Quad4 robot getting assembled

Well, it's been a good 6 months since I received the laser cut acrylic panels for the quadruped robot and last posted progress on this blog. In that time I've got married, moved house, and starting fixing up both the old and new houses (still in progress)! Hopefully I can be forgiven for slow progress on the robot...

Finally I have machined a couple of the plastic parts I needed to assemble the robot and made a start on assembly. First I needed to move the milling machine from the old house (no small job) and get it set up.

These two images show the assembled progress versus the cad model of the whole assembly. I have made two of the custom plastic brackets for the AX-12 servos and have fitted them to the front left shoulder. There are two matching brackets required for each shoulder (click on these images for higher resolution).

I've also done the angle bending on the top acrylic cover and used velcro patches to hold it on. I was very happy with how the bends came out, though the job is a lot simpler than the bending needed for the head. I was also happy with the machining on the shoulder brackets, though it was very tricky to do, involving a lot of planning ahead of how to best grip the part in the vice so it was held firmly enough. Took about 3 hours each for the two I've done so far, and there's 8 needed in total...

Here is a close-up of the HDPE shoulder brackets. The two brackets needed for each shoulder are a mirror image of each other forming a left and right pair. While the standard Robotis brackets available in the Bioloid kits might do the job, these custom brackets allow for the minimum gap between the two servos, just enough for clearance as the shoulder swings outwards.

Just to check on how much weight he's gaining; the scales say 857 grams so far. The target weight for the whole robot including battery is around 2kg.

The next steps involve machining the other 6 shoulder brackets needed, thermoforming the head plate, drilling the holes needed in the shin parts, and making the feet. Because I have a fair bit on the go at the moment, it is just a matter of grabbing an hour here or there to progress the build, but at least it's getting exciting with real physical assembly taking place!