My project is a full size replica of the lost in space robot. My brother and I are working on it together. It will be entirely scratch built. As you can see, it is a long way from being finished. Since it has no moving parts yet, I have yet to use the EZ-B with it, but I have tested some motors, and controllers outside of it. I think that it will work well.
A while back, I posted a link to this site on the B9 Builders site. It seems that several of them have since incorporated the EZ-B into their robots, so I am confident that it will work for me.
Rgordon asked me how I was making him bend at the waist. I am including a picture of the mechanism that I am working on right now. It might be hard to figure out just looking at the pictures, but there was no way to describe it without something to look at. Basically I have three door hinges on each side bolted together in a "W" fashion. I replaced the center hinge pins with longer bolts, and put flat steel across them. As the steel moves in one direction or the other, one set of hinges opens up, and the opposite end collapses. The diagonals keep the top above the bottom. It is powered from underneath by a motor salvaged from a cordless drill. The threaded rod goes through a larger rod that has been drilled and tapped. My original plan was to have the motor in the middle of the setup, but it would not fit; hence the extra linkage coming through the bottom.
We began with the goal of building a recognizable replica of the B9, and had hopes for animating it as best as we could. Not knowing anything about robotics, I have spent the last few years searching the web and trying to learn what I could. Stumbling upon this site was a real stroke of luck. I feel very positive that this will come out far better than I had imagined.
Other robots from Synthiam community
Athena's R2D2 Testing
Putt's Shorty
Mr. Chris,
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!
All these years later, one broken back, months of recovery, a year and a half of physical therapy, several job changes, and back to work on the fun stuff.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.