PLNK Droid Build

Paul6700

Well-Known Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
There have been several recent GNK or power droids by RPF members that I have been inspired to build my own power droid. The one I would like to build is the four legged version that appeared in the Clone Wars cartoon series. This droid was named PLNK for the noise it made as well as a nod to one of the series artists Kilian Plunkett.

Here are a few artist renderings of the droid:

PLNK-series_power_droid.jpg
PlunkDroid-TCWCE.jpg Plunkplunk.png

Here is where I am with the build. I simply have started to amass the items needed to build him.
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I am going to do this build a little different. Normally the GNK Droid is built either as a costume or as a static display. A few members have even made their power droid useful in some way. Since I am doing the four legged version, I have decided to make him able to move around on his own. I am also planning on using him as my power droid, in that he will be able to charge the rest of my collection of droids.

 
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Jumping in I purchased some 1/2 inch gas pipe and fittings to act as the legs of the droid. I simply assembled these and set aside.


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Next is a test fit of the two bins I plan on using.
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I am planning on using the lid of the lower bin to act as a shelf inside the droid for my chargers. So I will cut the handles off the upper bin.
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You can see now the upper bin fits flush with the lid.

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I then cut the bottom out of the lower bin with a razor knife.
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Since this droid will be R/C, I am going to start with the robot base. I want the droid to appear as if he is walking, However I plan to have two motors in his rear feet and casters in his front feet. The walking motion, I think, will be simulated by the legs moving forward and backward.

First I am using a piece of oak as the main structure under the lid. It will be attached to the lid and will give it rigidity.
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I ended up cutting it down to fit inside the bin and centered on the lid.

Next I am using 16 inch under mount drawer slides to allow the legs to move forward and backward. The drawer slide is attached to a 4-inch piece of oak.
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The metal legs I assembled yesterday are bolted through the 4-inch piece of oak and the drawer slide is mounted to the larger board.
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Once the legs were attached, I bolted the lid onto the board. I connected the lower bin just to get an idea of what it will look like.
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Why stop at just the lower bin.
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After finishing I noticed the single drawer slide is rocking side to side and making the whole droid a bit wobbly. The slide will surly fail once I add weight and movement.

So I disassembled everything.
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And rebuilt the slide mechanism with two drawer slides per leg and used a six inch piece of oak instead of a four inch piece.
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I also decided to make him a little taller, so I replaced the eight inch gas pipe with twelve inch pipe. I then reattached the lid.
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Now back to where I started, however it is a much more stable platform.
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Thanks guys for the words of encouragement. The bins really are not my idea, since there have been lots of builds here with bins. But I do like the see-through nature of this build. I am of course going to paint the droid, but I will leave it as see-through as possible so we can see what is happening on the inside too.

so started this weekend with drawing out the backwards E and other details in foam.
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Next, I marked up the upper bin with most of the penetrations into it. Starting with the face.
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Followed by all the rest of the openings. I did not do the hose or the opening for the nozzle head. I don't have those parts yet.
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Next I will cut everything out.
 
Here are some of the parts that will go into those holes.
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Using a Dremel and a cut-off wheel, I was able to open up each hole. Then I used a sanding drum to slowly open the holes up to fit each piece.
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As with Treadwell I used some left over R2 parts on this build. The center vent surrounds are going to be two working vent holes.
 
Attached all of the different parts, starting with what will become the external outlets. I will be able to lift this cover and plug in anything requiring 110 volts AC.
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Next, I cut out a piece of metal mesh that was originally used on Treadwell. I am attaching the center vents to it and then the mesh to side of the bin, all with screws.
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The "face" piece is next. Again using screws.
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I cut out the backwards E and other shapes, but didn't take pictures. However, I did take a shot of it being glued on. At the same time I glued on the panel that will lead into the main body.
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Here is how the droid is shaping up.
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This is looking pretty neat so far. :)

I've been planning a PLNK myself and have been slowly collecting parts for it. So far I just have a few greeblies and what I plan to use for the pump.

What size tubs did you use? I've been having a hard time deciding on a good size.
 
Thank guys for all the positivness... Blue Leader, The bins are Sterilite bins and I believe they are the 26 gallon versions. I was worried about getting to big with this build, he is already getting a little heavier than I wanted.
 
Doing a little work on the inside. I thought I would make it even heavier and use more wood. The first step was replace the two top pieces I used to secure the lid. Instead I am using a single large piece to create a flat surface inside the droid.

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Next, I created a shelf with a 6-inch wide piece of wood. This will serve as the platform for my chargers. I am using half inch PVC plugs to secure PVC pipe.

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I simply drilled out the plug for a screw and attached it to the base and to the shelf.

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Attached a plastic bin inside the droid for all of my loose cords.

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Added the PVC as legs and then attached to the base.

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Thank guys for all the positivness... Blue Leader, The bins are Sterilite bins and I believe they are the 26 gallon versions. I was worried about getting to big with this build, he is already getting a little heavier than I wanted.

Ah, thanks. I've been looking and tubs but just couldn't decide on what size looked "right". Though I did see some tubs that looked like they would have been almost perfect, they even had the "trenches" running down the sides from top to bottom. Though I can't remember what size they were...
 
Ah, thanks. I've been looking and tubs but just couldn't decide on what size looked "right". Though I did see some tubs that looked like they would have been almost perfect, they even had the "trenches" running down the sides from top to bottom. Though I can't remember what size they were...

I just stacked bins in the store until I found a size I wanted to work with.
 
Where did you find tubs without wheels? I want to make a simple GNK and all the large storage tubs now have small wheels.
 

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