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Marx Prototype robots: Martian Robot


Brian..

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I'm interested in one too. Great choice for the next project Brian. Kind of reminds me of this image. Just a passing resemblance but that triangular breast plate and the colors bring it to mind.

s-l1600.jpg

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Brian, I realize you have a lot on your plate, and this project is not foremost, however, I will throw my hat in the ring when the time is right...I would love to own one myself. 

 

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Brady, i will get around to it, but have to slow down for a while. Fortunately I have most of the Manmos King completed and I've just obtained artwork from Gernot, (thanks, Gernot!) so that will occupy the next couple of weeks. That and another visit to Wales to see ma-in-law again. She's not good. 

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  • 5 months later...

The printers are in full swing turning out the Steel Humanoid parts (the Japanese valve robot) so I've time to return to this project.

 

The robot has been coming along fine, but I've finally realised that those blasted buggering crappy yellow motors are just not up to the job. It's a relatively big, heavy robot because I print with thick walls. The regular yellow motor has a rather high gear ratio and, when it's all set up nicely, can send Buck scooting across the table very quickly. But the motor is unreliable. I've had too many failures. It's also intolerant of any excessive friction in the design. So I'm going back to my tried and tested white motor. It's so strong it can nip the buggery out of my fingers if I get them trapped. It's the English breakfast tea motor. You can set the robot walking and have time for a cuppa before it falls off the table.

 

I also decided to introduce more resin parts. In a moment of madness I tried to produce that big neck cape in resin. John will tell you that it's the devil's own job to print certain shapes in PLA. They need a ton of support and leave a compromised surface. That cape is one of these shapes: horrible and wasteful. But when I ran it through the resin printer at a bizarre angle, the results were AMAZING. It's as smooth as a baby's bottom.


When you place the cape onto the print bed you'll see that it's too big. Those purple areas are outside of the boundary and won't print.

 

cape1.JPG

 

So you print it at a ridiculous angle, and it fits. It's quite counter intuitive. You would never normally print like this.

 

 

cape2.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I've also decided to print the head and hands (not arms) in resin. There's plenty of room for a light in the head. The rest of the robot looks OK in PLA. I'm printing the arms and legs upright and that gives a good result, though occasionally one of the parts breaks off the print bed.

 

I'll paint the finish. I just prefer the look of paint to bare plastic. 

 

In addition I toyed with the idea of using rubber rings on the arms and legs. The result is very reasonable and makes painting so much less fiddly, so I've ordered a batch of the O rings. 

 

The cost will be a little higher but it will be worth it. 

 

 

 

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Awesome!!!! Looking at the painted prototype on the shelf compared to the other 3D robots in my collection, I can see the difference in painted vs unpainted and can understand why you might prefer to go this route. Personally, I kind of like the texture in the unpainted 3D printed pieces that I have. But the paint gives the finish a sleeker more glossy touch that certainly makes for a lovely final piece. I’m looking forward to adding a refined version of the Martian down the road as a companion piece to the prototype. Though, again, it might be interesting to see a color variation or two. By the way Brian, as someone who has spent over 20 years on crews lighting for films and television, I appreciate the little white square that you added in the back inside of the head on the prototype which I gather is to help redirect wasted light towards the eyes thus making them brighter. I assume this was the purpose anyway and a nice touch if so. Also, having easy access to the inside of the robot, I was able to have a look at the walking mechanism which is brilliantly simple and effective. Understanding of course that mine is a prototype, I did have some binding issues when testing as one of the cams was slipping off the spur gear on the motor. But this was easy enough to get sorted. A really great robot and I cannot wait to see the completed Martian v2.0 Brian. I’ve been considering the subject of which motors to use once I start working on my own projects. I may have to do some experimenting in order to find one that is both reliable and that runs at a desirable speed. Happy building Brian!

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1 hour ago, Eagle said:

Are the stanchion supports on the cape part of the printing process ? 

Yes, Eagle, they hold the cape in position. They have the texture of Shredded Wheat, so are easy to brush off the final part. 

 

Good luck with your build. Jeremy. It is very addictive.

 

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