How to assemble a robot with your own hands in 6 hours and become the soul of the company

    Nowadays, few people remember, unfortunately, in 2005 there were Chemical Brothers and they had a wonderful clip - Believe, where a robotic arm chased a video hero around the city.



    Then I had a dream. Unrealizable at that time, because I had no idea about electronics. But I wanted to believe - believe. 10 years passed, and just yesterday I managed to assemble my own robot manipulator for the first time, start it up, then break it down, repair it, and put it back into work, and along the way find friends and gain confidence in my own abilities.

    Attention, under the cat spoilers!

    It all started with this set (hello, Master Kit, and thank you for allowing me to write on your blog!), Which was almost immediately found and selected after this article on Habré. The site says that assembling a robot - even an 8-year-old child can do - is it worse than me? I just try my hand in the same way.

    At first there was paranoia


    As a true paranoid, I will immediately express the fears that I initially had regarding the designer. In my childhood, at first there were solid Soviet designers, then Chinese toys scattering in my hands ... and then my childhood ended :(

    Therefore, from what was left in the memory of toys was:
    • Will plastic break and crumble in hands?
    • Will the parts fit tightly together?
    • The kit will not have all the details?
    • Will the assembled design be fragile and short-lived?

    And finally, a lesson that was learned from Soviet designers:
    • Part of the parts will have to be filed
    • And parts of the parts simply will not be in the set
    • And another part will initially not work, it will have to be changed

    What can I say now: it’s not in vain that in my favorite music video Believe, the main character sees fears where they don’t exist. None of the fears were justified : the details were exactly as many as needed, they all fit together, in my opinion - ideally, which greatly raised the mood during the work.

    Designer parts are not only perfectly matched to each other, but the moment that the details are almost impossible to confuse is also thought out . True, with German pedantry, the creators set aside the cogs exactly as much as needed , so losing the cogs on the floor or confusing “which way” when assembling the robot is undesirable.

    Specifications:

    Length: 228 mm
    Height: 380 mm
    Width:160 mm
    Weight in assembly: 658 gr.

    Food: 4 batteries of type D
    Weight of the lifted objects: up to 100 gr
    Illumination: 1 LED
    Control type: wired remote control
    Estimated build time: 6 hours
    Movement: 5 collector motors
    Protection of the structure during movement: ratchet

    Mobility
    : Gripping mechanism: 0-1.77 ''
    Wrist movement: within 120 degrees
    Elbow movement: within 300 degrees
    Shoulder movement: within 180 degrees
    Rotation on the platform: within 270 degrees

    You will need:
    • elongated pliers (you cannot do without them)
    • side nippers (can be replaced with a paper knife, scissors)
    • crosshead screwdriver
    • 4 type D batteries


    Important! About small details


    Speaking of "cogs". If you have encountered a similar problem, and know how to make the assembly even more convenient - welcome to the comments. So far, I will share my experience.

    The bolts and screws that are identical in function, but different in length, are clearly defined in the instructions, for example, in the middle photo below we see bolts P11 and P13. Or maybe P14 - well, that is, again, I confuse them again. =)

    You can distinguish between them: the instructions spell out which one is how many millimeters. But, firstly, you won’t be sitting with a caliper (especially if you are 8 years old and / or you simply don’t have it), and, secondly, in the end, you can only distinguish them if put next to them, which may not come right away to my mind (it didn’t come to me, hehe).

    Therefore, I will warn you in advance if you decide to assemble this or a similar robot yourself, here's a tip:
    • or take a closer look at the fasteners;
    • or buy yourself more small screws, screws and bolts so as not to soar.



    Also, in no case throw away anything until you finish assembling. In the bottom photo in the middle, between two parts from the body of the “head” of the robot, there is a small ring that almost flew into the trash along with other “scraps”. And this, by the way, is the holder for the LED flashlight in the “head” of the gripping mechanism.

    Assembly process


    The manual is accompanied by an instruction without unnecessary words - only images and clearly cataloged and marked details.

    The details are quite conveniently bit off and do not require stripping, but I liked the idea of ​​processing each part with a cardboard knife and scissors, although this is not necessary.

    The assembly begins with four of the five motors included in the design, which is a real pleasure to assemble: I just adore gear mechanisms.



    We found the motors neatly packed and “stuck” to each other - get ready to answer the child’s question why the collector motors are magnetized (you can immediately in the comments! :)

    Important: in 3 out of 5 motor cases you need to flush the nuts on the sides- on them in the future we will put the case when assembling the hands. Side nuts are not needed only in the motor, which will go to the base of the platform, but in order not to remember which case where then, it is better to drown the nuts in each of the four yellow bodies at once. Only for this operation pliers will be needed, in the future they will not be needed.



    After about 30-40 minutes, each of the 4 motors turned out to be equipped with its own gear mechanism and housing. It’s not going to be more complicated than “Kinder surprise” was going to in childhood, only much more interesting. The question of attentiveness in the photo above: three of the four output gears are black, and where is white? A blue and black wire should come out of her body. In the instructions, this is all there, but I think it’s worth paying attention to it again.



    After you have all the motors in your hands, except the “head” one, you will begin to assemble the platform on which our robot will stand. It was at this stage that I realized that I had to deal with screws and screws more thoughtfully: as you can see in the photo above, I did not have enough two screws to fasten the motors together due to the side nuts - they were already screwed in somewhere depth of an already assembled platform. I had to improvise.



    When the platform and the main part of the arm are assembled, the instruction will suggest that you proceed to the collection of the gripping mechanism, where it is full of small parts and moving parts - the most interesting!



    But I must say that this will end the spoilers and the video will start, since I had to go to a meeting with my girlfriend and I had to take a robot with me, which I could not manage to finish.

    How to become the soul of a company with a robot


    Easy! When we continued the assembly together, it became clear: it is very pleasant to assemble a robot on our own . Working on the construction together is doubly pleasant. Therefore, I can safely recommend this kit for those who do not want to sit in a cafe for boring conversations, but want to see friends and have a good time. Moreover, it seems to me that teambuilding with such a set - for example, assembly by two teams, for speed - is almost a win-win option.

    The robot came to life in our hands as soon as we finished assembling. To convey to you our delight, I, unfortunately, can not in words, but I think many here will understand me. When the design that you yourself assembled suddenly begins to live a full life - it's a buzz!



    We realized that we were terribly hungry and went to eat. It was not far to go, so we brought the robot in hand. And here we were faced with another pleasant surprise: robotics is not only fascinating. She also brings together. As soon as we sat down at the table, we were surrounded by people who wanted to get acquainted with the robot and collect the same. Most of all, the guys liked to say hello to the robot "for tentacles", because it behaves really like a living person, and first of all it’s the same hand! In a word, the basic principles of animatronics were mastered by users intuitively . Here's how it looked:



    Troubleshooting


    Upon returning home, an unpleasant surprise awaited me, and it is good that it happened before the publication of this review, because now we will immediately discuss troubleshooting.

    Having decided to try to move the hand along the maximum amplitude, it was possible to achieve a characteristic crack and failure of the functionality of the motor mechanism in the elbow. At first it upset me: well, a new toy, just assembled - and no longer works.

    But then it dawned on me: if you yourself had just collected it, what was the matter? =) I know perfectly well the set of gears inside the case, and in order to understand whether the motor itself has broken down, or if the case was not fastened well enough, you can give it a load without removing the motor from the board and see if the clicks continue.

    This is where I managed to feel realrobo-master!



    Carefully disassembling the "elbow joint", it was possible to determine that without load the motor runs smoothly. The case parted, one of the screws fell inside (because it was magnetized by a motor), and if we continued to use it, the gears would be damaged - a characteristic “powder” made of worn plastic was discovered when they were disassembled.

    It is very convenient that the robot did not have to be disassembled entirely. And it’s really cool that the breakdown occurred due to not quite neat assembly in this place, and not because of some factory difficulties: they were not found at all in my kit.

    Tip: the first time after assembly, keep a screwdriver and pliers handy - they may come in handy.

    What can be brought up thanks to this kit?


    Self confidence!

    Not only did I find common themes for communicating with completely strangers, but I also managed to not only assemble, but also repair the toy myself! So, I can have no doubt: with my robot everything will always be ok. And this is a very pleasant feeling when it comes to your favorite things.

    We live in a world where we are terribly dependent on sellers, suppliers, service employees and the availability of free time and money. If you know how to do almost nothing, you will have to pay for everything, and most likely - to overpay. The ability to fix the toy yourself, because you know how each unit is arranged, is priceless. Let the child have such self-confidence.

    Summary


    What did you like:
    • The robot assembled according to the instructions did not require debugging, it started immediately
    • Details are almost impossible to confuse
    • Strict cataloging and parts availability
    • Instruction that does not need to be read (images only)
    • Lack of significant backlashes and gaps in designs
    • Ease of assembly
    • Ease of prevention and repair
    • Last but not least: you collect your toy yourself, Filipino children do not work for you

    What else is needed:
    • More fasteners, stock
    • Parts and spare parts for it so that it can be replaced if necessary
    • More robots, different and complex
    • Ideas that can be improved / fixed / removed - in short, the game does not end at the assembly! I'd like her to continue!

    Verdict:

    Assembling a robot from this constructor is no more difficult than a puzzle or Kinder surprise, only the result is much larger and caused a storm of emotions among us and others. Great set, thanks, Dadget !

    In conclusion, Habr, I have a few questions for you:

    1. How would you use your own manipulator?
    2. Do you think it is possible to change something or add to the design of the robot itself, so as not to stop and continue to play?
    3. What may not have been taken into account by me during the assembly process?
    4. Anyway, how do you like the review? =)

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