My B9 Robot

Looks like a very cool project. Can you explain your plans for the tracks?

That's complicated. The feet that are on it now need to be replaced. It is up on wheels. We had dummy treads that turned an inch off of the ground; just for looks. We will do about the same thing this time. The problem is that we had one motor with a differential. The drive wheels are set to the back, and there were small steering wheels in the front. The base is too short to steer that way. He has the turning radius of a Mack Truck. We ran into a lot of trouble getting the treads to move, as well. There were pulleys that ran off of the same shafts as the wheels.

I've now got an electric wheelchair with a two motor system. I'll put the wheels in the middle and have small casters on the front and back. I am thinking that I may have to put in additional motors to turn the treads. They will not really be doing anything, but I think that it would look funny if he moves, and they stay still. My priority is getting him to roll first.

It has been a lot of trial and error.

Hey you and I need to compare notes so to speak i need some Ideas how to do things on my B9 and have othe Ideas that may help you . His legs flex like the rubber ones and I made them myself i will tell you how it is SIMPLE and CHEAP yea I know I siad cheap but hey who isn't on a buget now LOL !!!!

I'd be glad to compare notes. Trlblzr100@comcast.net.

My legs are actually about done. I used pipe insulation. Inside I formed the shape by heating PVC pipe and making oval rings. They are hot glued to the foam, and the layers of foam are glued together. This gives it flex. I think that I'll stitch Velcro on the top to hold it to the waist plate. That way I can pull it apart if I need to. I am still going to coat the outside with some sort of rubber finish. I have several cans of Plasti-dip and Flexseal. I am going to experiment with which looks better. I have been waiting for the warm weather to get outside and do painting, Bondo, etc. Since the weather turned though, I have been trying to catch up with the yard work. It's a never ending battle.

Yours seems like it's coming along. Did you buy the torso?

Where did you get your dome and the top other plastic part?

Mel

I am not sure if your question is directed at Chris. I haven't got them on mine yet. If it helps, I did already buy the stock for the collar. I bought it from US Plastic. The bubble can only be bought from the B9 builder's club. They can be thermoformed from acrylic sheets. I am going to attempt that myself.

Good Luck! I was talking to chris. But, thanks for the Reply. I did the same thing the other day. They were talking to d.J. and I answered in addition to him.

Mel

I got them from the B9 club members a guy had an extra one and gave it to me but they do sell them @ B9builders.com you can find them on the web.

I remember them being $200-$300. You got lucky! Great!

uh! Make that $500.

When I was a member of the B9 Robot Builders Club I got mine from Fred Barton "The Robot Man" for $330 a couple of years ago. He makes the best replica.

Bubble

Fred Barton Web Site

How are things going with the robot I will finaly be able to finish mine I will be oredering the ezb SOON !!!!! YEA ME !!!

sweet chris!, get it fast as you can my friend Dj sells them faster than the manufacturer can make them!

Thanks for asking. I have been making slow but steady progress. I work a lot of hours at my day job, and I have very little time to work on the robot. As I said before my brother and I are working on it together. We are working in three different directions right now. The torso is almost ready for paint. We have been finishing up the Bondo and adding all of the ridges and trim. I am also working of a scratch built bubble. I am making a foam plug, and a two piece fiberglass mold from it. I have some clear casting resin, and I'm in the process of building a DIY rotational-caster. I don't know if it will even work, but I would rather cast the bubble than vacuum-form it. Vacuum-forming stretches the acrylic awfully thin. I also have been working on a prototype arm. I had it working on the bench, but know I have to re-design it to fit inside the robot and be able to slide in and out. I'd like to upload some pictures, but Since we are going in so many directions, nothing is really completed at this point. Hopefully within the next few weekends there will be something to show for our efforts.

So, yours is almost ready to animate? What do you plan on doing with the EZ-B?

As an avid B9 fan I too am excited to see your progress, both of you!!!

I haven't commented Brett, but I have been very impressed with your project. You do extremely good detail work. None of the parts that you added look as though they do not belong there. I can't wait to see it completed and rolling around in one piece.

es I will be using the EZB plus motor controllers since his feet are driven by two very strong wheel chair motors they realy go you know the ones that they use on the ones that can travle on the street !! SO I have to have FULL control over those . I will see if the design I have for the arms works and I will show you how I made the waist turn so excited I hope my plans turn out I will keep you posted

@Danger! - thank you. @ChrisWinters - do you have pics? We B9 types have to stick together haha

Yes you are right we do have to stick togetherLOL here is a pic of my robot at Halloween but now he wont be just a mindless machine the ezb will bring him to life Now I do know how Dr Frankenstien felt LOL !!!

Cool!

That is coming along Chris. I have a goal of getting the Bondo done on my torso this weekend, and at least getting it primed. with any luck, I'll be able to post some pictures by Sunday.

Progress has been slow, but I have made some.

Bondo, done...

Primed...

Painted...

And Lights...

It is still a long way from being a robot, but this project is as much about building the replica, as it is an actual robotics project.

WOW that kooks so good I wish I had those covers for my belly lights EXCELENT MAN !

Thanks Chris. I got the lights online. The link, and part numbers are here.

www.b9robotbuildersclub.com/pub/parts/offtheshelf/bellylights.html

I did not get the bulbs that go with them though. I bought flashing LEDs here.

www.modeltrainsoftware.com/dcflasher.html

They are extremely bright, and because they all flash independantly, I do not need a sequenser. I just hook them all up to power and they're good to go.

Very nice. I am jealous yours is so big and mine is so small....

Dont be jealous brett yours can make it through a doorway without remodeling your house lol

You've got a point there. Of course if my robot gets out of control, he might remodel my house by himself, and make a few doorways of his own. eek

@Brett "Very nice. I am jealous yours is so big and mine is so small...."

Something a man should never say Brett ... sorry, just couldn't resist

WOw thanks man flashing LEDS such a good idea

Mines prety BIG too LOL ! Sorry could not resist!Hey how do you get your personal pic on here I tried and nothing !

Has any one tried the new arm and do you have a vid of it let me know. Think it would work for the b9 robot ?

I think that those are too small. I have started on an arm mechanism for mine, Chris. I will try to get some pictures posted. I will be using DC motors, and try to figure out how to use potentiometers to regulate them through the EZ-B.

Cool Please do I might try heavy duty servos not quite sure how to go abou tit but PLEASE let me know

Hi Chris & Danger,

I'm also building a full size B9. I've actually got 2 EZ-B's in my robot. One under the radar in his upper torso and the other in the hip section below the donut. This keeps the wires to just power between the two sections.

I just finished getting the hip section working so he will bend over. I'm useing a Dewert motor and controlling the rotation start and end points with a potentiometer attached the end of the motor shaft. The three power connection lugs of the pot are attached to an ADC port on the EZ-B and a script in ARC is controlling it. ALSO, I learned real fast to add limit switches to each end of the rotation. These kill the power just in case the pot or EZ-B fails. I did have a problem and it was ugly. Now with the limit switches I can rest easy. If you dont know how to build them I'll be happy to help with advice. They are very easy to build.

I've got a script that works for my setup. I'll be heppy to post it and some pictures if you are interested. I did have to modify DJ's Motor & Potentiometer Script example in ARC to get my setup to work properly. For some reason the motor just shot past the $adcSpecified value sent to the main script by the call script. Maybe it's the pot I'm using. Anyway the value returned by the ADC port seemed to lag and the motor would not stop when it got to the value it was looking for. This line controls the stop command:

if ($adcCurrent = $adcSpecified) goto(RotateStop)

I had to change the = in the above syntax to either a > or < depending on the direction it was going.

I also had to split the script into two commands. One to lower the hips and one to have him stand up. If your interested I have the project uploaded to EZ-Cloud as B9 Robot Control here:

https://synthiam.com/Community/EZCloud/Download.aspx?id=196

Have fun! David Schulpius

Thank you David. I downloaded the EZ file. That will be a big help in getting me started. Unfortunately, I am still a long way from programming anything. I don't have to tell you that the build itself is quite an undertaking. I am not buying any club parts. My brother and I decided to build completely from scratch. It will not come out perfect, but that is a challenge that we have decided to take. I think that I am all set with the limiting switched. In the section to bend the waist, I just bought some "normally closed" buttons. I mounted them so that when it reaches the point that I do not want it to go past, on either side; it pushes one of them open. They are small switches. They interrupt the relay triggers, not the motors themselves. I understand what you said about changing the script to ">" or "<" instead of "=". I wonder if the parts are just too heavy and the momentum pulls them past the desired position. Who knows? If the script that you wrote works, then it doesn't really matter. Well, now that the cooler weather is here, maybe I'll be less tempted by outdoor activities, and spend more weekends in the cellar working on the robot. Hopefully I will get around to getting some parts moving and connecting them to EZ-B. Like you, I decided to go with two separate EZ-Bs, one in each half. I did not want all kinds of wires running between the two. Thanks again for the offer, and I will probably take you up on it looking for some guidance when I get to that point.

Blaise Sullivan

Hi Danger,

yes, building this B9 is a huge task. I couldn't imagine building from scratch. I just don't have the proper equipment to make the more detailed parts. My hat is off to you.

I really don't know why the swing moves past the stop value in the script if I use thie =. Watching the voltage in the Vareable window i can see it moves a little slow. It would be nice if I could use tbe = so I could get the motor to stop at a more exact point. Now i need to rellay on the limit switches to stop it close to where I want.

Have fun, Dave Schulpius

WOW guys

Good work on your robots.

B9 sure is a popular fellow . Good luck to you all on the huge task you.ve set yourself's.

Steve_c

Looking great Danger! Your scratch bild is very close to the real one. My hat is off to you. I dont have it in me to do all that work. I got my Torso and most of the outside parts already made. I did however have to do all the finish work like assembly, sanding and painting. Also, most everything inside is my work. Even at that it's been a ton of work and huge learning curve. Your work is much more than I was willing to take on. If I did I dont think I could have made it look even close to how nice your's looks. Again, Well done!

Mr. Chris,

I was just wondering how much this is going to cost you when you are through.  I have seen them at $25,000 and quick sale for $12,000. Your is probably going to be a lot less, I guess. I am just curious if you have found a way for the common man (Not rich) to build one. If so, you could write a do-it yourself B-9 book with matching DVD set. There are a lot of people out there that are salivating for one of those (like me) B-9 robots.  It is probably too late for me because when I bought my QboEVOpro, I agreed with my wife no more major robot stuff. But there are still many others out there.

I've read stories of B9Builder club members building nice looking B9's for under 800.00 USD. Of course depending on what all you want it to do, the cost can skyrocket.

Dave, how much did yours cost?

The cost is still climbing. I'm not really sure but I must have close to 8k USD into it so far. That's a lot of cash but still less than the ones that Mike Joyce sells at B9 Creations. Mine is a lot like his but EZB has given mine more of the personality and action of the original TV B9.

I have most of the more expensive stuff already bought and installed. I still have to build bubble and brain but have all parts for that. The biggest expense and challenge remaining are the design and installation of the arms. I want them to at least move in and out and the claws to open and close. Not sure yet if I can get them to move up and down. That would be so cool if I could pull that off.

Thank you Dave and Steve for the compliments. Dave, I have to say that I am in awe when I see the pictures of your robot. Even though you bought many of the parts, there is a tremendous amount of work that you have put in. The parts that you put inside rival any professional robots that are out there I am sure. Mine is going to end up filled with car parts, bicycle parts, plumbing supplies, and probably a whole lot of duct tape. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Movie Maker, I am not sure if your questions were directed at me. You wrote "Chris" he also has posted pictures of his B9 here. I'll answer anyway. I have not kept track of what I have spent. I would guess that I have close to a thousand into it, but that includes a lot of waste and tools that I bought. Some examples of waste would be... I bought a case of four gallons of fiberglass resin. I only needed two. I wasted a lot of Bondo learning how much hardener to add and what size batches to mix up; that sort of thing.

I spent two hundred on a used electric wheelchair. I also have bought fifteen windshield wiper motors, and a ton of electronics. If you just wanted to build a life size model without too many working parts, you could do it without breaking the bank. I have been stockpiling things over several years. On weeks when I have done a lot of overtime, I have ordered things and then put them aside. I have a middle class job myself. I will not be spending tens of thousands on it, I assure you.

I have saved a lot of money by building the torso from scratch. My "neon" is made with acrylic tubing, and amber, tractor trailer, LEDs behind them. I am working on a scratch built bubble. It is a lot of work, but I do not have the money to buy everything. Also, my brother and I decided early on that we wanted to build it ourselves. In the early days of the B9 club, they all were built that way. I don't criticize anyone for buying parts. It is just not the route that we want to take.

If you are interested in how I built the torso, I documented the entire process here . The page is a little confusing. The webmaster puts the updates on the top. Scroll down until you see the "Stop" sign and start there (perhaps a little ironic). When you get to the bottom, jump to the top to finish.

Perhaps some day your wife will come around. Maybe when all the neighbors have robots doing chores around the house. Have DJ talk to her. He's a good salesman.

Good Luck!

Welcome back Danger! Missed you man. Your B9's bubble is shiner then yours! LOL.

Thanks Dave. My brother has been posting on the Facebook page. I haven't gotten around to joining Facebook. I have too many issues with their policies.