a step closer to robots

well, I'm back.

"back with a 3d printer" kind of back.

took a week off earlier this month for a stay-cation, and during this time of peace, I decided it was the right time to get my hands on one.

behold, the Monoprice Select Mini.
thoughts so far:
- very inexpensive for today's standards (got it for $200)
- produces great prints
- very non-proprietary

this review convinced me in the end that this printer is the one.

by the way, the above picture shows the 3d printer with the "sample filament," which I soon realized was way, way too little to do anything.

I honestly didn't know what I should do with it at first, trying to find 3D models to print in the internet, until I stumbled into this.

an open-source, 3D-printable robot.

it's always been a dream of sorts for me to build a controllable hand.
it was my intention to build something like that during one of my college projects, but it ended up being something else (software) that is controlled (the glove controller remained).

now, this printable robot offered a printable hand (and forearm, and bicep, and shoulder, and head...).

at this point, I've actually already printed a lot of parts and am pretty well-into the process of building this.

I will elaborate my progress so far in the next post.

Comments

finally got around to it (nrf24l0+ and servo)

On a previous post , I used the nrf24l01+ wireless chip to communicate between the Raspberry Pi and an Arduino, but only got lights to turn on. I remember being confused as to why servos would not work, and somewhat left it there. I started messing around with it again, and I am concluding that it might have been just a power issue. Here is the servo moving properly: The Arduino is on the ground due to the short length of the wires powering them. Just as a recap, what is happening is: - a C++ program using the RF24 library is compiled in the Raspberry Pi (connected to an nrf24l01+ chip) to broadcast a message. When executed, it will broadcast the message. - the Arduino (connected to another nrf24l01+ chip) programmed to receive messages receives the message, and upon receipt sends a signal to an Arduino that is wired to the servo to move the servo. Two separate Arduinos are used, as it seems that the servo library and the RF24 library do not seem to run properly toget...

alcohol sensor (and some patience)

Soldered the alcohol sensor into something that is connectable: I tried to connect this to the Arduino, as I had the appropriate circuitry, but I did not get any legitimate output from it. 5V going in, 5V coming out with no variations. Nothing seems to be awry in wiring, as the circuit seems to be grounded properly (and the 5V current is flowing). There are a couple of potential factors as to why I'm not seeing any results: - I'm using a 10k ohm resistor, while some guides (and the datasheet for the sensor) asks for 100-200k. However, there seems to be a good amount of people using 10k and getting at least some kind of result. A batch of 100k ohm resistors I ordered is on its way, so I guess I can try with them when they come. - This site claims that these sensors take 24-48 hours for its signals to be stable. It also tells me that I should not be powering the sensor directly from the Arduino, which I have been doing, out of concern that the power draw of ...

how the fingers work

the fingers are moved using wires and tension. each finger is looped through with a wire/string/line in a top-bottom fashion. when the top wire is loosened/bottom wire is tightened, the finger curls in its joints, resulting in a "bent finger". you don't have precise control of each joint movement, but it is simple enough to be controlled by a single actuator (in this case a servo). here is me just using my own hands as an actuator: here it is hooked up to as servo and controlled by a potentiometer: the movement is not smooth because 1) it's controlled by a potentiometer that I am controlling, as seen in the background, and I was unable to move it all the way with one smooth finer motion. 2) the tension in the line was not entirely tight. I need to learn how to tie these well. now I have a get a bunch of servos. much credit and thanks to Inmoov once again.

the quest for robots

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