Wooden bots
I came across these two wooden bots and thought it might be of interest to others on the forums.
The first is a "Wooden Robot Arm" on youtube here is a link
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPqUHAn11Vw
And the other is a full Mech suit here is a link for it:
www.mikerea.com/suit.html
Al
The first is a "Wooden Robot Arm" on youtube here is a link
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPqUHAn11Vw
And the other is a full Mech suit here is a link for it:
www.mikerea.com/suit.html
Al
Comments
The suit made me think of the Wicker Man for some reason.
Attached is a pic someone sent me several years ago of some wooden tracks he had made.
That arm is just as impressive as Tomy's 1980 Armatron, which used only one motor to power all six axes through joystick-controlled mechanical clutches. Even more amazing is that 4 of the axes had two speeds. Like required reading, everyone who's into robots should be required to own one of these and study it for mechanical cleverness. Incredibly complicated, it is the brainchild of a single mad genius at Tomy. He designed & built it by hand.
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·"If you build it, they will come."
The Armatron was awesome and I wish I still had mine! My first attempt at a robot project was to hook the Armatron to an Atari 400. I glued potentiometers to several of the joints and feed their outputs into the Atari's joystick ports. These ports could also be used for digital outputs to trigger solenoids to move the levers. For two of the joints this approach was viable, but the wrist joint required a rotary encoder which was beyond my ability at the time. I didn't even have a plan how to handle the shoulder joint as it wasn't amenable to either approach. I put the project on hold and misplaced the Armatron along the way.
I'd like to claim genius on my part, but I got the idea from an Analog magazine article which is now online: http://retrobits.net/atari/armyouratari1.shtml
I think it may have been a reprint by 86 because I know I did this when I was still in my teens. The Atari was a great hackers home computer and greatly underrated. There were people controlling servos, steppers, and other cool stuff. I figured out how to controller a plotter! The 6502 assembler was nasty but I eventually got good enough at it to be paid writing code for it.
P.S. a lot of those large-scale tank builders fabricate their tracks from wood.
One of my favorites is the OWI Kabuto Mushi robot. It's basically an IR remote controlled treaded tank with a claw that closes and lifts.
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·"If you build it, they will come."
Colorful coffee table picture books? Yes.
[noparse]:)[/noparse]
A friend of mine worked for Tomy back when they made the Armatron. He owns a very rare all-transparent model that clearly shows the inner workings in all their glory. Very cool and priceless. I'll·try to get a pic.
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·"If you build it, they will come."
Post Edited (erco) : 2/9/2010 4:20:31 PM GMT
www.crabfu.com/steamtoys/steam_armatron/
another twisted idea-steam power for the stingray!
-dan
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Arguing with myself--sometimes me, myself, and I don't always agree.
(Former) Caterpillar product support technician
Searider
Anybody have or remember:
Mattel's Injector (kid's injection molding machine)
Spinwelder
Kooky Cakes
Incredible Edibles
Strange Change machine (memory plastic dinosaurs)
VertiBird helicopter
SuperStar free-flight airplane (first use of Ni-Cads in a toy)
Hairy Canary stunt plane
Major Matt Mason
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·"If you build it, they will come."
I had a college professor who interfaced one of those to an Apple//e. He did it using bicycle spokes attached to solenoids. These hooked into the base of the joysticks. Rube Goldberg would have been proud!
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Signature space for rent!
Send $1 to CannibalRobotics.com.
Of course, every generation has their favorites.
You didn't mention the Big Trak!
Also in the late 70s I had this large foam airplane, like a big glider except it had an electric motor in it that was charged up by a 6 volt lantern battery. It wasn't the SuperStar.
Rich H
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The Simple Servo Tester, a kit from Gadget Gangster.
"A Thingmaker behave consists of a program of die-cast metal molds, into which are poured a liquefied chemical center titled Plasti-Goop, which came in whatever colours and varieties. The modeling is then blistering atop an open-face automobile blistering bag oven. The Plasti-Goop is well by the heat, and when cooled, is distant from the mold, forming solid, elastic replicas.
The construct of the Thingmaker was actually introduced in 1963, as conception of Mattel’s “Vac-U-Maker” set. This omnibus behave compounded the newborn “molds and Plasti-Goop” profession with the existing “Vac-u-form” machine, which formed ultimate sculptures by vaporisation anorectic sheets of plastic, then using a clean viscus to modify the soft impressible over hornlike impressible forms. Following this launching period, the Thingmaker assets was “spun off” as a removed set, and the “Creepy Crawlers” distinction began in earnest"