Select Page
Kit Log #011: Super bright lights done for now

Kit Log #011: Super bright lights done for now

Today we finished the remainder of the instruction assembly photos for the super bright lights kit. This meant gluing each led into their mount, which then gets attached to the front or back of Bowie. White leds are in the front, blue leds are in the back. The number of screws was figured out, and added to the other two kits. Packing list was finalised and added to the bags. Heatsets were added to the enclosures for both kits.

Had success with the flexible filament. The trick was to apply kapton tape to the smooth pei sheet. Adjust the fine tuning of the z level so the first layer is adequately stuck. The build platform temperature was increased to 85 deg C. Nozzle temperature was 220 deg C. There was enough time to make 3 sets, which is 24 disks.

We think these are the steps in this documentation process:

1) Lists of the components for bill of materials and packing list

2) Photos of step-by-step assembly process

3) Photo editing of the photos

4) Written description of each step

5) Editing review

6) Formatting for website

7) Making sure files and code are up and work

8) Publish it

9) Add the kits to our online store

10) Ship it

Presently, most kits are in step 1 & 2. Super bright lights graduated to step 3 today. The Bowie Brain Kit is in step 4.

What’s next is the motor kit and the operator interface. For both, we need to organize a list of the pieces. Speaking of list of pieces, the power pack kit does not have a packing list yet. The motor kit is partially complete, but we need metal pieces. The operator interface needs organization, then components need to be ordered. The next step will be organizing these todo list items and determining what resources are needed to take action for the next step.

Kit Log #010: Super bright lights are on

Kit Log #010: Super bright lights are on

Much progress was made on the super bright lights kit. However, we learned that the board contains an error, which is a set back from having this ready by the end of the year. The error was one trace is located too close to the pad of the power resistor. It’s off by half a millimetre. Although it’s a quick revision to make, it means that a portion of the instruction photographs will need to be redone in the new year. It also means that new boards need to be ordered.

The process of debugging was odd, because one usually assumes that the hardware should be correct. It was only when thinking “this is odd, it’s like the resistor is a short”, and then looking really closely, then the error became clear. Conductivity test with probes verified this. The fix was to cut the traces on the back of the board at two locations: before and after the resistor (forgot to take a photo of this). Then, soldering a wire from the corresponding pad on the mosfet to the led pad.

This process wasn’t quite as ironed out as the previous documentation efforts. First, there was a bit of delay while finishing the design for the enclosure then printing it. Luckily, the design worked on the first revision. The second delay was realising that this kit needs the screws to attach the lights to the base of the robot – then finding them and placing them. The third delay was of course when one of the four LEDs did not light up.

Next, the packing list needs revisions, and the two other kits need to have the additional screws and enclosures packed. The enclosures need the heatset inserts added. As well, the photos of the assembly process need to be imported and backed up. Then will be able to move onwards to the next kit.

Kit Log #009: One box of LEDs – Four hours there and back

Kit Log #009: One box of LEDs – Four hours there and back

Today we missed the delivery of the box of LEDs that we need. If we didn’t have it today, then that would mean we would miss the entire weekend to work on the assembly photos of the kit; this would be non-ideal timing. There was one possible solution: if we figured out the centre where the trucks head back to, then maybe we could pick it up. The process of figuring out the location and trying to hold the box took 4 overly complicated calls to the shipping company’s support. The location ended up being quite far away, but somewhat reasonable to reach by public transportation … less the whole walking on the side of the road alone in the dark part. The trek began at 5:00pm sharp, and ended at 9:00pm. It’s about 1.5 hours of travel each way – minus delays from waiting for buses, with no breaks. In the end, we made it back A-OK, and we have the LEDs!

We tried to print the flexible disks today, but they were not adhering properly to the build platform. In total, 6 iterations of the settings were tried. Further investigation will be needed.

On the last hour back on the bus, progress was made on the Brain Kit written instructions. Currently it sits at step 5.5 / 11 is complete as a first pass.

It was an effort to get the box LEDs, but yet there is not much progress to show for today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Kit Log #008: Partial progress on Super Bright Lights

Kit Log #008: Partial progress on Super Bright Lights

We received the components for three Super Bright Lights kits, except for the LEDs. The packing list is complete, except for the 3D printed enclosure and the fasteners. Apparently we have not yet designed an enclosure for this board. Looking at the other Bowies around, the backs of this board was covered with electrical tape with the rest exposed. Guess we never got around to it then, but now is the time when we need to make it.

The progress today was measuring out the wire, cutting it, packaging the three kits. We then moved on to the motors. The progress on the motors today was: 1) taking count of the pieces needed to print before proceeding, 2) measuring the wires and cutting it. A few steps were written on the Bowie Brain Kit assembly instructions. More will be written tonight, following this update.

As you see, there’s only 1 image in the gallery, however there are actually 5 images to show. During the day, time was spent on trying to make media uploads to our website more reliable. Behind the scenes work that doesn’t directly impact the kits, but is still necessary. For example, when trying to upload the 5 images to this gallery, none of them worked the 1st time or 2nd time, giving an obscure ‘HTTP Error’ – which is without an error code. Currently 80% of the time used to make these updates is spent on figuring out how to upload images without error, which doesn’t lend itself to quick logs. Enough errors, gotta go work on the enclosure now. [Edit: Just made it work and all 5 are uploaded.]