I Just Got In My New Project sunshine.

MovieMaker

USA

Just got my ominibot in for my Sunshine Project!

** I was going to give an actual realistic account of every step of the construction of the project. But, when I looked back, it seemed to be a collection of Negative thoughts. So, I have forgotten all of the Negative thoughts and have edited them out. It is sort of like having a baby. It is painful at first , but once the baby is born. Or, in the case of Frankenstein, "It's Alive!" "It's Alive!" , you forget all of the pain and behold your new creation. So, I will simply record the steps that worked and NOT the ones that didn't. Many times after finishing a project and making all the mistakes, I learn how NOT to do certain things.**

:-)

Good news, I have made arrangements to buy some parts over the next two months. I hope to find that the parts that I am buying will include enough for me to put this all together.

God Bless All of You that will follow and Support me in my journey.

Sincerely,

Mel Addison

By — Last update

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#1  

That is a bummer Mel. I will be following your build. Can't wait to see how it goes.

Canada
#2  

The cost "420" would have been a roadblock for me when i see that price on anything used it makes me wonder about the sellers

#6  

I am searching for a trash can . . . . .

#7  

Wow, that's too bad about the damage but it's great you got a partial refund. If you didn't I would have suggested a very bad review.

#8  

Naw, I gave him a 100% review because you don't mess with people where they eat. I had a problem. He fixed it. So, although he is not too happy, he gave me a partial refund.

Guess What? I took both robots BOB and Marti completely apart. I am using the Base off of Marti to complete Fred#2 which is a turtle-bot. I gained the base and I have been learning ROS on my QBO robot. So now, I have just about everything I can think of to complete the turtle-bot. Fred1 will be resurrected as Fred2 and then I will change his name to Freddie.

Now, when I did that, I also got some Extension cables for the servos, microphone, speakers, some sensors,notebook, ac adapter,two blue LED eyes,Nose and lips (Which I won't use),blonde wig,two cameras. two extra servos, a pan and tilt that might work on Sunshines head, and TWO EZBs so I don't have to buy any. Aint that GREAT? I will know Tue if I won the mimoimo monitor. If I did, I have a monitor that is work $185 for less money. If I don't , I have more money to spend on more stuff to put into Sunshine. Either way I go, I win!

Thank All of the forum members for your support in this project.

:):):):):) :)

#9  

@movie maker , I know the other guy used a trash can for his project but even then the shape does not line up with the bottom of the torso and the top of the base. You can produce one in a few hours using 1/4" plywood from home depot , some 1" x 1" 4 ft long pieces of wood , some stretch cloth of your choice and a can of general purpose fiberglass/ polyester resin. It might come out a few dollars more expensive than a trash can alone but everything will line up much better. Aameralis is still going to fiberglass the inside of the trash can too so the use of resin was already part of the base riser. Its how mine is made too. If you want to do this I will make a detailed set of instructions with pictures for you. As far as tools you need a jig saw and power drill to screw things together.

#10  

Hey Josh! You are such a nice man. My wife forbid me to use fiberglass because of a fiberglass incident 20 years ago. I really screwed it up. I am going to try to use the trash can like he did, only I am going to reinforce the inside of it with strips of wood. And, if I can get away with it, epoxy. Maybe I can use fiberglass strips with epoxy. I don't travel, but I hope you enjoy the Maker Fair coming to TN. I hope to stay in close contact with you to learn stuff about the robot I am building. You seem to be the MASTER at the omnibot2000. DO you have any of that sticky insulate noise-canceling stuff left? If so, how much?

#11  

I had a little trouble with the Head and eyes with the way I am trying to do it. But, I woke up this am and I sort of figured it out. I am waiting to order the Blue LEDs. Thank you guys for taking this journey with me. It makes me feel better. :)

#12  

I do my best thinking first thing in the morning also.

#13  

Absolutely Mel:) , also what were you wanting to cover in dynamat?

#14  

I don't really know. I guess the drive train. It seems to be noisy. I think you advised it in one of these posts. :)

#15  

Well, I made a proof of concept on the Head thingy. Now, I wait for more parts to come in. But, I know what I am going to do. It is difficult and takes a long time. I will eventually show pix and videos on the subject. But, right now I am trying to get something workable. :)

#16  

Here are the steps I intend to complete the robot in:

Head need LEDs and neck vent Hose waiting for allowance in Sept,waiting . . . Arms need second omni-bot ordered due in AUG waiting . . . Servos are on order. Waiting for them to come in. waiting. . . Body not sure exactly What I need not there yet waiting . . . Trash Can Promised, but no ID or SKU number yet, so I can't order waiting. . . Back Pack Again, don't know exactly what I need. Not there yet . . . Monitor Made bid, we will see if I won bid . . . waiting . . . CPU-Motherboard -HD Haven't ordered yet. Waiting on allowance in Sept., Oct., waiting. . . Batteries Need to order. waiting on funds . . waiting. . . EZB I have two from previous robots. Sensors I have some 04s, but would like to put PING units. Have some IRs need other PIRs. waiting. . . H-Bridge waiting for funds waiting . . . Base not there yet. waiting . . . Paint Have two 3oz. cans of paint. Hope that it is enough. Need to buy trim paint. waiting. . . Program waiting for all of the above to happen. waiting. . .

The above is sort of a Master Plan so I can keep focused. Just 14 EZ steps! My adrenalin is pumping! Yeah! :)

#17  

@Josh, the Master of the Universe of Knowledge on the Omni-2000 robot. I'v a question 4-U, Master:

I have two wires coming from the left motor and two from the right motor. Are those all I need for a double H-bridge? Or should I use the rest of the other little wires going to the little circuit board and then to the main board, I guess.

Thanks,

Mel

:)

#18  

@josh, where do you think I need the Dynamite?

#19  

Love the vintage robots!

Probably a little late now, but I have had decent experiences with UPS in terms of getting insurance money for repair of damage products. If something arrives damaged you have to take lots of pictures and document everything. Took about 1.5 months for me, but it certainly helped. (This is all assuming the insurance value was filled out correctly.. but thats a different story)

-M

#20  

@Mark Gordon

Finally got the right trash can. It was a Mainstay 5.5 gal from Walmart.

:)

United Kingdom
#21  

If you paid by paypal, and I hate it when people do this to me but may as well put it out there, paypal protects the buyer, if it comes broken it is down to the seller to sort it out or paypal will refund the buyer. I fell short on this a few times which is why now I always ensure items are insured when sent.

#22  

May have just been my experience, but paypal wasnt any help as it was a 3rd party that caused the damage. (As it was obvious by the damage to the boxes) Insurance is a must for any package for me though, certainly worth the extra dollar or two!

Looking forward to the next update.

-M

#24  

I won the bid on the monitor. So, I now have a mimo touch screen on the way. :)

#25  

Ok, I have raised more money and spent it all. Instead of saying what I have, I should tell you what I need now because it would take less time.

next big splurge, I will get the batteries (X2),Ext. cables,Light chasers, epoxy, bondo gold. After that the next time, Masking tape, brushes, sand paper, clear hose, tupperware,epoxy, pc from radioshack, backpack.

Next time MotherBoard ITX, and SSD Hard Drive., misc. sensors.

Next time, I may have to order the replacements for the 10 servos I ordered. :-(

This could take months, but I am doing my best to expedite it. I will find myself smiling at my wife more. If she smiles back, ChahBoonga!

#26  

More pix will follow after there are developments. Thanks for being here with me. :)

#27  

MovieMaker, I have been following your thread and I sure like your excitement and determination! I am sure you will build a great robot. Looking at your parts list, you mentioned a pc from Radio Shack? Can you tell me what you are looking at? Thanks Steve S

#28  

I just meant the little PC card that has straight lines of copper that you can use with the ext. batteries as shown in the previous item Rich was talking about. Thanks for the support.

P.S. I'm sorry he was talking about it in aameralis' thread. Just a small little copper striped pc card.

:)

United Kingdom
#29  

Protoboard or Stripboard:) Very useful stuff and pretty cheap too. Just don't make the mistake I made on the last batch I bought - it is 25x9 but the strips are the wrong way to what I thought (I thought it was 25 strips of 9 holes, it is 9 strips of 25 holes) meaning a lot of my circuits wont fit on the board - the kicker is I ordered a lot of it so kinda have to use it now which means condensing the circuits and cutting the tracks (fyi a 4mm drill bit twisted by hand on one of the holes will cut away the copper track if needed).

As for the servos, the torque may be OK if you increase the voltage, there are other things you could tinker with too which could mean avoiding changing them if they aren't good enough - I'm sure we can think of something between us all.

#31  

I have ordered a second omnibot. It will be here the middle of August and I can start on the arms. Can't wait!

:)

#32  

Yeah! I got my LED lights and 2.5" Hose. I really wanted my lights to come in. :)

#33  

Well, I got my new LED strip. But I have to get another to finish the project. I bought 12" , after that for a dollar more than I spent on that, I got 16.4 Feet. I have plenty to experiment on. I am going to use this on some of my other robots also.

Until Next time,

Mel :)

#34  

You are doing very well moviemaker. I am watching your build with enthusiasm. Keep plowing forward ! Steve S

#35  

@Steve Thank You my friend for your support. You also have a gift for making things "Tight". I do not have that gift unfortunately. I must watch guys like you and aameralis. I am expecting Many parts in today. Thank You guys for your support. Sometime when I fail at what I am trying to do it can get a little bit discouraging. But, you guys help hold me up.

:)

#36  

*** NewsFlash!**** Update . . .

I have decided to scrap the itx part of this project and go with the notebook that is what is being used on the Omnibot3000 tutorial. I will keep you updated with further developments. I have also decided to go with a lighter color of paint. My robot is pretty light already but the paint I was going to use was way too dark.

#37  

Now the other project has went to a windows8 tablet. I cannot follow, it is too expensive.

But, I will use a net-book connected to a mimo monitor and windows7.

I have found many places that the netbook fits just right. But, the stupid usb cables coming out on both sides of it stop it from working there. It seems the ONLY two places to fit it would be the backpack and inside the trash can. The backpack would have more air circulation.

#38  

You can add vents to the trashcan and keep the weight down low to keep the robot more stable.

#39  

I am planning to add a vent or two. Thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. :)

#40  

Update*

I am very anxiously awaiting the 1st. It is about a week and a half away. At that time I will pay the first $100 on my second omni-bot. I can't wait!

I have made a decision. I am going to put the netbook on a knapsack on the back of the robot. I will have holes coming out of the trashcan and having the sound and mic and speakers and plugging in to the netbook that is on the knapsack. Pictures will follow once I get far enough in the contruction. Speakers will be in the trash can.

:)

#41  

I ordered H S3115d and got six H S3315d instead. Maybe it is an Upgrade to the 3115d. I also got some 3609s. I can tell that some are made to fit on the brackets.

:)

#42  

That is GREAT news! It is a Mimo XT-7 Touch screen. I finally got it to light up. But, NO Touch. I have both drivers installed for windows7.

Thanks for checking up on me. I know that you are busy with your machine.

:)

#43  

Well, I got a refund on the monitor. It really wasn't a touch screen as advertised. so, Now I have ordered my trash can, some lighter paint and some model glue with the monies recieved. So, I took one step back and three steps forward. Later on I will buy a NEW Mimo 7" touchscreen unless I find one at the right time and right place. Oh, and I ordered 16.4' of the blue LED cable so if I make a mistake, I will have plenty to use to practice on. Things are going forward again!

:)

#44  

I am planning to have two 12V and two 6V batteries. Right now I have one 6V. How would you guys do this with this setup?

I thought about using the 12v to drive the motors and arms. And using the 6 volts to drive the EZB cards. I am planning to use two EZB cards. One card would be for the speech and stuff. The other card for the Navigation. That's my plan. The mimo fit Perfectly in the front. Too bad it was not a touch screen. I will buy a brand NEW mimo for $135 or so. But it will take me about 3-6 months.

Thanks for your support!

:)

#45  

I have always used a seperate battery supply for drive motors. I like to keep the power for the electronics seperate. This helps with electrical noise issues.

Also, I seem to remember that @Rich recomended not to put all my sensors on one EZ-B but to spread them across both EZ-B's.

#46  

Thanks Gordon,

P.S. I just got my trashcan in. So, I have only a few items left and I can start pushing forward.

:)

#48  

One hose, the bad one is stiff and doesn't bend properly. The other hose the good is very flexible and it bends really nice.

#49  

I have been stuck in a small apartment also. I am in the middle of moving and will have some room to build again. 3D printers are not too big for apartments and can print cool robot parts!

#50  

I cannot afford one right now. I would like to see them work faster. They probably will in the not too distant future.

#51  

Well, I have tried to mount the Lazi Susan to the bottom of the trash can. It is mounted. I used a piece of wood inside on the bottom. But, I am extremely unhappy with the results. I think I will need to redo this all together. I am jumping ahead, I need to finish the head first. I am waiting on some lights, as soon as I get them, I will finish the head.

:)

#52  

Ok, guys. I was not happy with the wooden bottom that was fitting INSIDE the body. SO, I just figured to cut a Plastic piece and lay the whole body on top. This worked very well. Now, I have the body glued to the base and the base on the Lazy Susan all attached to the trashcan. And, I have painted everything. Now, I have two potential problems. I think you have to take the base apart in order to put the Head on and HOW am I going to attach the servos for the waist. Two BIG problems, maybe.

#53  

OK, here are some:

Here is the solid wood base that started cracking. Needed 3/4" plyboard, didn't have any, so i used plastic.

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#54  

as you can see, the hole is not aligned perfectly centered. I tried,but I did not have anyone to hold it or help me while I was working on it.

I tried wood first and it cracked. It was on the INSIDE of the body. Then I tried a plastic base on the outside that the body is lying on top of. The LS works Great. you can see the bottom of the trashcan with wood braces to screw the LS to the wood. I locktite superglued it to the top. the glue did not stick very well. It may be solid now, but earlier it did not stick right. I had something that happened that was quite funny. I was having trouble making the body fit on the just cut frame. And after about 15 minutes of seeing it go lopsided, to the right and left, I realized I had the body UPSIDE Down! Duh! Anyway, once I turned it over, it fit and worked fine. That is just the Lazy Susan part, not the servo. I also painted it camaflouge grey. I also show a picture of the supplies I picked up earlier. I had an item that I returned to Walmart so I could push this forward.

#55  

OK, I have finally managed to copy Bret's design. I did not do a perfect job, but I think it will be "ok". I got a hold of Epoxy putty. That is easier to work with then Bondo. My wife does not like Bondo. So, I puttyed things in place and it seems to hold ok.

More Pix to follow. My camera is low on Battery Juice.

:)

#56  

Hello, good Morning!

Here is a little Update:

I thought that gathering the parts was going to take about six months. But, I have most of them. I just need two more major purchases. The Mimo and the servo power boards. I discovered that if you have those powerboards, you don't need the rectifiers because they are built in. So, that is nice. Oh, I need about 100 more gallons of paint. I have been eating those 3 OZ. cans by the dozens. I can't seem to get enough of them.

I should be getting my second omnibot2k around Aug 15th or so, then I can start working on the arms. Things are going nicely. My Lexi (Sunshine) will not turn out as pretty as Mr. A's. But, she will probably do in a tight. I am not as artistic as he is. But, he has taught me a lot. I am anxiously awaiting Sept. so I can buy more goodies. I will have more pics later when I get some batteries for my camera.

Thanks for being here with me and reading my posts and helping me make it through this project. It is easier doing a project when you are not alone.

:D

#57  

MovieMaker, I look forward to reading your posts. I admire your energy and determination, you are doing great. Thank you for sharing with us. Steve S

#58  

OK, I see now that you have a HORN inside attached with 4 screws. That was the mystery part that was not mentioned anywhere. I appreciate all the time and effort explaining this to me. This tutorial is priceless!

:D

#59  

OK, Well .... I have got my two shoulders made. Getting ready to dive into the elbo. I made some mistakes and it was quite interesting. But, in the end, I got them to work if only temporarily. I now know the mistakes I have made and will correct them. I had ordered some 3" flex hose for the arms, but now , I think they are going to need 4" or at least 3.5".

Question 4U Mr. A. are we using more than:

one Lazy Susan in the kneck. one LZ in each arm.

I ordered two LZ for the arms and one for the neck.

Thanks, Mel :)

#61  

OK! here is my plan.

I will get the powerboards,Lazy susan,paint, and pay off the 2nd Omni. Next first which is September. In October, I will get the Mimo Monitor and terminal strips. In November, I will get misc. Hardware from my full allowance. In November, I will be wiring Sunshine. In December, I will be programming Sunshine.

That is my Plan. Wish me Luck!

:)

#62  

@Steve S, Thanks for your support. Talk about determination. I was holding something. Things slipped. I forgot to put on my gloves and I just drilled through the palm of my hand by mistake. ouch! But, I kept on going. It is guys on the forum like you that keep me going. I have gotten the shoulders to work. I am waiting on the second omni so I can complete the arms and hand. I am starting out with already made hands and maybe will change them later.

God Bless! and take care.

:D

#63  

Hey Guys, a little Update ****

I think I got the head pretty well finished.

I will keep you updated as I progress. Pix to follow once I get batteries for my camera.

#64  

Hey Guys!

I am still in the Hunt and Gathering stage. But, things are moving faster than I expected. Hope to have a good report for you soon.

@MCSDAVER, Hope to see you printing parts soon. But, be careful selecting a printer. Lots of Horror stories out there.

Thanks for your support!

:)

#65  

*** Just a little update. I have decided to paint it White instead of gray. So, I just got that paint in. Also, the second omnibot was shipped to me. I should get it in WED or THU or FRI or SAT of next week. That is going to speed things up quite a bit. Because I will then have the ARMS that I can work on and finish hopefully.

**** Hang on, More to come . . . . . . . . .. . .

#66  

Update

I just got the extra arms in. So, I can do quite a bit more on the project.

I have most of the stuff in, so all I need now are the voltage regulators, the ball casters, and the mimo monitor. I will be finished completely with my gathering stage. I have all the other stuff is collected. On the first, I will put a dent on what I have to get and by the second 1st of the month, I will be done.

I will keep you informed . . . .

;)

#67  

Well, I have gotten the Hands, arms with shoulders and elbos made. I have to try a good way to attach the elbo section to the wrist on the hand.

#68  

OK, I finished the Arms,elbo,hands on both R and L sides. :)

#69  

For more plus Pix, please see "Adventures of Botchy" instead of here. Thanks for your support.