Dahaha, that’s amazing, I was wondering, you aren’t using your T7C remote for that baby! if you were, i was going to ask how did you add 300 more buttons to it 
Good job Good Job, very very fluid… Cant wait to see what you can get that thing to do.
–Aaron
So that’s what you’ve been up too!
Stupid question, you think you will do anymore work on the phoenix?
Hi Zenta,
Truly amazing work! Speechless…
I love it how it can hold his head on one position and moves his whole body around! Did you change child/parent setup for that? The 3DOF gives a better result as I had expected!
The gripper has got a lot of torque. Great work on the water action!!
Although, I have to say it’s a bummer you had to show that beefy LiPo again 
Thanks for keeping us inspired with your amazing creations! 
Xan
Hi,
Thanks for your nice comments!
Of course 
A-Pod and Phoenix are two very different hexapods. My LM Phoenix has total weight of about 2,1 kg vs A-Pod’s 3,3 kg! So when it comes to walking Phoenix are much more elegant, IMHO.
When I find time for it I’ll also play with Phoenix, but you know, its always more fun to play with the newest toy…
You should feel lucky, that scene was dedicated to you only! I just had to tease you with it. 
This project out does the Phoenix in my opinion due to the increased flexibility of the body. The quality of the workmanship, the parts, and design is incredible. The A-pod is movie quality material and would work nicely in a movie.
Are you using towerpro for all the servos? I thought those things were garbage? Looks to me that they worked fantastic and smooth.
Anyway, I love the design and the head level compensation was awesome!
Well, that compensates it…
Just a bit though
Thanks for your comment SN96!
I’m only using the towerpros for the mandibles. For that they work OK (but far from perfect) and they have better torque (because they are digital) than the 645, but the 5645 would be even better. For the other 23 servos I’m using Hitec 645MG.
I just got back last night from a short trip. I must also say that was a great video!
Kurt
My mistake. I failed to start the thread from the beginning. I see that you are using quality hi-tec servos. Your talent is amazing. Your attention to detail such as the battery holder is fantastic. The custom mounting block for the head, did you black anodize it yourself?
I’m glad you liked the battery holder its simple and easy to make too. The custom mounting block is made of hard plastic, I’m not sure what the material is called. We call it POM.
I’m glad you liked it Kurt, and I hope you noticed the credit (at the very end of the video) to you, Xan and Jim
Thanks Zenta,
My contributions are very little in this 
, you did a fantastic job with this!
Kurt
Zenta, have you thought about sending this project in to Servo magazine when you’re done? I’ll bet they put the picture of the A-pod on the cover. Because the photos are so amazing looking, putting the picture of the A-pod on the cover would most definitely sell lots of Servo magazines for that month.
Amazing work Zenta. You doubled up the ABS on the tibia. So, that’s 10 millimeters, right?
It was interesting to read about your decision to use more material as I’m trying to choose materials right now. Other than the fact that you would lose some stability by going with a thinner material, do you think you could obtain the same rigidity with a lighter part made from aluminium or plexiglass maybe? Or would ABS still be lighter?
Popular robotics building materials density comparison in lb per cubic inch…
Aluminum 5052 = 0.097
Aluminum 6061 = 0.098
Stainless 316 = 0.284
Titanium = 0.163
ABS = 0.037
Acrylic = 0.044
Foam PVC = 0.025
HDPE = 0.034
Polycarbonate = 0.043
UHMW = 0.034
Wow, thanks Jim. That’s really helpful. It looks like a piece of aluminum that was half as thick as a piece of ABS would be heavier. I still wonder which would bend first under load.
I just went through this process recently deciding on what thickness of titanium to use for some ant weight bots. I was surprised that…
0.06" aluminum is roughly the same weight as 0.118" lexan.
0.03" titanium is roughly the same weight as 0.06" aluminum.
When I was into plastics as a DIY material I loved Expanded PVC. Sold under trade names such as Sintra and Versacell. Almost half the weight of Polycarbonate, but still very rigid. Just too bad it can’t be laser cut.
Thanks, I didn’t double the tibia yet, only the femur. I’m not finished with the leg modifications yet, have been occupied with other stuff lately. If I had all the tools, machines and equipment for anodizing aluminium I would sure go for that. But I don’t have the tools for that. Besides that I do love the texture surface of the ABS texture material too, thats also the main reason for why I used it on my original Phoenix.
The texture surface makes all the difference with the A-Pod. If it had no texture it would still be cool, but a little bland looking.
I absolutely LOVE the lumps on the back. It looks like vertebras of a spine under the skin. The abdomen (tail) along with the 3 dof head gives the bot interesting unique body gestures compared to just legs. Jim has got to make an A-Pod kit!!
Hi KÃ¥re,
You CAN do your own anodizing! There are kits for it, or you can buy your own supplies. Over here we can buy Ritz Dye (for fabric), and after some cleaning and preparation, a hot dye solution does it. I haven’t tried it yet. Search on line for products, or I’ll see if I can find the link for the kits for you.
Alan KM6VV
Wow zenta. That thing is truly incrdible.
I rally love how you go the head and abdomen to stay still while the rest of the body flailed about. Truly awesome 8)
