It has been a while....

It's been a while.

For the most part, R2 and I have been having a lot of fun.  Taking him to events is really satisfying.  Trying to upgrade him in-between, well that has been met with mixed results.

I think the first iteration of R2 was probably the most stable, although not intentionally so.  I had no idea what I was doing with the electronics, RC, Arduino, L.E.D.s, etc, etc.  But, I think that actually helped me.  During the initial build, I was so overly cautious of making sure everything worked in conjunction with all of the other pieces parts that everything just worked in the end.

Then I started meddling.  I got confident.  I made changed.  I made modifications.  I made mistakes.

Gone are the days of the blue smoke and arcing flashes of electricity.  These are the days of  wondering.... "Did it work just as well (or better) before I changed _______".  I think this is part of owning one of these beasts.  In theory, the process of making him work and upgrading may never be complete.

With that said, I have been collecting a few parts here and there over the past year.  Here are some photos of a new frame that I picked up from a user on Astromech.net.  The coveted Com8 A-1 frame, made by James "Commando 8" in Texas.

I have seen these frames in photos, and read the oohs and aahhhhs from a multitude of posts.  Nothing you have seen in a photo, or read about in a blog can speak for the quality and sheer cool factor of these frames.

Here are a number of photos for your enjoyment :

Pretty much, all the parts together.  The frame is a beautiful anodized blue.   There is a crazy amount of detail etched into the frame, and a host of holes to reduce weight.

Did someone say ba-donk-a-donk ?

(I originally typed ba-donk-a-DORK by accident, laughed so hard I shot Vernors ginger ale out my nose.  It made my eyes water... a lot.  Still chuckling about the ba-donk-a-dork.)

Back on task - the rear door.  This thing is beefy and STRONG.  You never realize just how much you open and close the back door when he is "complete".  The hinges on this back door are made of 1/4" aluminum.  

Center leg plate and lift mechanism.  This mounting plate runs up and down inside the frame on the 4 shafts in the upper right hand corner of the photo.  The black post with the pin in it is used to manually move (and lock) the center foot up and down.  An upgrade kit is going to be made to allow automation of this process..... uh-oh ... did someone say 2-3-2 ???

Here is the top plate.  A ton of machining went into this part.  It is an absolutely beautiful piece of craftsmanship.

The bottom plate with routed recesses for batteries and weight shedding.  All of the hardware in the center is for the outer legs.  The Two outer legs will rotate and lock in position with ease.  The red parts are for the legs struts that allow R2 to stand in two legged mode.  More on that to come in following weeks.

The center plate with the shoulder hubs and a new center vent kit by Wayne Orr.

The utility arm plate and speaker bracket.  I will eventually remove the backing plate and install my newest utility arms that will be animated via a system of servo motors.

The side plates.  These are the plates that mount to the leg hubs and ultimately, the legs.  I really like the details on this part - reminds me of a recognizer from Tron.

So there you have it.   The start of what is an upgrade... or another build entirely.  I want to take more time with this build, as it will be way more involved.  I also do not want to start scavenging my current R2 in order to build on this one.

The ultimate goal is for full 2-3-2 automation on this droid.  Currently, there are probably 5-6 droids in the world that actually have accomplished this.  I have a number of custom actuators, numerous motor controllers, and an overwhelming amount of confidence at this point.  We will see what the future brings.

In case you are wondering what 2-3-2 is - check out this video from Droid Builder :