Monthly Archives: July 2012

Dual sensor test rig

Posted on July 30, 2012 by engineerzero

This week I’ll be testing a new screen-reading protocol for Grisbot, involving two sensors. For that I’ll need a test rig. It will be contained in a box — Pop Tarts is the prime candidate — to be held up … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged arduino, cadmium sulfide, communications protocol, grisbot, photo resistor, robotics, sensors, test rig | Leave a comment

Robot Revision

Posted on July 27, 2012 by engineerzero

Grisbot continues to evolve as I learn more about how everything goes together. According to my count, on the right is Grisbot Design #5 in Sketchup. It’s a little bit shorter, and about an inch wider than before. I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acrylic, grisbot, laser cut, revision process, robotics | Leave a comment

Grisbot in Acrylic, Assembled (sort of)

Posted on July 26, 2012 by engineerzero

It looks nice in this picture. But there are big problems. I won’t show the video; it’s way too embarrassing (and I’m wondering how I got the robot to turn so precisely a few months ago!). Even though I trimmed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acrylic, grisbot, laser cut, robotics, servo, soldering, wires | Leave a comment

Shortening Servo Wires (aka ‘Cables’)

Posted on July 25, 2012 by engineerzero

My robot looked so nice in Sketchup, but that’s because I omitted the wiring. As you can see from the above photo, the servo wires just don’t fit even though I’ve trimmed them once already. I also had to solder … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged arduino, cables, grisbot, robotics, servo, shortening, trimming, wires | 1 Comment

Post Laser Cut Checkfit

Posted on July 18, 2012 by engineerzero

The first laser cutting for Grisbot went smoothly and the blue acrylic is beautiful. Now let’s do a checkfit as the Sketchup design encounters the physical world. Here are the pieces snapped together: No problem here. The pieces come together … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acrylic, check fit, checkfit, design, i love you snowy i love you, laser cut, laser cutting, robotics, sketchup | 1 Comment

Grisbot to be laser-cut (a guided tour)

Posted on July 17, 2012 by engineerzero

Finally, the Grisbot’s acrylic casing is being laser-cut, possibly even as we speak. Here is a guided tour in Sketchup of what may actually come to be by the end of this week, starting with the front view: The ruler … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acrylic, arduino, atmega328p, design, diy, grisbot, hobby, laser cut, robot, robotics, sketchup, snowy i love you | Leave a comment

Laser Cutting the Test Box

Posted on July 11, 2012 by engineerzero

Here was the test box as designed in Sketchup: Here is what the SVG file looks like: And after a visit to StudentRND, here is the laser cut box in MDF and acrylic: You’ll note that I’m only using two … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acrylic, laser cut, laser cutting, robot, robotics, sketchup | Leave a comment

Make Magazine: Complete Set

Posted on July 9, 2012 by engineerzero

After scouring Half Price Books stores throughout the Puget Sound Region, I have collected all back issues of Make Magazine. Step one of my plan for world domination is now complete. Hope your day is going well too!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged back issues, issues, make, make magazine, not for sale, sorry | Leave a comment

Sketchup SVG Plugin

Posted on July 1, 2012 by engineerzero

I previously mentioned using the Inkscape trace function to convert a Sketchup exported image file into SVG format. However, it doesn’t seem to be working well enough for laser-cutting. Sure, from a distance it looks okay, like so: But then … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acrylic, inkscape, laser cut, plugin, sketchup, svg, vector | 3 Comments