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Subject: 
Re: Animatronics anyone?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Mon, 16 Apr 2001 22:20:22 GMT
Original-From: 
Steve Baker <SJBAKER1@AIRMAIL.NETspamcake>
Reply-To: 
sjbaker1@airmail.NOSPAMnet
Viewed: 
583 times
  
Rebel Transcanner wrote:

"Steve Baker" <lego-robotics@crynwr.com> wrote in message
news:3AD91A97.C941EF2C@airmail.net...

I'm looking into the possiblity of building an animatronic version of • Tux - the Linux
Penguin.

This is an *insanely* cute idea.

Yes - isn't it just!

I supose the only thing I could suggest here is making your mechanism
flexible, and allow it to "Fail". I mean to say... if you install some
"springiness" between the gear drive and the "beam" installed in the
particular limb to actuate it, you can prevent any damage to your mechanism
(thus increasing reliability) by allowing the mechanism to absorb for any
overdriving (the fabric might be resistant), or even allow a bit of
interactivity between anyone watching/touching Tux and the drive.

Hmmmm - yes - I've seen that in toys like Furbie - every movement has some
kind of bendable structure or slipping clutch between the drive system and
the exposed parts.  I guess that prevents small children from being bitten
and saves the toy from the worst of the damage it would otherwise suffer.

Especially the practical issues of retaining enough 'stuffing' material to • keep the
shape right - yet not clogging up the mechanisms.

This could be a bit difficult, but if you build the frame/mechanisms, and
cover the mechanisms with plates (ensuring there is no exposed gearing) you
should be ok. The new gearmotors require a minimal of external gear
reduction (in fact, if you put a worm on the gearmotor shaft, and ran that
on a 24-tooth gear, that might be an optimal movement speed... and require
very little space!). Perhaps you could put the entire framework inside of a
plastic bag (or plastic bags), which might ensure that the fluff doesn't
interfere at all.

Yes - I guess I'll need both - just a plastic bag by itself wouldn't work
because it could still be 'injested' into the geartrain and given the number
of holes in any Technics structure, there would always be a route for small
bits of fluff to get into the mechanism with just a bunch of plates snapped
around the major components.

*someone* must have done this before...right?

I'm afraid that I havn't... but I'm very interested in your project, and
wish you the best of luck!

I'll keep everyone posted if I manage to get something to work.

--
Steve Baker   HomeEmail: <sjbaker1@airmail.net>
              WorkEmail: <sjbaker@link.com>
              HomePage : http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
              Projects : http://plib.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxaqfh.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxkart.sourceforge.net
                         http://prettypoly.sourceforge.net
                         http://freeglut.sourceforge.net



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Animatronics anyone?
 
"Steve Baker" <lego-robotics@crynwr.com> wrote in message news:3AD91A97.C941EF...ail.net... (...) Tux - the Linux (...) This is an *insanely* cute idea. I love it! (...) share? I supose the only thing I could suggest here is making your mechanism (...) (23 years ago, 16-Apr-01, to lugnet.robotics)

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