Servo - May 2010

FIGURE 13

going through are called cable tracks. The last thing I want to happen is have the wires on my machine get pinched and shorted out as the three axes move. Cable track keeps the wires neat and tidy. To the left of the machine, you can see the computer and electronics box that runs the show.

I purchased the guts to this box in kit form from www.pro botix.com because electronics are not my strong point, and I am very

FIGURE 16

FIGURE 14

happy with it. It came with everything I needed to wire up the machine, and after a few phone calls to their tech department (since I don’t know how to read an owner’s manual), the machine was moving on its own in no time! I built a clear box out of Lexan plastic to hold all the electronics in (see Figure 17).

Figure 18 shows the machine doing what it does best — making parts designed in a CAD program.

FIGURE 17

FIGURE 15

I’d like to say the first thing I made was a totally awesome killer robot part, but since the wife was so patient with me while I was building it CNC, I figured I would make her a giant “S” to put in our baby girl’s room.

I’m really looking forward to seeing my creations on the computer screen come to life, as well as testing the limits of my machine by seeing what kinds of materials it will cut! SV

FIGURE 18

PARTS IS PARTS: Kitb ts Rolls Out B- 16

Gearmotor Mounts Ihave a pretty solid policy that his column only promotes parts that are thoroughly “combat tested” by the fighting community. This month, I’m bending that policy, so to speak, by featuring a new product that is so simple and so

● by Kevin Berry

nifty, it’s just got to be shared.
Team Rolling Thunder — producer
of the Kitbots line of products —
has come up with motor mounts
for the popular Robot Marketplace
B- 16 beetle gearmotors
( www.robotmarketplace.com).