The Mechanical Structure

Over the past week I have developed the final mechanical structure for the use as a skeleton. I attached a pulley system to my wooden puppet but the weight of the puppet made is almost impossible to recreate smooth up and down movements. I have since modified my construction, I was inspired by the design of desk lamps. I found that they achieved my required articulation while also supporting the weight of their bodies. So I began to build a scaled down foamcore version.

Below demonstrates the constructions and action of the new design.

 

After finding satisfactory dimensions I went on to draw up a design for a final metal version. The drawing in below.

I gathered my materials which included aluminium square tubes and sheets, the appropriate fixings and any extra tools needed. 

I was able to use some motors to test the actuators for the movement of this body section. They are not the appropriate strength of motor but did help me develop a refined design. I was even able to use the wireless remote control I built for the robotic base prototype. 

I have started a Gitlab repo for my controller code.

http://gitlab.doc.gold.ac.uk/cjoyc002/thirdYearProject