Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build
I'm trying to keep everything organized on my blog. Www.trentoodeetoo.blogspot.com
I'm trying to keep everything organized on my blog. Www.trentoodeetoo.blogspot.com
Trooper_trent's R2-D2 build
- Thread starter Trooper_trent
- Start date
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Boy, yesterday was one of those days where everything I touched broke, and everything I did was wrong. I had installed an on/off switch and battery compartment behind one of the dome's side panels for easy acces, and was drilling a few holes in the inner dome to accept the magnets I had put on the underside of the panel to hold it in place. My drill bit slipped and went right into the voltage regulator of my lights! Thankfully the arduino has it's own built in voltage regulator so I was able to get it to light up again temporarily until I can get a replacement.
I also spent three hours at home depot hunting down a mixture of nuts and bolts that i had measured and taken detailed notes on before I left, only to come home and find out that almost nothing I bought will work.
After a good long break and a calm head, I got the dome panel on and was able to start assembling one of the legs. So it wasn't a total waste of a day.
Boy, yesterday was one of those days where everything I touched broke, and everything I did was wrong. I had installed an on/off switch and battery compartment behind one of the dome's side panels for easy acces, and was drilling a few holes in the inner dome to accept the magnets I had put on the underside of the panel to hold it in place. My drill bit slipped and went right into the voltage regulator of my lights! Thankfully the arduino has it's own built in voltage regulator so I was able to get it to light up again temporarily until I can get a replacement.
I also spent three hours at home depot hunting down a mixture of nuts and bolts that i had measured and taken detailed notes on before I left, only to come home and find out that almost nothing I bought will work.
After a good long break and a calm head, I got the dome panel on and was able to start assembling one of the legs. So it wasn't a total waste of a day.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Last night I glued and screwed the panels of one of my A&A legs together and let it dry overnight. This afternoon, I test fit everything to the motor holderl I am very pleased with it so far.
Last night I glued and screwed the panels of one of my A&A legs together and let it dry overnight. This afternoon, I test fit everything to the motor holderl I am very pleased with it so far.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Thanks man, I'm having lots of fun and making a huge mess.
I just spent the last 2 hours putting my center foot holder together with the casters. I decided to do what others have done to keep the casters from coliding. I got a 3" caster and a 2", then raised the 2" up on a 1" mount.
Here's the fihished A&A holder.
I had to do some pretty heavy trimming of the holder to get the foot shell to seat properly all the way around. I then used some small set screws to fix it in place. I know it's not super accurate, but you can hardly see them, especially after I paint everything.
Thanks man, I'm having lots of fun and making a huge mess.
I just spent the last 2 hours putting my center foot holder together with the casters. I decided to do what others have done to keep the casters from coliding. I got a 3" caster and a 2", then raised the 2" up on a 1" mount.
Here's the fihished A&A holder.
I had to do some pretty heavy trimming of the holder to get the foot shell to seat properly all the way around. I then used some small set screws to fix it in place. I know it's not super accurate, but you can hardly see them, especially after I paint everything.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
I finished putting together the main components of the legs tonight.
After that, I just couldn't wait any longer to see him (kind of) put together.
I did a quick test fit to make sure all my angles were okay.
I finished putting together the main components of the legs tonight.
After that, I just couldn't wait any longer to see him (kind of) put together.
I did a quick test fit to make sure all my angles were okay.
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Werstrooper
Well-Known Member
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
so full of awesome
McDonalds dude! (I'm lovin it)
so full of awesome
McDonalds dude! (I'm lovin it)
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Looking good there Trent. So I take it that you like the A & A feet? I'm going to have to get some feet in before the year is out and I'm looking for suggestions.
Looking good there Trent. So I take it that you like the A & A feet? I'm going to have to get some feet in before the year is out and I'm looking for suggestions.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Looking really fantastic.
Looking really fantastic.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
For the price, they are very decent. Make sure you if you're going with the scooter motors that you get the motor holders. That's what is pictured above. I don't have the foot shells on yet because they're not designed to take that kind of weight. Once I have the motors and wheels in, all the weight will be distributed and the foot shells will just kind of rest on top of them.
For the price, they are very decent. Make sure you if you're going with the scooter motors that you get the motor holders. That's what is pictured above. I don't have the foot shells on yet because they're not designed to take that kind of weight. Once I have the motors and wheels in, all the weight will be distributed and the foot shells will just kind of rest on top of them.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Hey thanks for the reply. I'm just building a static droid at the moment but I want to add the RC components at some point so I'm planning ahead. I've used wooden frame and legs, styrene skins and fiberglass skirt. I'm on the list for Crash's fiberglass dome as well so I hope that for a budget build, my R2 will hold up to motoring around the house when the time comes.
Hey thanks for the reply. I'm just building a static droid at the moment but I want to add the RC components at some point so I'm planning ahead. I've used wooden frame and legs, styrene skins and fiberglass skirt. I'm on the list for Crash's fiberglass dome as well so I hope that for a budget build, my R2 will hold up to motoring around the house when the time comes.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Yeah, even if it's going to be static for now, if you go with the A&A feet, definitely get the motor holders. They are designed to be very sturdy and support the weight of the droid at the ankle. The foot shells on their own would simply crush under the weight.
Yeah, even if it's going to be static for now, if you go with the A&A feet, definitely get the motor holders. They are designed to be very sturdy and support the weight of the droid at the ankle. The foot shells on their own would simply crush under the weight.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Here's a quick write up for my inexpensive attempt to mimic the look of Artoo's Front and Rear PSI from "A New Hope", as this is the version of the droid I'm currently working on.
For the lighting I'm using Teeces V3 lighting boards as supplied by Joymonkey in his latest kit run
This is the look I want to replicate.
Front PSI
Rear PSI
Starting with the Front PSI, for most of the film, there doesn't appear to be a milky diffuser on the front PSI as the lights are clear and crisp. In many shots, there also appears to be a clean line separating the red half from the blue half. Since the majority of the Artoo shots in ANH show the red half on the left, that's what I'm going for. There are several shots that show the red on the right, and it appears to me that there was some kind of sliding light gel mechanism that moved the blue to either side of the PSI.
Either way, for me, getting a close enough light diffusion and getting a clean line separating them were the only two main concerns.
To replicate this, I bought a 1 1/2" pvc coupler as reccommended by Joymonkey for his kits, and using a couple of small beads of hot glue, affixed a thin piece of pre-cut white styrene inside, separating the halves.
I then lined up and hot glued a section of drop ceiling light panel to one end of it. You can find sheets of this at home depot in the lighting section and insulation section.
I then secured this to the inside of the dome.
This is how it looks from the outside. While I was gluing on the light panel material, I tried to line up the styrene divider with one of the honeycomb pattern lines so that the divider would not be as visible with the lights off. It is much more apparent where the divider is in this photo than in person.
Next, I attached the PSI board to the back of the PVC coupler. I had tested moving the PSI board back and forth to see how the diffused light looked at different depths. I ultimately settled on having the LEDS as far back as they could go in order to saturate the honeycomb material best.
And here it is all put together with the lights off.
compared to a screen used droid (sorry, i had to take a picture of the screen with my camera phone as I don't have any way to take BluRay screen caps)
.
And here's a quick video of the front PSI compared to this screen shot. (it's harder to get a good representation on film as the lights are so bright that they bleed together through my camera lens)
Click here to see the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isS2DPOmKBc
Next, for the Rear PSI, I also noticed there was a honeycomb pattern in this scene, but I thought the lights looked more diffused and there wasn't the appearance of a clean line between halves.
So for this one, I decided to use the standard diffuser disc that came with the joymonkey kit along with the same honeycomb light panel material.
The rear PSI requires a 2x1 1/2" PVC increaser (1 1/2"inches on one side to hold the PSI board, and 2" on the other side to hold the bigger diffuser disc since the rear PSI is larger than the front)
After gluing the diffuser disc and the honeycomb material to the coupler, I attached them to the inside of the dome, same as before.
and here's the final look of the Rear PSI.
And a Comparison to the screen shot.
All in all I know it's not 100% accurate, but this mini project was free because I already had a few spare strips of styrene left and actually found a broken sheet of the honeycomb material and just asked the guy if I could have it. All it cost me was a blank stare and an odd look from the home depot employee.
Here's a quick write up for my inexpensive attempt to mimic the look of Artoo's Front and Rear PSI from "A New Hope", as this is the version of the droid I'm currently working on.
For the lighting I'm using Teeces V3 lighting boards as supplied by Joymonkey in his latest kit run
This is the look I want to replicate.
Front PSI
Rear PSI
Starting with the Front PSI, for most of the film, there doesn't appear to be a milky diffuser on the front PSI as the lights are clear and crisp. In many shots, there also appears to be a clean line separating the red half from the blue half. Since the majority of the Artoo shots in ANH show the red half on the left, that's what I'm going for. There are several shots that show the red on the right, and it appears to me that there was some kind of sliding light gel mechanism that moved the blue to either side of the PSI.
Either way, for me, getting a close enough light diffusion and getting a clean line separating them were the only two main concerns.
To replicate this, I bought a 1 1/2" pvc coupler as reccommended by Joymonkey for his kits, and using a couple of small beads of hot glue, affixed a thin piece of pre-cut white styrene inside, separating the halves.
I then lined up and hot glued a section of drop ceiling light panel to one end of it. You can find sheets of this at home depot in the lighting section and insulation section.
I then secured this to the inside of the dome.
This is how it looks from the outside. While I was gluing on the light panel material, I tried to line up the styrene divider with one of the honeycomb pattern lines so that the divider would not be as visible with the lights off. It is much more apparent where the divider is in this photo than in person.
Next, I attached the PSI board to the back of the PVC coupler. I had tested moving the PSI board back and forth to see how the diffused light looked at different depths. I ultimately settled on having the LEDS as far back as they could go in order to saturate the honeycomb material best.
And here it is all put together with the lights off.
compared to a screen used droid (sorry, i had to take a picture of the screen with my camera phone as I don't have any way to take BluRay screen caps)
And here's a quick video of the front PSI compared to this screen shot. (it's harder to get a good representation on film as the lights are so bright that they bleed together through my camera lens)
Click here to see the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isS2DPOmKBc
Next, for the Rear PSI, I also noticed there was a honeycomb pattern in this scene, but I thought the lights looked more diffused and there wasn't the appearance of a clean line between halves.
So for this one, I decided to use the standard diffuser disc that came with the joymonkey kit along with the same honeycomb light panel material.
The rear PSI requires a 2x1 1/2" PVC increaser (1 1/2"inches on one side to hold the PSI board, and 2" on the other side to hold the bigger diffuser disc since the rear PSI is larger than the front)
After gluing the diffuser disc and the honeycomb material to the coupler, I attached them to the inside of the dome, same as before.
and here's the final look of the Rear PSI.
And a Comparison to the screen shot.
All in all I know it's not 100% accurate, but this mini project was free because I already had a few spare strips of styrene left and actually found a broken sheet of the honeycomb material and just asked the guy if I could have it. All it cost me was a blank stare and an odd look from the home depot employee.
Last edited:
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
I received my acrylic lenses for the three holo projectors today. So I installed those and added a light to the front one.
I received my acrylic lenses for the three holo projectors today. So I installed those and added a light to the front one.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Great build, thanks for sharing!
I've thought about doing adding these castors to mine. Is this kind of the standard way to do it? Do you have any info or tutorials on how to do it?
thanks
brad
Thanks man, I'm having lots of fun and making a huge mess.
I just spent the last 2 hours putting my center foot holder together with the casters. I decided to do what others have done to keep the casters from coliding. I got a 3" caster and a 2", then raised the 2" up on a 1" mount.
Here's the fihished A&A holder.
I had to do some pretty heavy trimming of the holder to get the foot shell to seat properly all the way around. I then used some small set screws to fix it in place. I know it's not super accurate, but you can hardly see them, especially after I paint everything.
Great build, thanks for sharing!
I've thought about doing adding these castors to mine. Is this kind of the standard way to do it? Do you have any info or tutorials on how to do it?
thanks
brad
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
The casters I got at Lowes (number 4219 I think for the 3" one). The only thing you need to be sure of is that they don't collide and that they don't span farther than the foot shell or they'll rub the walls. I did used two different sizes so that they wouldn't rub the walls or each other.
I Don't really have any tutorials other than plan out what you want to do, measure measure measure, then do it.
The casters I got at Lowes (number 4219 I think for the 3" one). The only thing you need to be sure of is that they don't collide and that they don't span farther than the foot shell or they'll rub the walls. I did used two different sizes so that they wouldn't rub the walls or each other.
I Don't really have any tutorials other than plan out what you want to do, measure measure measure, then do it.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
Thanks man, I sure am having fun with it. I think today is the first day in over a month that I haven't done any work on it. I had nasal surgery today, a septoplasty to fix my majorly deviated septum and remove scar tissue from breaking my nose 5 times throughout my life.
So needless to say, I haven't been doing anything with him today.
Thanks man, I sure am having fun with it. I think today is the first day in over a month that I haven't done any work on it. I had nasal surgery today, a septoplasty to fix my majorly deviated septum and remove scar tissue from breaking my nose 5 times throughout my life.
So needless to say, I haven't been doing anything with him today.
Re: Trooper_trent's R2 build (Finished Dome video on Page 2)
I started assembling the legs today to get everything ready for the wheels and motors when they get here today.
Once I double checked my angles, I went ahead and put in a second screw next to the ankle bolt to lock the ankle. I did this similarly with the center foot.
Test fit some of the parts.
I started assembling the legs today to get everything ready for the wheels and motors when they get here today.
Once I double checked my angles, I went ahead and put in a second screw next to the ankle bolt to lock the ankle. I did this similarly with the center foot.
Test fit some of the parts.
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