December 13, 2014
Lot’s more metal being cut and welded again this week. Here’s the team (except for Connor) posing with the completed support frame:
Ed and Thelonius drilling the holes to bolt the diagonal pieces to the frame:
Thelonius welding the last bit of the frame:
Ed also got a soldering lesson from Cole:
Cole etched, assembled and tested the PC board to control the joints using the slide potentiometer in place of the Hall Effect sensor. The board being etched:
After the etching was complete, we did a little chemistry experiment by adding alumium foil to the solution containing aqueous copper and HCL. The reaction is pretty vigorous:
Cole drilling the holes for the components:
Debugging the board with some help from Gabriel and Dr. P:
The board seems to be almost completely working, and it looks like it will perform much better than the Hall Effect sensors. There is just a little debugging left to do (one of the solenoid valve drivers works, the other has issues).
Gabriel, Thelonoius and Joseph, with some help from Ed finished cutting and welding the pieces for the legs. The next stage is assembly. Joseph and Thelonius lining up the weld between the hips and the spine:
Thelonius doing the weld:
Connor wasn’t able to make it, so Gabriel and Sammy took over saw duty:
Next week, for sure, the casters will be attached to the frame, and with any luck legs will be assembled and we’ll be able to test a knee joint using the slide pot and the new control board.