Resources for robot building with metal/plastic/wood

Too_Many_Tools

I have been helping others with robots over the years and while many builders are well versed in software/electronics, they struggle with the mechanical side....using tools and techniques involving metal/plastic/wood.

Any suggestions for sites or books for others to learn how to work with these materials?

And how about references for tools and materials...I find that the local resources are rarely adequate when it comes to buying material or tools.

Thanks

erco

Excellent point, TMT. The world has gone mad for 3-D printing, which is great. But the promise is that a 3D printer can replace a machine shop is many years away for the average person. IMO, hand fabrication will never NOT be an incredibly valuable skillset. I can rough out a mechanism or linkage by hand faster than most anyone can design & build on a computer. I would go as far to say that my hand fab experience helps me design things more intuitively than most of the current crop of students, who blow me away on digital design skills, but lack any real-world experience.

So yes, gaining experience in using mechanical fabrication tools is important, but no one's teaching it. Shop class has mostly disappeared in middle and high schools. I see late-night commercials for trade schools, a lot of engine and aircraft repair. Somewhere in our educational system, kids are directed towards either college or trade schools. Bummer. I know a lot of college kids who are book-smart but can't make anything work. And I know some car builders & mechanics who can build anything from scratch just because they have worked on just about everything.

Enough soapbox. Good on ya for helping others learn. I have nothing right now but will think about it. Hope to see others posting useful stuff here too.

W9GFO

For woodworking try http://woodgears.ca, he builds all sorts of cool stuff using wood.

This guy is good too: http://www.youtube.com/user/urbanTrash

macrobeak

Too_Many_Tools,
I believe in fast prototyping. I have found the following materials essential;
Metal; Accurate welding and drilling of metal needs time, equipment and creates a mess. I find it easier to protoype with prefabricated and pre-drilled metal sections; Actobotics or similar.
Plastic; For fast prototyping I use ABS sheet, often in combination with Lego components. You can achieve anything light with Lego. ABS can be cut, drilled, welded, formed and it is tough. This promotional video shows some ideas;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ESQCQbrAKN0
Fasteners and Shafting; Standardise on metric or imperial small diameter fasteners and shafting. Lay in a stock of bolts, nuts, shafts, taps, dies, threaded rod, bearings and accessories. For fast shaft prototypes I use threaded rod.
Wood; I avoid wood, but do use plywood at times as a bulk base.
Prefabricated metal, fasteners and Lego components are expensive to start with, but they can be reused over and over again.

GordonMcComb

Ahem. The latest edition of my book specifically addresses this, as it is a common request. Separate chapters provide desktop robotics-centric notes for working with wood, metal, and plastic. Additional chapters then present a simple project using that material. Sub-types of the more common materials are compared -- acrylic vs PVC vs ABS, for example.

I mention this because a problem with generic resources is that they cover a wide swath -- welding with 1/4" steel or using 2x4 lumber is generally inappropriate for the common desktop size bots. So it's important to match your project with the information that is available. Size matters. Tools, techniques, and materials for smaller bots are typically not very useful for larger ones. The more generic your search, the less helpful the information will be. Web sites on building dollhouses are more practical for builders of small robots than sites about using wood to frame a house.

Of course, if you're working on an all-steel 200 pound combat robot, resources for making things out of wood or light plastic or little metal pieces aren't going to be helpful, either.

Too_Many_Tools

GordonMcComb wrote: »

Ahem. The latest edition of my book specifically addresses this, as it is a common request. Separate chapters provide desktop robotics-centric notes for working with wood, metal, and plastic. Additional chapters then present a simple project using that material. Sub-types of the more common materials are compared -- acrylic vs PVC vs ABS, for example.

I mention this because a problem with generic resources is that they cover a wide swath -- welding with 1/4" steel or using 2x4 lumber is generally inappropriate for the common desktop size bots. So it's important to match your project with the information that is available. Size matters. Tools, techniques, and materials for smaller bots are typically not very useful for larger ones. The more generic your search, the less helpful the information will be. Web sites on building dollhouses are more practical for builders of small robots than sites about using wood to frame a house.

Of course, if you're working on an all-steel 200 pound combat robot, resources for making things out of wood or light plastic or little metal pieces aren't going to be helpful, either.

Gordon,

I too think a book discussing this theme would be well received.

In your current books, one of the first sections I check is for tools and techniques.

I would like to see an extensive discussion on workbenches/workspaces/workshops customized to the robotic hobby...one's workspace is an extension of the tool envelope that allows the manipulation of material to build a robot. A flat space and stuff scattered around like many people use is not an efficient and effective work envelope for successful robot building.

jdolecki

I would think YouTube

Just type in what you are trying to do and a bunch of videos will pop up.

I do it all the time.

Too_Many_Tools

jdolecki wrote: »

I would think YouTube

Just type in what you are trying to do and a bunch of videos will pop up.

I do it all the time.

Youtube has its place...but many of the videos are very poorly done.

There is really no replacement for quality material that carries USEFUL information..note the "unboxing" thread going on now to see that just because you have bandwidth doesn't mean you have quality.

I find it amusing that considering the bandwidth we have today, much of it is filled with trash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamming

"Spam in email started to become a problem when the Internet was opened up to the general public in the mid-1990s. It grew exponentially over the following years, and today composes some 80 to 85 percent of all the e-mail in the World, by a "conservative estimate""

Website and television channels both on air and cable are also guilty of it

The absence of good practical information on the Web is an embarrassment to mankind.

A site like this one is an exception to the norm and our hosts should be proud of their contribution to the greater good of humanity.

Duane Degn

Too_Many_Tools wrote: »

The absence of good practical information on the Web is an embarrassment to mankind.

Why? I'm not embarrassed. I also think the statement such information is absent is incorrect. I think there's lots of "good practical information on the Web." I think EEVblog is one of many such sources of good practical information.

In case you missed it, there was some discussion of plastics in this thread.

http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/142923-A-pox-on-acrylic.

As I mention in the above thread, I really like expanded PVC for building robots.

I'm also very fond of Polymorph as a robot building material. Here's some information about Polymorph.

http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/143947-Polymorph-The-Next-Best-Thing-to-Plywood-for-Building-Robots

Like macrobeak, I also use Lego parts in some of my prototypes (heck everything I make is a prototype). I also like a lot of the stuff Vex makes though I'm not thrilled with their little square axles. I generally use alternate mounting methods with their wheels.

Edit: Besides Parallax's great tutorials there are also nice tutorials on other sites. A lot of SparkFun's stuff is good and I really like the tutorials on Adafruit.

cruXible

The internet is the greatest repository of information, good and bad, since the dawn of man. You just have to learn how to properly sift through the effluent to find the golden nuggets of knowledge.

W9GFO

There are countless Youtube videos that are very well done, true experts sharing what they know. Then there are those videos made by people who "think" they know something. Recognizing the difference is important, sometimes not easy.

WBA Consulting

W9GFO wrote: »

There are countless Youtube videos that are very well done, true experts sharing what they know. Then there are those videos made by people who "think" they know something. Recognizing the difference is important, sometimes not easy.

Very well said and I completely agree. My skills at sorting out YouTube videos have grown in the past 6 months and I believe that skill to be a valuable asset.

xanadu

TMT, out of your 700+ posts, how many of them live up to your standards of information sharing?

There you go!

GordonMcComb

I'm unsure about YouTube as a source of subjective anecdotal information, which is what advice on setting up shop of any kind would be. But I do find videos are handy when when I want to A) see some product in action that I'm interested in or see a demonstration of steps that the written instructions convey poorly. There are some Photoshop tricks that only seem to be explainable on a video.

Fortunately for the search engines (and YouTube itself), the more popular the video, the higher its ranking. While popularity doesn't always guarantee quality -- I mean look at the Rolling Stones! -- it serves as a first-order filter.











Running away from Stones fans. Yes, they played San Diego this weekend. Called too late for decent tickets, and the millionaire that private-booked them at the Belly Up Tavern wouldn't return my calls. I mean, really!?!

Too_Many_Tools

Any other suggestions?

How about some links?...books?...to work with metal, wood and plastic?

Thanks

Roxanna77

Too_Many_Tools wrote: »

Any other suggestions?

How about some links?...books?...to work with metal, wood and plastic?

Thanks

For me, I just apply engineering principles to any of those disciplines and that alone answers many of the questions. Any further information I might glean from a more detailed Google search. I also do a lot of trial and error. Error is where I learn more than anywhere.
One thing that helps in searching, is to search in images and look for the operation that you are interested in doing.
Keep in mind also that any of those disciplines have many different facets, like "Metalworking" for instance can be sheetmetal working, casting, machining, blacksmithing. Plastics could be casting, printing , machining, etc. So searches must have some specifics for the searches to be truly beneficial.

erco

Great observations Roxanna. Please consider also weighing in on another thread about women in robotics. Too many male opinions IMO.