Hey peoples of Lynxmotion. Names jdmkid. Going to be 17 years old this week, yay.
I found a few videos of Hexapods and thought they were cool, so bought an arduino, and a few books, and hopefully in the next few weeks i can order my parts to make my own hexapod, inspired by Zentas Phoenix.
This community seems great so hopefully you guys can help me out in the process of programming it and other things along the way.
So far I know ill need:
Arduino Mega (I saw some people using this with a ssc32)
SSC-32
Body Parts
Various resistors and other small components
HS-645MG (Should i use 18 of these? or use 12 for the legs and 6 HS-425’s for connecting the legs to the body?
So my questions are:
Im going to start drawing out a rough design of the body, tibia and stuff. Should i keep anything in mind while planning out my design?
And also, would i be able to use 12 HS-645’s for the tibia and arm, and use 6 425’s for connecting the legs to the body? Or should i keep all 18 servos the same model?
And finally, what else would i need to build my hexapod?
You should not need any additional electronics components.
Don’t make it too large - the longer you make the legs, the stronger the servos will need to be. Make it as lightweight as possible, and use materials which won’t break easily.
So long as you use the 645s in the “knee” and “shoulder”, you should be fine. Having all 18 servos identical means you can purchase a 19th servo “just in case”.
Batteries, charger and associated power cable.
You may also want to purchase some SES brackets - unless you want to custom build everything.
How do you want to control it? We offer the PS2 for <$25.
You’ll need standard cables to connect the Arduino to the SSC-32 and might find servo extensions are necessary.
The servo axes (front and rear) are 6.5" apart, and the left and right are 3.5" apart (at the center they are 5" apart). The Leg lengths are 3" and ~4". This should give you a good idea of the size of robot you should be considering. Aluminum is a good choice.
Another question ive got is, what battery should i use? Im looking for somethhing maybe rechargeable, but also not too expensive, but something that will last me a good 6ish hours i guess on a charge. and im planning on using a Arduino Mega, with the SSC-32 for controlling the robot. Is that a good choice or should i use the Atom?
You would be lucky to get about 30 minutes between charges. Walking robots are simply not efficient when it comes to power requirements. In both instances there is sample code available - the choice depends on how much you want to customize. The setup for the BotBoard + Atom is clearly laid out whereas you need to do a bit of your own work to use the MEGA.
tomorrow im ordering 1 hs 485, and 1 645 for measurements. once money isnt short, mmost likely a week or 2, ill order the rest as well as the ssc and mega. ordering the 2 servos for measurements and to see if my parts are cut right.
any suggestions on thickness of aluminum which i should use?
I tried to characterize the servo shape, and while they are all close, the subtle offsets can get you! Especially if you want to make a cutout and thread holes for machine screws.
1/16" (.064) works. I use a lot of scrap. 6061-T6 is nice for machining, but other alloys bend easier. You don’t always know what you’re getting in scrap. But often it’s anodized!
Ill be buying a new sheet for my parts. Most likely either anodizing it a certain colour, or neo-chroming it (good neo-chrome to see how that looks) i think neo-chrome would give it a different look compared to Zentas hexapod, and other bots using lexan. Most likely ill join a hacker space local to me and have them help me cut my parts.
Im into cars (well hondas. the whole “jdm” thing) and i know a good place that does this stuff. Shouldnt be too much since theres not that much surface area.
if i could, id buy a c6. new c7 looks doo-doo. too camaro-ish, and in my opinion takes away from the legendary and iconic round tailights that all the other vettes had.
Once i save up a bit more cash, ill be picking up a Honda S2000. Hopefully, red, black, or grey.
16k is a lot for a 17 year old - good thing i have awesome parents to loan me some cash while i pay them back.
lol i mean i couldnt save up enough money in even 4+ years. I work at a bodyshop on weekends and in the summer so i guess a s2000 for my age is really good compared to the kids who get their parents to buy them audi’s and bmw’s.
So ill be ordering this week. Moneys short, so whenever money starts coming in ill order my 2 servos, measure, make my design, ill post it up here for a verification from you guys. and once everything is a-okay ill send it off to the laser cutters.
Alright ordering my 2 Servos right now. Should be here next week. Once they’re here, ill make my cad design and ill show you guys to see what you think and then its off to the laser cutters.
