really difficult to go from an idea to a working 3D drawing in Solidworks. I need that intermediate layout step in 2D CAD to really play with my ideas.

We actually "print" our bots on our laser engraver. we can cut everything right to size just out of wood, much cheaper. we have a drivable wooden SnS at school its nice cause you can make sure every thing works exactly PLUS you can make sweet covers lol

Cody Harris wrote:

We actually "print" our bots on our laser engraver. we can cut everything right to size just out of wood, much cheaper. we have a drivable wooden SnS at school its nice cause you can make sure every thing works exactly PLUS you can make sweet covers lol

Any pics of the wooden bot?

I dont have any sorry i probably wont be at the school any where remotely soon either

Cody Harris wrote:

I dont have any sorry i probably wont be at the school any where remotely soon either

Isn't Alex still going there?

If so, ask him when he gets a chance...would be interesting to see....

Yeah but im not sure when the next time he'll be in the room. I'll mention it to him though