User:Dstaub/strandbeest

''This is designed for a person working on a project for 4 weeks as part of a 3 credit class. Please copy this form to your user page. Then delete everything in italics when filling out this form.''

Write problem/project Goal
To create a working StrandBeest made out of PVC piping and wood materials.

My First Task
''This first week I am going to look into how a StrandBeest actually works. If there are different types of StrandBeest, what the last group did and possibly get some dimensions and the actual device.''

Summary of actual work over first weekend
''This week we mainly focused on materials. We decided to use PVC piping as our main material because it is light, easy to cut, cheap and readily available in various sizes. I then went ahead and made a small camshaft in which our legs will fit onto. We also need to adjust the angle that the shafts will sit. I have not glued or fixed the pieces together yet so we can adjust the pieces as we go if needed. ''

Week1 Narrative
''11/14/12 Today me and Patrick met in class and we looked at some examples of Theo Jansen's StrandBeest's. We found that Theo uses a material which he refers to as "electrical tubing" similar to PVC except it is lighter and more malleable than traditional PVC tubing however we chose to use PVC tubing as our material simply because it is easy to cut, it comes in various sizes, it's cheap and it's in any local hardware store. Later today I went to Home Depot and purchased four 1/2" PVC tubing and two 3/4" PVC tubing along with some 1/2" 90 degree connectors. I plan to make a small camshaft out of these materials so we can begin building prototype legs to fit onto.

11/17/12 Today I built a small camshaft using 1/2" PVC tubing and twelve 90 degree connectors all I need now is to construct a chassie for the camshaft to sit in that will allow the legs we build to work as well but I will consult Patrick before I go any further. The sections of tubing between the 90 degree connectors below is 1/2" inch tubing cut into lengths of 1" 3/4" inches

''

My Second Task
This next week we will begin looking at the legs themselves and build atleast a prototype of one of the sections of the legs like in the video here

Summary of actual work over second weekend
''This week we were hoping to have a prototype leg put together however after we found our material cutting the pieces out proved to be challenging. I may have access to a CNC machine which would take out the margin of error for the lengths of our pieces due to hand drawing the components out. However we did get the dimensions of the legs figured out and acquired a few sheets of compact particle board which we hope to test into a prototype in the near future.''

Week2 Narrative
''11/24/12 Today I converted Theo Jansens Holy numbers to the size we need based on the crank I had previously made. The dimensions go as follows based on the picture. I calculated these measurements off the crank I built and the original 'holy numbers' from measurement 'K' which is the length of the crank. From that number I was able to apply some simple math to convert the other numbers.
 * A= 25.8mm


 * B=31.9mm


 * C=20.3mm


 * D=21.4mm


 * E=28.8mm


 * F=20.7mm


 * G=20.4mm


 * H=18.9mm


 * I=33.9mm''


 * J=25.3mm

K=7.75mm
 * I MADE AN ERROR HERE THESE UNITS SHOULD BE IN CM ALTHOUGH THE NUMBERS ARE STILL THE SAME.

My Third task
''This week I should know weather or not the CNC machine will be available to us. If not then we will begin cutting the pieces out using a table saw. ''

'==Week3 Activities==

Summary of actual work over third weekend
How is what you did different than what you planned?

Week3 Narrative
''11/26/2012 Today I reconverted our previous dimensions to inches because the tools we will be using are mostly in inches and it will be much easier if we just keep everything the same. I did this by first starting out with M which is the dimension of the crank. Ours is 3 inches and Theo's is 15. 3/15= .2 now I just multiply .2 to Theo's origional #'s to get ours. for example A=38 so 38*.2=7.6 Now our A= 7.6 inches.



A=7.6"

B=8.3"

C=7.86"

D=8.02"

E=11.16"

F=7.88"

G=7.34"

H=13.14"

I=9.8"

J=10"

K=12.38"

L=1.56"

M=3"

Note that these distances are to be measured from the center points of each joint*

11/28/2012

Now that we have our dimensions we need to construct the frame for the camshaft and all other parts to sit in. What we plan to make is fairly simple.

What we used....

Two 1/2" PVC tubes about 18" long

5 PVC caps

The PVC Cam Shaft

Two pieces of plywood





11/30/12 Today we met at my again house where we have access to all our tools so we could begin cutting out all the pieces. We feel it wise to only start with enough to make one set of legs to see how they work. From then on we will make any adjustments and make all the rest. In total we plan on using J=6 K=6 C=12 F=12 EDB and GHI will be triangles and will only need 6 of each. That would total to 42 pieces being made out of particle board. They will be jointed together using tubes of 1/2" PVC. We made a prototype leg and it seemed to work perfectly so we will move on cutting out the rest of the pieces.



My Fourth task
''Next week Patrick and I plan to meet again in order to cut out the remaining parts and final put the Beeste together. ''

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
''This last week of our project we managed to finish our strandbeeste. While we did not have time to make any kind of feet to give it more stability we succeeded in creating a 6 legged strandbeest with functioning legs and movment, however due to stability issues it is un able to stand up and walk on its own at this time.''

Week4 Narrative
''12/03/2012 Today we met at my house again to continue cutting out all of the sections we need. I also began drilling holes in the segments for the joints to fit through. All the joint Patrick and I cut using a table saw and all holes were drilled using a 7/8" paddle bit and a drill. It would be very useful to any future groups to use a drill press simply because it is more accurate and will be MUCH FASTER but we do with what we got. We eventually finished cutting all the pieces now we just need to finish drilling all the holes which so far has been the most time consuming portion of the project.

12/04/2012 Assembly day! Today I finished drilling all the holes now we begin assembling the StrandBeest, we found it best to hang the frame from the ceiling that way the legs are free from hitting the ground. Patrick also off set the three sections of the crank shaft by 120 degrees this way we get a full circle of motion between the legs. For future groups if you are not sure what to offset your crank to heres how. How many sets of legs will you have? In our case we have 3, now divide 360/3 which is 120 degrees, If you had 4 sets of legs you would divide 360/4 to get 90 degrees. Just as long as you have a full circle of motion between each set.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpN-UP2oJZo&feature=youtu.be ''

12/05/12 Today after meeting in class Patrick and I discussed ways we could take the possible slack out of the leg assembly. After talking with Mr.Edelen he gave us some Ideas we could follow. The one I think is easiest and will get the best results is by using some insulation tubing big enough to fit over the 1/2" PVC with washers contacting the legs themselves. This will keep the legs from moving side to side as much as they do but still let the joints rotate freely. Mr. Edelen also recommended that we use a dry lubricant on the joints, such as graphite which can be purchased at any local Hardware store.



Complete Team Page
StrandBeest/Howard Community College/fall2012/p3 501 DP