Welding machine: part 1

Welding was something my Dad did for a job and also for enjoyment, creating things. Back then he would have used a stick welder, later becoming proficient in MIG & TIG as well as larger equipment for his job.

He worked for a few companies:

• Welded Tanks (gone now, was by Templemeads train station).
• Ashton Gate.
• Fulton Boilers.

I was taught how to weld in my first year at college. But I learned a lot later from watching my Dad.

I have thought about getting a welding machine over the years, it’s definitely something that would come in handy lol. Then just before Christmas, my friend Paul said he was going to be selling the one he had been left by a friend of his, as he wasn’t likely to ever use it, what with time and learning. So after some thought, I said I would have it.

With the recent passing of my Dad, and inspection of his old garage, there’s a lot that needs clearing out……mostly metal lol. So I'm hoping to be able to make use of it.

There are a few things that require a welder, so this will definitely come in use.

Workbench upgraded: reorganisation of everything.

November : 

My workbench was becoming over crowded again and I needed to reorganise it. The back wall needed a larger area, so I combined two boards to increase the width. I then started adding shelves, utilising ones I already had. Using the items I had, I could space them better.

Unfortunately my garage door is an up and over, which limits how far shelves can go, due to the arc the door takes

I ordered some LEDs strip, but they aren’t bright enough to light the bench surface. But are ok just to illuminate the shelf’s. So another light source is needed. I did 3D print some brackets for the LEDs to fix too.

The bench was in transition when photo was taken lol. An unexpected project to service an Ender3 3D printer for a friend who was selling it as he’s upgrading. Swapped out the hot end for a new one, cleaned and dusted, checked belts and greased the lead screw (December 2023).

I started sorting out my boxes of screws, bolts, bits and pieces, electronics etc.

The magnifying LED light unit had to be removed from the bench, this is going to be relocated up off the bench.

The main problem with the bench was the lower shelf, in that the chair wouldn’t fit under it, which meant it stuck out and took up space. So using my angle grinder, I cut away a length of the angle before using my jigsaw to remove the wood, so it would fit under.

This makes it more comfortable to work at it. I refitted the small shelf and also added one below, this is now for the main storage (screws, bolts) boxes.

The second vice, I’m not sure about at the moment, using it to support the extra surface board is handy but also restrictive. So I’m thinking of rebuilding a soldering station in that area. The vice was simple enough to remove, so a soldering station idea is a future project.

Make-a-Wish UK 2023

All the events that the UK R2-D2 Builders Club/Droid Builders UK  attend, our collection buckets are out, helping to raise funds for Make-a-Wish, our chosen charity for 2023.

If you would like to help us reach our ever growing target , please use the link below.

You can give anonymously if you prefer, you can leave a message too. All contributions are welcome big or small.

So here’s the clickable link,

and thank you.

Here’s the full link if you want to copy and paste:

https://justgiving.com/page/droid-builders-charity2023

R5-D4 Funko Pop inspired 3D model

Each week I usually focus on just one particular project.

Recently though, I’ve been working on a few.

• LED’s light strip, see workbench upgrade post, coming soon……
• A ‘vintage car’ glovebox 3D printable, stronger version than the original cardboard one
• And something that I’ve wanted to do since the ‘original’ 3 legged R2-D2 concept Funko Pop came out….. Model R5 as a 3 legged version.

Funko beat me to it with their twin set of R5 & R2 at Celebration Europe earlier this year 2023.

My Pop is stored away, so this version is a modified version of my own R5 that I modelled years ago, for all the R5’s variants Funko haven’t produced, with its own unique angled stance and new 3rd centre leg, with single ankle cylinder, just as the 1977 R5 should be. This is now available for download in my Etsy shop.

The body to leg (shoulder) mounting location was modified to a suitable angle. The leg ends also had to be modified to accept the outer feet. Finally, the centre legs ankle and cylinder had to be modified.

Specifically for individual part printing.

But my first test print was a fully assembled model version, see above Cura printing image.

First test printed really well, though I have made some adjustments to the rear panel gaps, corrected a few other little things.

Next idea was to produce a detail drawing showing the views of the 3D model. I was thinking about uploading these to my Etsy page as an additional downloadable purchase…..

May even do a special offer for the first 5 downloads of the 3D file(s) that the print is  included 👍🏽.

I still haven’t done an R2 style dome yet, but it’s  on my to do list.

I do have the R4 dome as well as the R5 special style dome of R5-PHT from Solo a Star Wars story.

So I’ll make versions of these too......

👉👉👉👉Link to my Etsy Shop

Goodbye Dad, the last goodbye

Thursday 23rd November, was Dad’s funeral.

A long day, but one filled with sunshine, smiles & family and friends.

My wife always said that it was my Mum who would make the sun shine on special days (she passed away in 2001), yesterday was one of those days.

He will be missed by many!

RIP Dad ❤️

Goodbye Dad.....

 

A week ago today (3rd October 2023), my Dad lost his battle with his illness and peacefully slipped away, he was 79. We were with him for the four days he was in hospital, but he never regained consciousness from when he was admitted.

All the medical staff were amazing.

Because of where he lived, contact between us was limited to facetime chats and so I never then really got to have any real in-depth conversations with him past the casual family updates, which is a shame, as I would of liked to have had that opportunity.

He never met R5 in person, so never got to see that the wood working skills I had used to build it and the challenges I had to over come where in part due to him as I remember watching him make stuff as a young boy. I don't know if he actually realised my achievements with R5 either, which is a shame.

I have learnt over the years that the past is the past, you can't change it, no matter how much you may want too! You can only change the future and improve it as you go.

Rest in Peace now with Mum and all our other family members who have sadly passed on.

Love you Dad.

Time for a break.......

I'm taking a break from droid building, there are a few event's upcoming that I'm not able to attend due to family commitments. I think my next event will be Stars of Time [click link here] in November and possibly another local charity fundraising day, here in Bristol.

So I thought I'd write this to let anyone who reads/follows my Blog, Twitter, FB etc....

why I've not posted in a while.

~~~

There are a few outstanding posts that I have on pause, these may get posted in the meantime. So TC all, see you soon and keep on Building 💓👍

Bristol M-Shed Star Wars Sunday 2nd July 2023

 Back again this summer with the droids you’re looking for!

Bristol’s M-Shed ,

down on the harbour side in the centre of town,

we’ll be displaying our replica droids from Star Wars as well as other Sci-Fi films & TV shows.

We’ll also be joined by members of the Milton Keynes Garrison.

The event is free entry so don’t miss out!!

We will be collecting for our chosen club charity which is

Make a Wish

~~~~~

For visitors to Bristol,

the centre now has a Clean Air Zone.

Please use this government website to check if a charge apply's to your vehicle

Bristol Clean Air Zone vehicle checker

link: https://www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones

‘M’shed via Google Maps 

Celebration Europe 2023 - Jabba's Gate Door Build - Part 3

February 2023:

And Mike has almost finished the main sections of the door.

Tuesday 7th I popped up to help him test fit the upper section onto the base part. It all held together and is going to look great!

The rear view, showing a better structure than I had drawn up lol. With the wall section added, this will give additional structural support to the upper section.

We discussed the side wall part, which will be the section next to Mike, on the right (in above picture). A few ideas for simplifying it were discussed to keep weight, work and cost down. Making it easier for Mike to build.

Progress has seen the base coat of emulsion paint applied. The rough texture is required.

Before I knew it, Mike had started on painting the walls.

Progress of the colours.

He’d also made a start on the end wall structure:

Mike wasn’t the only one busy. I had been spray painting the eye components.

Next up was the arm links with the spikes on.

More in the next post….

Event 2023 - Megacon Live @ Birmingham

Saturday 25th March

Heading up to Brum to the NEC for Megacon Live.

It's a two day event, but will only be attending on the Saturday myself, with Mike B. There will be other droids there on the Sunday as well.

Droid Builders South West - coming this July

 

Stay tuned for more updates……

#bristol #ukr2d2builders #droidbuildersuk #r2d2 #r5d4 #badmotivator #freeevent #localevents

#southwestdroidbuilders #happydays #2023

New R5-D4 stickers and trading cards for Celebration Europe 2023

Ordered some more R5 stickers, via ‘sticker-app’ website and uploaded new images, these will be special ones for:

Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023

And these:

I also had some limited edition Trading Cards printed off, 100 total.

These aren’t very big stickers, but that’s why I like them.

I also finished gluing the pins onto the back of the R5 , 3D printed badges.

All ready for Celebration Europe in London next month…… see you there!!

Celebration Europe 2023: Droid Builder’s assemble

This year Star Wars Celebration is coming BACK to the UK. Representing Europe, all droid builders will be attending……

Well, that is still what we hope will happen. As many of you will know, the ticket situation was an absolute nightmare for being organised. Myself and others, signed up to purchase four day passes, but the small print, meant that even though you were in a queue, it was still a random selection…….well that’s NOT a queue, and us Brits know how to queue 😂👍🏽

Then on Thursday 5th January I got an email from the Ibis hotel, cancelling my reservation!!

Double checked it wasn’t a hoax 😳, nope!

With no reply to my emails, I phoned them to ask…..there’s been a block booking! And it automatically sends out a cancellation notice! They were no help at all and even gave me the same email direct to the hotel I had already used.

Soooooo…… Saturday was spent searching for hotel rooms for the required dates.

The good news, was I was able to find a room with twin beds (not a double 😂).

The bad news, is that it was further out and more money 😒. I didn’t book it though, as after not hearing back from the hotel, I Tweeted about the situation, and ‘@‘ the hotel directly!

Within a matter of hours I had a response AND a DM saying someone would be in contact. After a few days I received another DM & an email confirming that my cancellation had been an error and that my booking was now reinstated.

This was a relief, but still the ticket issue was still outstanding. This matter was eventually resolved between the organisers and the R2 group organisers.

Treadwell WED-15 droid build : Part 9 - mast, claw arm

 🎉 Welcome to 2023  🎉

Build updates:

• New servos
• Claw Arm & Carbon fibre rods
• 3D printed hose clips
• Mast update
• Ordered some filler primer paint

New head/eye servo:

One for the eyes. I’ve also redrawn up the piston part of it. The linkage between the two eyes has also been modified.

Claw arm:

Back in work Jan 4th, and drew up first arm bracket that attaches to the mast. Printed it off to see how it will work. Am impressed lol, it looks good and is functional to, the arms pivot well & the test ‘tube’ slides well in the lower ‘piston’.

Here’s some pictures of the CAD work, inc half section views.

The end unit which the Claw fits into has been redesigned/updated. It now looks more like Paul6700's. I've also been working on a way to get the Claw to operate as well. Had to 3D print off a small adaptor, which then attaches to a spring, more on this in a later Blog post, when I actually get it all working lol.

Half section view:

Here’s a test assembly:

The steel tube (in above picture) will be replaced with the carbon fibre tube (before it arrived). This will help with the weight for the servo to lift the assembly.

Took me a few attempts to figure out how best to actuate the movement, but I think I have a working idea.

Hose Clips:

I drew up & 3D printed off some hose clips. These can be seen on the original version. The original was operated by hydraulics', but not knowing what they actually used, I drew these up to just clip over (to be eventually glued) in place to hold the 'hydraulic' hose.

Mast:

The last lower sections of the Mast have not been printed yet. Before they get glued together, there are details that need to be included & holes to be cut.

Drew up and printed off a SG90 mini, servo bracket. This will be housed inside the mast, hopefully to actuate the claw.

Filler primer paint:

Visited my local car store (Halfords UK), and the price for one can was £10!

So I went on eBay and bought two (better) can's for the same price!