Beginning work on the Utility Arm Motorization kit

This week, I started work on the Utility Arm Motorization Kit, offered by Rotopod on the Astromech forums.  

The kit is very complete and his step by step instructions on the forum are pretty much spot on.  I did run across a few stumbles, which I hope this blog with clarify for other builders getting ready to put theirs together!

The structure that holds the arms is called the "Utility Arm Carrier" and consists of the side pieces and horizontal ones.  The arms are held in place in there with a shaft, secured with spacers that sit in shallow holes in the horizontal pieces.  

With this kit, those spacers are replaced with pulleys and belts, driven by servo motors.  

First the horizontal pieces need to have the holes widened   The recess will stay but the hole needs to have a 3/8 inch drill bit widen the hole.  The allows for the bearing to fit inside.

I used an R2-D2 toy as a reference, so I would recall where the pivot point was for each arm.  For example, the top one pivots opposite the bottom.  I even labeled the horizontal pieces so I would know which was which.  In the picture, I have "Bot Top" and "BB" (Bottom Bottom) to indicate they are for the lower arm.  On the left you can see "TT" (Top Top) and TB (Top Bottom) written on the pieces.  While not necessary, I did it to help maintain order.

Now on to the Utility Arms, which I recently cleaned up and beadblast the Dykem off of.  

First, a hole has to be drilled, then tapped, so that a set screw can thread in and ensure a tight fit for the pivot shaft.  The set screw is 6/32 so the hole will be pretty tiny!  With the utility arm being curved, I will have to use the hand drill and vice to drill the hole.

I use the hole punch tool so that I have a divot to drill into.  This prevents the drill tip from wandering.  Even more important since the area we are drilling is curved and we need a good, straight hole into the pivot hole.

Now on to the pivot shafts.  

Mine went on extremely tight, I didn't need to sand them...but I did use the vice so I could lightly tap the shaft into place, making sure the flat side faces where the set screw will be.

Once they are in, you need to find an extremely tiny metric allen wrench for the set screws to be screwed into position.  

Then, on to the pulleys.  I put the wrong ones on (as you will see in the next few photos), so be sure you are putting these on....

These go on the Utility Arms!  The other cogs will go to the motor

And (again wrong pulley in the picture), you line the set screw to flat side of the pivot shift to secure it.  Each pulley has two holes for set screws, I put one in each.  I also used a mini vice and a small hammer to center the shaft as needed before tightening the set screws

Now, time to piece together the Utility Arm Carrier while adding some new mounting pieces.

I found by putting the top and bottom pieces on, then loosely attaching the back plate worked best.  You'll find you need to really squeeze the back plate at times to get holes to line up.

Notice the widened hole on the lower left, which, looking at the R2 statue, matches where the pivot piece is

Next, the frame mounting brackets go on.  As a reference, this picture from Rotopod's instructions reminds you which one is mounted higher than the other.

To attach the mounting brackets, you wind up doing some delicate swapping around of the machine screws.  What was holding a piece on gets removed, then put back on with the mounting bracket.

Now its time to see how well the utility arms fit.  Shims are included, as needed...and many had to sand theirs down considerably.  With them in, I couldn't screw the horizontal piece back in.  Too thick, need to sand them down thinner.

Note on the right, the holes are showing, meaning the spacers are too thick.  Thinner spacers will move the horizontal support up a bit, allowing it to be bolted back together

I sanded and sanded...but was still not working out.

...so I decided to improvise and drill 0.25 inch holes in some plastic packaging, cut it out into the shape of the shims and install.

...and everything fits.  I am able to screw everything back together and the arms move freely with so friction/rubbing.  Furthermore, the arms are straight and not sagging.

Right now, I am awaiting the arrival of the servo motors for the next few steps...more in a day or two!

New Foot drives!

Over the last few nights, I have been assembling the NEW foot drives for R2.

Back in 2011, I had purchased a JAG foot drive for this droid, identical to what is in my first droid.  That drive system takes the output from the motor, gears it down via a belt drive to the wheel.  The housing fits perfectly in the foot shell and the drive system uses a motor that is extremely easy to acquire.  Where this is using one drive wheel, a caster wheel is used to keep R2 level.

Original JAG Foot drives

A couple of years ago, a fellow R2 Builder was looking for some foot drives to complete their R2 build.  Since my build had quite a few years to go, I sold these to him and figured I could purchase a replacement in the future.

Fast forward to 2013 and Jerry Greene has improved his design, now featuring "four wheel drive".  Meaning, the 2 wheels in each foot will be powered, no more dragging a caster wheel inside.  Those have been problematic for me, sometimes causing R2 to get stuck trying to cross uneven surfaces.

When Jerry first posted pictures of the prototype, many of us were interested!

The benefits of this drive kit over the previous one is simple:  More power!  Better ability to cross uneven surfaces, since both wheels are powered and no caster wheel causing issues binding or not being level.

And...it makes having R2 in 2-leg mode a bit easier.  R2 will be level, standing on 4 identical tires!

The kit has a fair amount of parts but between the exploded-view drawing Jerry includes and pictures of a step-by-step assembly, it goes together fairly smoothly.

There certainly are some tight spots to deal with, such as maneuvering a wrench around four closely spaced hex heads!

Some tight spots for tools!

 With the help of my loyal, 15-year old cat, Mokey, we slowly assembled the foot drives.  

Laptop showing the assembly photos while Mokey supervises

This is all a test fit for the most part, since some dis-assembly will be required later.  Later, I will need to drill holes in the foot shells to mount the assembly into it.

On to the assembly...

The belt pulley mount was an interesting challenge.  The housing makes getting the allen wrench in there a bit tricky!  Then, once you have the pulley mounted and the belt tight, you can't help but notice how tight the clearance is.  While hard to see in this photo, the belt comes close to the adjustable wheel mount (shiny piece).  It looks good, I don't think it will rub.

The finished drive kits!

In a few weeks I hope to have the motors on hand to complete the fit test.  I want to make sure the belt will work out alright.

Once that is completed, then the next step will be the installation into the foot shell!

Thanks for reading....progress continues!

Back at it...utility arm clean up!

It has been several months since I last posted any blog updates on my R2 build! 

My last update was in July and since then, I lost my job, was unemployed for a few weeks, picked up a part-time job, took all the hours they would give me, and then found a new full-time job!  

During those weeks of unemployment and under-employment, I just didn't have the motivation to work on my droid.  Funds were tight, so the last thing I wanted to do was work on the droid, then discover I needed parts I couldn't afford.  Why deepen the depression, right?  

Now, I am working full-time and I also kept the part-time job as well.  I'm making ends meet and trying to replenish the savings account while also having a modest droid building budget!

That said...here's what I have been up to...

Last time, I was back tracking on the Dykem metal dye, using acetone to clean it off the utility arms.  One problem was some areas of the arms still had the dye.  I really wanted to remove more than the acetone did.  The cut outs that reduce weight were still quite blue inside.  

Utility Arms have cut outs milled to lighten them.

Leftover metal dye that the acetone bath didn't melt away

The arms are very shiny and I wanted to bead blast them anyways.  This would help remove more of the dye and roughen the surface up some.  That would be great for when it is time to prime and paint them.  (With what paint formula remains to be decided!)

My pal, Fred, picked up an inexpensive bead blaster from Harbor Freight a year ago.  And as you would expect from such a bargain price, it was pretty finicky to work with.  Using 80 grit glass beads, it would work well for a few minutes, clog (spit only air), require some gentle prodding and then resume work for a couple minutes.  

Harbor Freight bead blaster and Utility Arm

After 45 minutes of work, I was satisfied I had done as much as I could.

Next time, I will start assembling the Utility Arm mechanization kit that a fellow R2 Builder developed last year.  It looks very cleverly designed and I am anxious to start on it!