The Penguins took over control of our CNC shop just before the holidays, and we've finally erradicated those little pests to make way for this product! Soooo, we're now in production! Electronics are ready for the Pick-N-Place and the CNC is churning out the motor mount parts.
I'm just getting into all this, am still saving pennies for the boe bot & as many sensors as I can squeeze onto it. But this.... this looks like the perfect next step. Wheels large enough to go outside and play, but not so large I'll need to build a garage for them. I'm looking to eventually have a robot about this size with a metal detector on it & enough smarts to search on it's own (supervised of course... hate to find my in the drink or in a deep ditch). Anyway, this looks like the perfect next step, after I figure out my first step.
Okay, several time ticks have gone by since the last news update from Parallax on the 12V Modular Wheel and Motor Mounts so, how about some more current news? Say, something in the last doy or two or three.
Carl
Post Edited (quickster47) : 3/3/2008 9:15:49 PM GMT
I was just trying to let Carl know we’re not ignoring him; we just don’t have anything new. The machines are running non stop here at Parallax churning out metal goodness to come your way soon!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Chris Savage Parallax Tech Support
I know that you and all of Parallax are very busy and persoanlly I really appreciate any of you taking the time to answer the questions posted here on the forums.
I was just trying to let Carl know we’re not ignoring him; we just don’t have anything new. The machines are running non stop here at Parallax churning out metal goodness to come your way soon!
Oh boy!
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
To show you our current progress with manufacturing we're posting some photos of the machined parts. We didn't include the SMT Pick-n-Place line and the electronics - just the mechanics. Hopefully you'll also find this to be a very high-quality product, especially for the cost. We spared no expense in manufacturing and design to get it right. Photos are below.
Thanks for your patience.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 3/6/2008 1:48:33 PM GMT
Oh man, That looks awesome guys, Quality, Quality,Quality. I just hope it does not cost the earth in freight to send to NZ, That's our biggest problem here. Thanks for the pic Ken.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Never give up when things go wrong, Just work them out.
StampNut2, I'm aware of the freight problems shipping to New Zealand. In the late 1990s when we started our Stamps in Class program eSource and Parallax ran about 11 BASIC Stamp Educator's Courses across your country. I've been to Hamilton, Palmerson North, Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland, Napier/Hastings, West Coast, Picturn (?), Wellington, etc. What an amazing country! Most of the teachers were concerned about freight.
But here's something in your favor: our USD is declining faster than a Bradley tank dropped out of a helicopter without a parachute. Our currency is reportedly at a 35-year low against other major currencies. This should serve to make US-made products appear to be more of a deal to foreigners, finally. Parallax is on a permanent sale until our currency rises again. This could be a long time by the looks of things right now.
One of our staff is travelling to NZ in September. I could talk her into carrying a bunch of stuff over there for you.
@Whit: I'm thinking about mounting these on a wood base of AA grade plywood. I think there's something really nice about well-finished plywood combined with machined aluminum. . . sorta a mix of materials seems artistic.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 3/6/2008 6:03:12 PM GMT
Whit: I'm thinking about mounting these on a wood base of AA grade plywood. I think there's something really nice about well-finished plywood combined with machined aluminum. . . sorta a mix of materials seems artistic.
Sounds nice. I was looking at some craft plywood the other day. It has a very fine surface and tight plys in the core too.
Don't forget the idea of some matching tail wheels! (like your gas-powered bot)
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Having been in the aerospace industry for 30 plus years I can tell you those parts look absolutely great and I can now hardly wait till they are available.
My plans too are for a larger than normal Boe-Bot type of explorer and whatever else I can come up with.
Thanks for that - we tried to spare no expense in making these. We figure that we need some low-profit items in our lineup that our customers really enjoy [noparse][[/noparse]but don't let me mislead you - we have to make some kind of profit]. After all, work is hobby for us. Most companies probably wouldn't manufacture these things because they'd scream about their poor margin and the financial or marketing people would kill it before it got started, but half of the tech-heads in the office have great plans to build robots (big Boe-Bots) out of these units. We've got the same interests as our customers with these units. Let's build robots!! Can't crash 'em like R/C airplanes!
Do you think they need anodization? I don't, personally. . . aerospace parts are often anodized so I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say.
Careful in your selection with some types of plywood when it comes to moisture. You can have nice blistering effects with some plywood if it gets wet. An example is MDF (Medium Density Fiber Core Hardwood).
I would go with something like MDO (Medium Density Overlay) or HDO (High Density Overlay) if you want smooth surface consistency.
If you want to see the grain of the wood, use something like HDP (High Density Plywood). The substrate material in HDP is often maple or birch making it stronger than other plywood solutions.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Comments
while visions of Parallax's 12V Modular Wheel, Motor Mounts and Encoders danced in their heads...
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
I'm still interested. What going on with this?
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
The Penguins took over control of our CNC shop just before the holidays, and we've finally erradicated those little pests to make way for this product! Soooo, we're now in production! Electronics are ready for the Pick-N-Place and the CNC is churning out the motor mount parts.
More to follow, I promise!
Ken Gracey
OK, it has been a little over 2 1/2 hours. Plenty of time to finish production. What's the hold up?
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Never give up when things go wrong, Just work them out.
robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/
Okay, several time ticks have gone by since the last news update from Parallax on the 12V Modular Wheel and Motor Mounts so, how about some more current news? Say, something in the last doy or two or three.
Carl
Post Edited (quickster47) : 3/3/2008 9:15:49 PM GMT
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
You guys really know how to stir up the masses. Can't wait...
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
I was just trying to let Carl know we’re not ignoring him; we just don’t have anything new. The machines are running non stop here at Parallax churning out metal goodness to come your way soon!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
I know that you and all of Parallax are very busy and persoanlly I really appreciate any of you taking the time to answer the questions posted here on the forums.
Thans a bunch.
Carl, waiting patiently as always.
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
To show you our current progress with manufacturing we're posting some photos of the machined parts. We didn't include the SMT Pick-n-Place line and the electronics - just the mechanics. Hopefully you'll also find this to be a very high-quality product, especially for the cost. We spared no expense in manufacturing and design to get it right. Photos are below.
Thanks for your patience.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 3/6/2008 1:48:33 PM GMT
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 3/6/2008 1:50:12 PM GMT
Looks fantastic!
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
I need a set right now, too!
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
I would love to see some more pictures of the robot you guys were building using these new motors and wheels!
That is what I want to do with them - kinda a big Boe Bot. There is just so much you could do on that bigger platform.
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Post Edited (Whit) : 3/6/2008 5:23:58 PM GMT
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Never give up when things go wrong, Just work them out.
robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/
But here's something in your favor: our USD is declining faster than a Bradley tank dropped out of a helicopter without a parachute. Our currency is reportedly at a 35-year low against other major currencies. This should serve to make US-made products appear to be more of a deal to foreigners, finally. Parallax is on a permanent sale until our currency rises again. This could be a long time by the looks of things right now.
One of our staff is travelling to NZ in September. I could talk her into carrying a bunch of stuff over there for you.
@Whit: I'm thinking about mounting these on a wood base of AA grade plywood. I think there's something really nice about well-finished plywood combined with machined aluminum. . . sorta a mix of materials seems artistic.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 3/6/2008 6:03:12 PM GMT
Don't forget the idea of some matching tail wheels! (like your gas-powered bot)
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Having been in the aerospace industry for 30 plus years I can tell you those parts look absolutely great and I can now hardly wait till they are available.
My plans too are for a larger than normal Boe-Bot type of explorer and whatever else I can come up with.
Thanks for posting the pictures.
Carl
Thanks for that - we tried to spare no expense in making these. We figure that we need some low-profit items in our lineup that our customers really enjoy [noparse][[/noparse]but don't let me mislead you - we have to make some kind of profit]. After all, work is hobby for us. Most companies probably wouldn't manufacture these things because they'd scream about their poor margin and the financial or marketing people would kill it before it got started, but half of the tech-heads in the office have great plans to build robots (big Boe-Bots) out of these units. We've got the same interests as our customers with these units. Let's build robots!! Can't crash 'em like R/C airplanes!
Do you think they need anodization? I don't, personally. . . aerospace parts are often anodized so I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Careful in your selection with some types of plywood when it comes to moisture. You can have nice blistering effects with some plywood if it gets wet. An example is MDF (Medium Density Fiber Core Hardwood).
I would go with something like MDO (Medium Density Overlay) or HDO (High Density Overlay) if you want smooth surface consistency.
If you want to see the grain of the wood, use something like HDP (High Density Plywood). The substrate material in HDP is often maple or birch making it stronger than other plywood solutions.
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Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
I want neither of those. I want marine grade Okoume plywood finished with water-based polyurethane. It'll make an incredibly pretty robot base.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Ahhh OK!
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Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
If I might throw in my 2 cents - The annodizing on the Penguin is beautiful, but I think I would still want natural on the wheel/motor sets.
The natural plywood with varnish sounds good with the natural aluminum too. Even the edges of the plywood can be beautiful if properly prepared.
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Post Edited (Whit) : 3/8/2008 2:05:37 AM GMT
Ditto.