K9 materials?

[metrosonus]

So i'm doing some leg work into K9. I've got several flat pak type plans to sort out and decide on and I think i'll start with a poster board prototype.

but that brings me to materials for the final build. I'd like to load mine with electronics and i'd like to know I have a sturdy K9 to mount them in. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

So here are the materials i'm considering:

Styrene - Seems to be the most common material for builds. How do you bond it together? Glue I suppose? How is it for mounting bits to? I'd rather not have screws show on the outside.. I've never worked with it, so I don't know how sturdy it is.

Foam core board with fiberglass - It could work.

Wood - I'm thinking 1/4 inch and thinner may work for what I need. A rolled on base coat of latex paint and a good sanding will hide the grain.

[superrichi1a]

Sorry, not an expert, but, for wood, have you considered hardboard around a sturdy frame? It has no grain, and would be very light...

[flaming cog]

My k9 shell is made form fibreglass, with a wooden detachable base. Which, in my opinion, is brilliant because it is lighter than wood, and studier (I can sit on my K9) tham styrene. Plus fibreglass doesn't wear as quickly as wood (as shown by how old the current K9 the BBC use is).

Check the builds on the forum, my one is on here somewhere, I posted as many pictures as possible to help anyone who wants some tips.

Good luck
Luke

[metrosonus]

I read through your thread. Did you build the head yourself? If so, out of what? How easy was it to mount everything inside?

Maybe I'm over thinking the problem, but for some reason I don't trust super glue or epoxy.  You did an excellent job on the body. I wanted the head to nod up and down as well, but I wonder if that's possible with the automatic mast inside. Hmm..

[flaming cog]

All the parts were actually made by a friend, because he offered them to me when he made a set for himself. However the whole "take moulds from a heavy MDF model" is rather easy to do. You can find video tutorials on youtube

I don't trust glues much either. I tried to copy the original K9's fixings as close as I needed to, what were all screws, nuts and bolts (pretty much).

Oh yes it's very possible. In trying to get the parts at the moment to do it myself. It is on a pivot at the moment, so you can move it manually with your hand.

Feel free to ask more questions and get me to take pictures. As I know some bits on K9 can seem a little hard (I wish I had someone to help me)

Luke 

[metrosonus]

yes while were on the subject...

k9's back is slightly curved right? So the material for that bit would need to be flexible I gather.

And how would you mount the mast motor so that it wouldn't interfere with the neck? can you get it all inside of the head?

[flaming cog]

Yep tis slightly curbed, for it I think my mate made a flat one from MD. Then shaped the top using a wood plane.

You can see how I mounted my motor in this video at 3:50. It's mounted on the aluminium pipe I used to connect the head and pivot it upon:

[metrosonus]

Ah ! I see now.   I was under the impression there was a bit of a angle in the neck . D'oh. Looking at the plans I can see how you would run it straight through.

So what's the plan with the electronics? How do you plan to wire mini K9 into it all?

[flaming cog]

Unsure at the moment. I'm looking into way to make him follow me about using sensors an IR led's. I'm also looking into making him have conversations with programmed responses. I will post my ideas on my thread when I have a better idea of what to do

[metrosonus]

I thought of doing much the same thing. I thought about seeing if I can't stuff a basic computer into one and have it work off of GPS or some other sort of tracking.

In reality though, I'll most likely look into a PC or custom processor based RC thing for all the different bits.

Itd be cool if I could run it off the wireless in my phone with a camera and everything! 


What fun! please do post more.

[quigonj]

For the innards, I am using Scott Gray's JEDI Control system, which you can see working here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu2qkGKbidk&playnext=1&list=PL6B4351F4CF0DA494&index=4

As you can see, it already takes input from RC controllers and does the heavy lifting in terms of making use of the signals.

I've been going through my Who DVDs and soundtrack CDs to get K-9/Who sound samples to replace the R2 ones that come bundled with it. The pieces are lightweight and programmable, since the thing's based on a Parallax .

[metrosonus]

I diverted a bit to work on a Baker costume amongst other things. 

As i'm fond of saying, it's not easy being me. Parent, musician, computer guy, author, I run my own board for musicians. oi!

Seriously, with his family, I don't see how scarfwearer get's a 10th of what he does, done. I'm constantly drowning.

An update is that i'm still contemplating materials. I don't fancy the flat pack plastic material and I'm just thinking of using thin plywood. The grain can be hidden with a good sanding / spot puttying and a flat (non gloss!) latex based under coat. It's an old trick I used to use when I made props for halloween stuff. You can get really fancy with the paints on top of the latex and it'll look like stone even and not wood.

For something like K9 you'd want to use an automotive touch up paint in a spray can in a metallic finish with a clear coat over the top.

[metrosonus]

For the innards, I am using Scott Gray's JEDI Control system,

I totally missed your post.. so this does what you need and it's easily convertible to K9? It looks like it should do the job well!