CNC Tutorial Blog for droid builders

[Droid]

What do you mean by Divinci code? If I'm correct, the Divinci code is some sort of big secret, right?

Maybe I'm reading your post wrong....

no wayne, its just that there is some secret handshake that people have to do to be a member of r2builders and agree that they will not share things outside the group. Why is this? I dont understand... There is a paranoia about people gaining access to these things. Is a Droids Dimensions forbidden to anyone not part of the "in crowd". Why is being a fan of a movie require all these rules before joining A group?? I love you guys, but there is some double standards in place. I wont argue I have been wrong in some things, but I will not let you question a free and open set of source code to me and anyone else who wants it.

 

[PetarB]

Wow, awesome thread - thanks for posting! I've always dreamed of making a little robot slave for my household. This is very inspirational! Not interested in the politics, just grateful for someone showing the way....

 

[womo68]

no wayne, its just that there is some secret handshake that people have to do to be a member of r2builders and agree that they will not share things outside the group. Why is this? I dont understand... There is a paranoia about people gaining access to these things. Is a Droids Dimensions forbidden to anyone not part of the "in crowd". Why is being a fan of a movie require all these rules before joining A group?? I love you guys, but there is some double standards in place. I wont argue I have been wrong in some things, but I will not let you question a free and open set of source code to me and anyone else who wants it.

Fair enough, but I wont let you make false accusations and ridiculous comments about a well respected group. I have no idea what you're talking about regarding secret handshakes and back room politics. I would think if there were...I would be in the know. I'm also tired of people protecting their sources...there's a reason people work behind the scenes...I'll let you think about that.

The plans that are so secret are available to anyone who joins the group. The only requirement is that you send a welcome message to Dave you're not a spam-bot.

You are not the victim here and quite frankly I think you have a cool project going on. But to say that you only want to further the plans for anyone so we all can have them....they already are free and available to anyone!

So let's not go down this road of "kits" and "building services..." shall we? There's no politics here and if you want to make me look like the bad guy, I'm ready to accept that mantle. Refrain from using the groups name, info and slandering members on your blog. Also refrain from creating sock puppet accounts on either boards. These are not accusations, these are facts.

I have no control over what you do in private but again, just as you won't have people questioning your motives...I wont have you do the same to our club on the largest prop website there is.

Good luck with your project.

wayne

 

[Droid]

your not the bad guy, and neither are they. Its a repsected group, and I think I have made that clear on many mentions on the blog. I believe I even encourage people to join it. Ill refrain from mentions of the club and not further any arguments here, as this is a completely different group.

 

[Vaderman]

Wes, what gets people riled up is the use of the files, that are provided freely, for profit.

So, if someone takes the time to create a file for a frame and posts it for free on the board, to encourage others to make a frame. Then, a third party downloads it and starts making them and selling them.
It defeates the purpose of the work the person did when creating the files, testing them by building and trouble-shooting, etc.
Also, they are posted for free in a club environment where people freely share a lot of information.

As you know, people take these files and create products they sell on eBay.
It's no different than when MicDavis posts his Gary Seven ID cards here, for free, and someone else prints them out and sells them on eBay for $10.
It's just an opportunistic or slimy thing to do, depending on your point of view and it takes from the person who was giving freely of their talent and making money off of it.

Especially on the R2 board where plans are posted all the time with specific comments about not using them for profiteering.

Added to all of that, is the relationship that the R2 builders enjoy with LFL. The group exists and is acknowledged as long as people are not selling the whole droid, complete or in kit form. Also, no one is permitted to make a profit from running parts.
You know all this very well, but others here don't.

To blanket it all under "politics" is disingenuous at best or obfuscation by omission of details.
Dave has worked for years on those plans and was very happy to provide them to the club. Membership is free, anyone who wants them can join and get the benefit of the knowledge base that is there as well.

You are providing information on how to create using a CNC, which is great, but you don't mention the work that so many have done to produce those files that you adopt and use to produce products.
As many, many people here know, it can take years to get details right on a prop.
And, as a former long-time member of the club, you are well aware of the incredible amount of work that went into gathering the information that is there.
This is not so different a group. There are many members that cross over between this and the R2 builders.

It's nice that you want to help the world become a better place through the use of CNC machines and your tutorials and information. Really.
But is there nothing else you could have taken on as subject matter, besides an R2?

You HAD to know it would engender a strong reaction. I don't think you have even seen a strong reaction yet, actually.

 

[wook22]

great blog! I love to follow the progress.....

 

[Droid]

I do not begrudge the r2builders for anything, they all are all a respectable and highly regarded group of people. They have given tons to the replica prop community, and they continue to on a daily basis.

Now the reason I choose an r2 as opposed to other items... well that's where I have a passion. I love an r2, people love R2, everyone recognizes it. I mean, what else besides and R2 can get naked guys to Pose next to it at Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco!!!!

Dave asked me to remove his plans from my site... I did. Look at my site, you will never see a criticism of the builders, only praises and even links to the r2builders site. I said my peace in the post about Rumor's SIGH.
I was contacted by the founder about the frame plans, they have been removed. We are working on some different ones at the moment using the EGG CRATE design which works very well for frames cut with a CNC. Also, my current leg plans and feet plans are all based on the specs based on my parts runs from 2003-2004, and cross referenced with the current designs....(these runs which caused the initial troubles I had with the builders, and believe have since rectified) the specs have not changed since then. I am not going to argue with anyone here about this, we can take that off board.

I will though continue to offer tutorials and files and soon to come electronics tutorials and dome tutorials to make a droid. It will be a complete blog with all the tools in 1 location for people to do this if they are a cnc enthusiast from stuff they can buy locally.Some times I will make adjustments in my files to compensate for locally available materials though.

There are already 8 people who have mostly created droids and posted pics on CNC specific boards due to my blog. They are not even prop enthusiasts... just Star Wars Fans. I understand the plans are free. But they do come with restrictions which you must agree exist. Any person doing parts runs in the group gets the parts from a machine shop which charges for labor and parts... that is fine, but if a member of the group has the means to do these parts themselves, its not OK to charge for labor and machining costs. That is where we differ from opinion greatly.

Anyway, my views dont matter, I am not a member of that group My downfall is I make my real world persona accessible by email, phone numbers etc, in so many places. But I feel Honesty is the best thing to do... If anyone decides to do business with me they get my email, phone number and home address... that seems lacking in so many people doing parts runs, here on RPF or in other places on the web.
Ill even post my phone number for anyone with questions. 415- san francisco area code... 886-R2D2 (7232) in case anyone wants to talk in person... Call me, talk to me, ask what you want... I bet no one else here will offer up their phone number... call me if you care and really want to know how things went... but keep in mind I am on California time.....

 

[Droid]

If I dont see things your way, am I wrong, or just different??? think about it...

 

[Vaderman]

I mean, what else besides and R2 can get naked guys to Pose next to it at Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco!!!!

Well, I beg to differ. These guys will pose with anyone and anything, as far as I have seen! :lol

I am not going to argue with anyone here about this, we can take that off board.

When you say "we" it sounds like you mean me. I don't care to argue with you about anything on or off.

I understand the plans are free. But they do come with restrictions which you must agree exist. Any person doing parts runs in the group gets the parts from a machine shop which charges for labor and parts... that is fine, but if a member of the group has the means to do these parts themselves, its not OK to charge for labor and machining costs. That is where we differ from opinion greatly.

Fascinating. How is it you are able to discern my opinions about the agreement between LFL and the R2 Builders group?
It is their stipulation that members not be allowed to make a profit from their intellectual property, not mine. I didn't negotiate with LFL in any way, nor did I get to set any of the rules.
As a member of that club and enjoying the support they have given the group over the years, I can certainly accept the rules they have laid out though. I mention it here because you haven't and it may be of interest to people who do want to go ver and join that group and build up an R2. Making references to secret handshakes and likening it to the "DaVinci Code" does the group a tremendous injustice, despite fawning on your blog or elsewhere.

Anyway, my views dont matter, I am not a member of that group, and I welcome that so called "STRONG REACTION" whatever that means... I love Internet Tough Guys, and there are many out there that want to bully people into seeing things their way....I am not one of them. My downfall is I make my real world persona accessible by email, phone numbers etc, in so many places. But I feel Honesty is the best thing to do... If anyone decides to do business with me they get my email, phone number and home address... that seems lacking in so many people doing parts runs, here on RPF or in other places on the web.
Ill even post my phone number for anyone with questions. 415- san francisco area code... 886-R2D2 (7232) in case anyone wants to talk in person... Call me, talk to me, ask what you want... I bet no one else here will offer up their phone number... call me if you care and really want to know how things went... but keep in mind I am on California time.....

I'm not sure what to make of this. Do you think I am trying to threaten you or are you implying that I am trying to be one of the "Internet Tough Guys" that you love?
Let me clarify:
You got, in my opinion, a strong reaction from members of the R2 Builders group when you resurfaced last year.
You posted very friendly, helpful posts and were met with people who remembered your past actions and seemed to react negatively to you. I thought you agreed with this reaction as you said you didn't want to participate on the board any longer since it was clear to you that you couldn't get past people's feelings or perceptions of you.
I am certainly summing things up and paraphrasing here, but have I missed what was going on? To leave a board that you speak no ill of, due to people's personal attacks would seem, to me, to be a response to a strong reaction from a large group of people.
Were you not aware that many of those same people are here too? You may never hear from anyone, but I would think, leaving that environment and coming to this one and starting a discussion thread and then a blog about building an R2, you might expect to hear from those same people.
They can call you or do whatever they want.

That's what I meant by a strong reaction and why I didn't think you had seen one yet. You may never.

You do not owe me money or parts and you have never wronged me. I am enjoying the cnc discussions.
I am not trying to get you to see things "my way."
I am posting to clarify things that are being alluded to and paint the R2 group in an unflattering light.
Better for people to go check it out for themselves.

 

[Droid]

thanks for that post Guy. It puts things into perspective. I do not mean ill will to any person part of r2builders. I only mean that I am not conforming to all their rules.

No of course I do not want to make a war with you or anyone. I took your comments wrong.. sorry for that. You have been kind to me, as so many others have, wayne, mike [...] included. I dont want to upset you guys. Good did come of my return to the group though, some old debts were settled. and I feel good about that so even though it was short lived, some wrongs were taken care of..

You will never hear me say a bad word against a builder again. I promise. And I will also refrain from any side snide comments which I know I have done in the past.

I will however continue the blog and in the case of parts I did not design, come up with new designs based off my own experiences. I apologize to you, the group, and most of all Dave [...], you have all been very good and informative sources over the years. But even after coming back to the group and getting the cold shoulder from so many, it got pretty old very quickly... I will give you an example... after coming back, I was banned from the r2sf group (a group that seems to not have a single person in san francisco), with no reason and no emails answered( and I sent severeral to these people). That was the first stab..

then I tried to buy a styrene dome from Cole [...]... several emails (more than 6), no response... I figured out what was going on, a conspiracy against me, with people who never even had dealings with me. That is what really pissed me off. This was confirmed through a post he made about me. That set me off... [...]

Then I decided I will take my skills and abilities and do it my way. It was never meant as a grudge against Dave, the group or the council.

its not the council's fault , not most members fault, but these couple of issues is what made me leave the builders and go upon things on my own...

I find one thing funny... The R2SF guys shunned me and chose to ignore me, well I have teamed up with a commercial CNC maker for the Makers Faire... our goal will be to show off a CNC machine by making and donating a complete droid over the course of the makers fair weekend... we will be handing out usb drives with all of our project files for the serious cnc hobbyists.. I will make sure Daves plans are not on there though... Funny thing is the builders will be in the next room, at least I assume they will be since they have been for the last couple years... This could prove interesting. I will visit them and ask in person what their problem was/is with me, I assume it will be as cowardly as their responses to email have been... But the makers are welcoming us, so that is an affirmation I welcome. They choose not to answer in electronic form, but lets see what happens in person....

 

[Vaderman]

Cool, glad that is straightened out and we can discuss CNC machines!

I do have one irony to point out though...

You will never hear me say a bad word against a builder again. I promise.
... ...
This guy is an ass in my opinion ...

:angel

I had to point that out since it struck me as so funny.

Not the situation mind you, I do not know what was going on, nor what the situation is with the R2SF group, but just the proclamation, followed by the rant. I realize you were making a point and it was in that context, it still made me LOL.

I am really hoping to get up to Maker Faire this year! I missed last year and had hoped to bring my son up for it. I know he will have a blast!
Just couldn't afford to do it. This year may be worse, finance-wise, but it's such a fun motivating event! I really love the atmosphere.
Senna and McMaster are also going up with their WALL•E builds to join the R2 builders.
If I do go, I seriously doubt I would bring anything except my kid.

Besides a CNC, I have had my eye on a Makerbot or really "any" 3D printer/extruder.
That looks like another really fun toy. Again, requiring some 3D software skills!:cry

 

[Droid]

yes, lets stop negative talk, its pointless..as far as cnc talk, I think you could take any standard CNC, and put the plastruder on it like the makerbot... I havent investigated fully, but what software supports these things? its a bit different than MACH3.

As far as 3d skills, if you can manuever in sketchup. and understand the tutorials in cut2d, you understand cnc... that only leaves mach3.....

 

[Droid]

Cool, glad that is straightened out and we can discuss CNC machines!

Besides a CNC, I have had my eye on a Makerbot or really "any" 3D printer/extruder.
That looks like another really fun toy. Again, requiring some 3D software skills!:cry

Its not that hard, prepare yourself with tutorials before you get your machine... then just try a few simple things, you will be a pro in weeks...

 

[Droid]

Moving forward, the build continues. There is a new frame design which , as well as some files for creating an inexpensive scooter motor / belt drive system from 1/8" styrene. A few dollars in styrene and 2 scooter motors at about 24 dollars each on ebay will drive your droid. Also, Bay area makers have granted me a booth to demonstrate an r2 build at the Makers Faire in San Mateo in May. Our challenge at the fair, make as complete a droid as possible in the 3 days of the Makers Fair.... Challenge accepted. Scooter frame tutorial not up yet, but hope to get it up with pics tomorrow. R2D2 Building Blog

 

[Droid]

My CNC machine has been down for some maintainance, so not many new posts.. However I decided to get into some inexpensive electronics tutorials for people wanting sound and lights for their droid replica. I have come up with a system that links with a channel on your radio control that triggers sounds. The first step was posted here today: Lets start on Electronics! » CNC and R2D2 - The Ultimate Building Blog

I will add the code and instructions for wiring to an rc control later in the week.....

wes

 

[Droid]

Apparently the VMUSIC2 is discontinued, if anyone knows of any other options, please post them...

 

[Droid]

CNC machine is repaired, and the bog continues. I created a cnc design for motor mounts for scooter motors out of styrene. Put them together today and ran R2 on them for about an hour, sidewalk cracks, quick turns... they hold up fine... Its an inexpensive alternative to machined metal, and works just fine. Time to make R2 Mobile » CNC and R2D2 - The Ultimate Building Blog

 

[womo68]

Hi Wes,

I'm trying to make it out to San Fransisco to Makers Faire. Will you have time to talk to me about some of the content in your blog?

I tried to pm you, but you have it turned off.


wayne

 

[Droid]

Hi Wes,

I'm trying to make it out to San Fransisco to Makers Faire. Will you have time to talk to me about some of the content in your blog?

I tried to pm you, but you have it turned off.


wayne

Hi Wayne,

Yes I will, I didnt realize PM was disabled.... feel free to email me anytime at westhierry@gmail.com or even call 415-886-7232 , I will be at makers fair as well, we can set up a time to meet if you like.

wes

 

[hallam]

Thanks for the tutorial.

I am just in the process of converting my Sherline Lathe and mill to CNC. So this is timely.

My original intention had been to use EMC2 but the attitude of the forums there rather put me off. I have nothing against using open source software, in fact I was part of probably the most successful open source project ever. But having to install a particular build of a particular distribution to get the real time kernel strikes me as a kludge, as does use of the parallel port to drive the machine. No modern motherboard has come with a parallel port for at least five years. Some day the hobby CNC world is going to have to bite the bullet and work out how to do the job over a USB port.

Mach3 looks like a much better way to go.

Cut2d and cut3d look much better than the alternatives as well. I can't believe how hard it is to find CAM software. I would have thought Solidworks or AutoCad Inventor pushed out G-code as a native function. But noooo. The professional solutions are $3000 and up. My experience of that type of software is that it is usually rubbish to use, the more the product costs, the worse it is to use because the person who makes the decision to spend $10 million on a piece of software is not going to be the poor schlep who has to fight with the thing every day.