you know what differs you from all of the others ? It's your sense to fix every single problem and do it happily , that's what I like about you James your builds are great because of that characteristic that drives you to make these things
+James Bruton (XRobots) Seriously though.. you are one amazing dude. I used to do some ultra-basic robotics stuff, and this is really inspiring and reminding me of those times :)
I've enjoyed these videos more than just about anything else on TH-cam. Don't know anything about a lot of this stuff but have a huge interest in how electronics works down to the pcbs. Thank you for this awesome content.
So when you paint it, you need to be sure the tech-detail circles aren't perfectly aligned with the forward axis. That way you can get a more complex looking roll out of the ball and really sell the illusion of a BB8 whose head can move anywhere on his body.
about the magnets: linking them with steel or using an halbach configuration could help without adding more mass, it would simply improve the use of the magnetic flux.
I think that it's brilliant how many projects you've done (that we've seen) and how you will revisit projects and adjust, or start from scratch! It's impressive to see someone who loves to tinker away until something is perfect or close to it. In a different dimension your probably Tony Stark. Hell you're already pretty much him! Your channel has been a very welcome source of wonder, and also motivation to keep thinking, and figure out how to bring something to life. Thank you for putting out great content.
For the rotational ballist I wonder if you could just create a circular channel and find someone who can cast some lead for you, making a big ring of lead to help you turn. Plus that may take care of some weight problems.
For the side panels try some slots where you have to rotate the sides 10 degrees to put on/off and some magnets to prevent the sides from falling off when the body is rolling along.
One thing I was curious about with the head 'bobbing' motion. The casters have a pretty thick layer of Ninjaflex, and look like they are compressing a good bit. Seems the rolling resistance could be decreased by a thinner outer layer, and larger hub. This could also be beneficial if you add the other 2 magnets, as the force on those casters would be doubled. This whole build is awesome, and seeing the engineering going into it makes me want to get back to my projects! Keep up the great work on all your stuff!
You may want to rethink the wheels for the head. Perhaps, make a ball like wheel. Similar to what you used to find in an old mechanical mouse (before the use of optical mouse.) or like a track ball design.
Might I suggest having the weights as far away from the axes as possible? It'd put more drag on the motors, but it should make the assembly want to stay put in space.
I would suggest filling the extra space in the containers for the lead shot with grease or something along those lines, because the space is allowing the tiny little balls to shift their weight and that might be affecting stabilization, also i can hear the rattle inside the robot, i think the grease would keep all the balls in one place :) great video.
To keep the lead shot for making noise maybe you could put in a whole bunch of hot glue on the top of hte shot so it stays tight and dosnt' shake around.
+Joshua Walters just pour CA glue all over it. It hardens in to a solid mass, and then if you ever want the shot back, just put it in a bag and smash it up a bit. The shot will then separate back to pretty much loose shot again.
Have you thought of large ball bearings instead of swiveled wheels to support the head? That might make less friction. I imagine that the reorientation of the wheels with each change of direction adds drag.
What about creating a concealable access port that is hidden as one of the surface details seen on BB-8, It would add a bit of realism to it since a droid does have access panels all over it's body.
Could you attach the 2 antennas that can pop out of the head ? i just think that that might be a cool feature from the movie. also his ball has some lighting on it but that isn't so necessary although it is easy to just stick on some LEDs
This is pretty awesome, but I do question if it is necessary for it to travel backwards at all. Since you can turn it 180 degrees and go forward. Not sure how the BB-8 in the new movie moves but I can easily picture the BB-8 not moving backwards and just always turning around to go the other way.
I have much praise for you. I wonder how much better would it be if the designers had intended the head to be independant module in control of the base and able to move along its surface using its own technique rather than just being stuck on via a magnet. It would solve allot of the lag but complicate the head unit considersbly
james i believe some of the lag behind in the head could be stopped with some other wheel system the casters will take more force to change direction because of the shape try a rounded ball kind of wheel this fixed all my problems with your set up for me i have one 100% like yours runs much more smooth
Have you ever thought of putting a Gyro in it to stabilize it, that would make it rock steady, I believe that would get rid of your swaying . just a thought.
Why not try using the small ball bearing style castors instead of the spinning wheels? Should be be a pretty similar effect without all the additional slop of the head position not moving until the wheels have turned nearly all the way into the direction of travel?
I just started a career as an engineer. I'm looking at buying a 3d printer possibly the Taz 5. One of the projects I plan to build with it is a Astromech droid vacuum. Id like to make it of my own design but keep with the basic shape of the R series droids.
James, is there a reason for the caster wheels on the head instead of a ball bearing caster? It's seems kinda prone to binding when moving omnidirectionally?
The original BB8 seems to slightly overcompensate by leaning into a direction with the head before actually moving into this direction. I am not sure if this was more of an artistic decision to intensify the sensation of movement or if it actually helps moving straight. Thinking of it, this could also help in the breaking maneuver to reduce wobble, as the head has more way to travel backwards during the stabilisation phase.
Hi James brilliant episode, as always, just wanted to let you know there is a new bb-8 builders club and apparently they have free CAD for a 3d printed bb-8 head if you wanted to have a look :)
Slamdoxicalz nooo?! I do it all the time! I have eight stuffed fetuses in my fridge, they're delicious with honey and spices. I will write ((features)) a hundred times :)
how do you do the lights and stuff in the head? do you put a seperate batterie in the head and get kind of an infraredsystem in there or maybe an nrf module?
i think the mathmatics in the bottom ring is not quite right yet... Maybe the stick should not control the speed of the ring, but the accelaration, since that is what controls the rotation of the robot. Imagine this: if you push the stick all the way to the right now, the robot will jump to the right and then settle down. as soon as you let go of the stick, the robot will spin in the other direction with the same force. if you made it so that if you let go of the stick, the ring keeps its rotational velocity, and it is only manipulated if the stick is pushed to the other side, it would make much more sense. I don't know how much battery that would suck though...
+James Bruton (XRobots) instead of screwing around with a bunch of clumsy hacks to avoid confusing the magnetometer, replace the thing that is making the magnetometer confused with something that won't.
Maybe for the sides you can make it so you can replace them with transparent halves for when you want to show off the insides. I'm very impressed so far!
+James Bruton (XRobots) it takes to much time for head to react on the command. Supposingly, if you replace those wheels at the bottom of the head with ball wheels turning all around you will reduce friction between head and body and achieve more stability.
+Александр Рапопорт He did try out ball wheels in an earlier video, but if I recall correctly the balls had to be hard to prevent them from getting stuck in their 'joints'. This caused more friction on the surface and it didn't sound smooth.
I know this is probably too late, but you can do much more than double the power of your magnets by putting a steel bar across the back of them. Remember, magnetism is the same thing as electricity, so it only works if there is a complete circuit. Air is a weak magnetic conductor, but any ferrous metal will increase the power or your magnets by a LOT. The best thing I've seen on the internet about the effect is Frank Ford's page on molded magnetic clamps. Check it out - it is extremely useful when using magnets.
James,im wondering what a good material for making a iron man suit is? i dont want to use fiberglass because so its cheap. im going to make it from a Pepakura design but my idea is like your hulkbuster (Leave it standing with nobody in it.) and the frame is made out of wood,i also do not have a 3D printer,so any ideas? Thanks
Hi, Im not that great when it comes to these kind of things. But in later years I have been dreaming about doing this sort of build. Is this sort of build to advanced? I have time and money, so thats not the problem. Would be really cool to have built a BB-8.
You need to try using spherical wheels on the head. i believe the casters, due to the point of contact being offset from the axial pivot, are creating an inconsistent load on the head actuator... Should be sinusoidal loading. This will account for at least some of the "jerkyness" you are experiencing. Just discovered your channel. Great videos!
For stopping (still watching the episode as I type :-) ), could you not move the head backwards, so that it doesn't wobble that much? Anyway, loving your show since I discovered it a couple of months ago :-)
Horrid place don't you think? Overpriced, majority of staff don't know anything or very little, and basically, the whole name depends on old people too scared to buy online :/
Hey James I've got two projects for u to try: robocop costume with gun in the leg and build a fully functional transformer costume ur projects are amazing
Amazing build. But to have more stability and good balancing you should move the weight as lower as you can. This avoid inertia movement due to the too high distance between the floor level and the gravity center of your bb8.
love what your doing man. are you a Fallout fan?? if so i would love to see a pip-boy 300 build (a bit like the collectors edition one) on your channel as i think that you would do it more than justice :)
Seems to be having a lot more trouble turning on the spot now and once you add the speakers, amp any arms it could be quite difficult to turn, especially on carpet flooring. Any plans for improving that? I can't really think of anything to suggest.
Thanks James look forward to your new solution. Itching to build and trying of find a big enough printer to print the cheese bits as all my friends have small Beds grr
***** Thanks James I just figure it's smarter to spend less and get more, so to speak. Because I think a mini will be too small! I just can't justify 2k+ for something that I may never use, but for 1k, if it doesn't pan out then I won't feel so bad. I have alot of ideas and alot of models I've made in 123d but waiting for prints to arrive drives me mental!
***** Well if you had a few qi pads you could use one per cell and the slower you charge a lipo the better... but it would be cool to have a little panel that flips out and reveals the balance charging leads..awesome work by the way I still dont kn ow how you find the time!!
you know what differs you from all of the others ? It's your sense to fix every single problem and do it happily , that's what I like about you James your builds are great because of that characteristic that drives you to make these things
james your channel is abselutly amazing please keep up the awsome work your making!
+James Bruton (XRobots) Seriously though.. you are one amazing dude. I used to do some ultra-basic robotics stuff, and this is really inspiring and reminding me of those times :)
I've enjoyed these videos more than just about anything else on TH-cam. Don't know anything about a lot of this stuff but have a huge interest in how electronics works down to the pcbs. Thank you for this awesome content.
So when you paint it, you need to be sure the tech-detail circles aren't perfectly aligned with the forward axis. That way you can get a more complex looking roll out of the ball and really sell the illusion of a BB8 whose head can move anywhere on his body.
***** Awesome! I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Watching your engineering/building/troubleshooting process is so much fun and really motivational. Great progress!
James never stop making videos, you do amazing work!
i just have to say i love watching these videos of you making BB-8 watching you work out the kinks is so amusing ty
How could one ever learn all this? You must've spent hours and hours to learn everything. I respect that, a lot.
Pure genius! You sir, are one talented individual!
Your first attempt was pretty cool, but this iteration is just amazing!
it's amazing how even this prelimenary head prop added so much character to the robot. great progress on the project, i can't wait for the next part!
Would you maybe add some programmed loops down the line to allow it to be sort of autonomous? Great work so far.
about the magnets: linking them with steel or using an halbach configuration could help without adding more mass, it would simply improve the use of the magnetic flux.
you need to put omnidirectional wheels on bb-8's head over caster wheels
I think that it's brilliant how many projects you've done (that we've seen) and how you will revisit projects and adjust, or start from scratch! It's impressive to see someone who loves to tinker away until something is perfect or close to it.
In a different dimension your probably Tony Stark. Hell you're already pretty much him!
Your channel has been a very welcome source of wonder, and also motivation to keep thinking, and figure out how to bring something to life. Thank you for putting out great content.
** (...dimension *you're...)
For the rotational ballist I wonder if you could just create a circular channel and find someone who can cast some lead for you, making a big ring of lead to help you turn.
Plus that may take care of some weight problems.
I love the motion in the head, looks fantastic already!
For the side panels try some slots where you have to rotate the sides 10 degrees to put on/off and some magnets to prevent the sides from falling off when the body is rolling along.
You could try filling out the gaps between the outer panels for improved smoothness of the head movement.
One thing I was curious about with the head 'bobbing' motion. The casters have a pretty thick layer of Ninjaflex, and look like they are compressing a good bit. Seems the rolling resistance could be decreased by a thinner outer layer, and larger hub. This could also be beneficial if you add the other 2 magnets, as the force on those casters would be doubled. This whole build is awesome, and seeing the engineering going into it makes me want to get back to my projects! Keep up the great work on all your stuff!
You may want to rethink the wheels for the head. Perhaps, make a ball like wheel. Similar to what you used to find in an old mechanical mouse (before the use of optical mouse.) or like a track ball design.
Hi, James. Awesome project, as always. Will you consider doing a video about how you attach printed parts to each other?
Might I suggest having the weights as far away from the axes as possible? It'd put more drag on the motors, but it should make the assembly want to stay put in space.
Just seen you and BB-8 mk1 and mk2 on South Today James. Well done for supporting autism care and awareness in children. :)
flush mounted clamps, such as found on airplanes, would be a good idea to secure the removeable side panels ;)
I would suggest filling the extra space in the containers for the lead shot with grease or something along those lines, because the space is allowing the tiny little balls to shift their weight and that might be affecting stabilization, also i can hear the rattle inside the robot, i think the grease would keep all the balls in one place :) great video.
Amazing work! how about adding a go,pro mount in the head behind the lens?
Is giving us new ideas. Marvelous !
To keep the lead shot for making noise maybe you could put in a whole bunch of hot glue on the top of hte shot so it stays tight and dosnt' shake around.
+Joshua Walters just pour CA glue all over it. It hardens in to a solid mass, and then if you ever want the shot back, just put it in a bag and smash it up a bit. The shot will then separate back to pretty much loose shot again.
+Tony Dew Or motor oil, which also adds more weight and is less permanent.
Have you thought of large ball bearings instead of swiveled wheels to support the head? That might make less friction. I imagine that the reorientation of the wheels with each change of direction adds drag.
What about creating a concealable access port that is hidden as one of the surface details seen on BB-8, It would add a bit of realism to it since a droid does have access panels all over it's body.
Could you attach the 2 antennas that can pop out of the head ? i just think that that might be a cool feature from the movie. also his ball has some lighting on it but that isn't so necessary although it is easy to just stick on some LEDs
This is pretty awesome, but I do question if it is necessary for it to travel backwards at all. Since you can turn it 180 degrees and go forward. Not sure how the BB-8 in the new movie moves but I can easily picture the BB-8 not moving backwards and just always turning around to go the other way.
Would a bayonet side attachment be helpful to access the inside? Kind of like the orb that held the power gam in guardians of the Galaxy
i was about to say that you must have a nicebig 3d printer somewhere and then it appeared. nice work.
That's amazing dude. I love doing this kind of stuff but I sure wish I had your brain to make it a whole lot easier.
I have much praise for you. I wonder how much better would it be if the designers had intended the head to be independant module in control of the base and able to move along its surface using its own technique rather than just being stuck on via a magnet. It would solve allot of the lag but complicate the head unit considersbly
what will you make next? i think you should make chappie, along the same lines as ultron
Awesome channel. Great stuff! Keep up the awesome work. And thanks
I'm curious- how heavy is the body as of right now? I feel like the lead balls and all the electronics weigh it down, but that might just be a hunch.
james i believe some of the lag behind in the head could be stopped with some other wheel system the casters will take more force to change direction because of the shape try a rounded ball kind of wheel this fixed all my problems with your set up for me i have one 100% like yours runs much more smooth
Have you thought about replacing those wheel casters with some ball casters? it should help out with slight movements
Ah, I must have missed it.
small suggestion try using ball bearing casters instead of the pivot and wheel for the head rollers great job by the way !
What about ur Johnny 5 project? r u still doing that?
Impressive, really really amazing
That beanie though... looking good James!
+James Bruton (XRobots) For a very special pers... wait nevermind... Also... HULKBUSTER where is that sucker?
+James Bruton (XRobots) Niiice, and for the love god see it through to the end!
hey nice video. Is there a video where you explain what a PID loop is? I dont get it. Thanks
Have you ever thought of putting a Gyro in it to stabilize it, that would make it rock steady, I believe that would get rid of your swaying . just a thought.
Why not try using the small ball bearing style castors instead of the spinning wheels? Should be be a pretty similar effect without all the additional slop of the head position not moving until the wheels have turned nearly all the way into the direction of travel?
I just started a career as an engineer. I'm looking at buying a 3d printer possibly the Taz 5. One of the projects I plan to build with it is a Astromech droid vacuum. Id like to make it of my own design but keep with the basic shape of the R series droids.
James, is there a reason for the caster wheels on the head instead of a ball bearing caster? It's seems kinda prone to binding when moving omnidirectionally?
The original BB8 seems to slightly overcompensate by leaning into a direction with the head before actually moving into this direction. I am not sure if this was more of an artistic decision to intensify the sensation of movement or if it actually helps moving straight. Thinking of it, this could also help in the breaking maneuver to reduce wobble, as the head has more way to travel backwards during the stabilisation phase.
+James Bruton (XRobots) Awesome, looking forward to see the result!
Beautiful work!
does the swivel of the head wheels from moving it back and forth adds to the wobble of the head? how about using ball wheels instead?
Would a really heavy two wheel system sitting flush in the bottom of the ball not be a lot simpler?
Part 4!?!? You've already done so much! only part 4??
I JUST SUBSCRIBED TO YOU CHANNEL AND WOWW..YOU ARE SO SMART....THANK YOU FOR SHARE YOUR PROJECTS
Hi James brilliant episode, as always, just wanted to let you know there is a new bb-8 builders club and apparently they have free CAD for a 3d printed bb-8 head if you wanted to have a look :)
Is it possible/useful to combine some of the fetuses of the previous model's head into this current model's body?
+Jax Nean This is the best typo I've ever seen.
Forgi LaGeord thet is troo, i had mani tie-ping mistaickes. Thanck yoo fore teleeng mee.
+Jax Nean Nope, the Mark One uses a completely different design, so I doubt it would be useful for Mark 2.
+Jax Nean I think if he takes some fetuses some weirdo's will be outside his door screaming "murder"
Slamdoxicalz nooo?! I do it all the time! I have eight stuffed fetuses in my fridge, they're delicious with honey and spices. I will write ((features)) a hundred times :)
You are amazing. Such skill
are you going to put epoxy in with the lead shot so it doesn't rattle?
Amazing job James ! If you add some "tools" inside the robot (mototized arms or something else), will your BB8 keep its stability ?
how do you do the lights and stuff in the head?
do you put a seperate batterie in the head and get kind of an infraredsystem in there
or maybe an nrf module?
How did you separate the globe? Hot air gun?? :)
Holy cow! That's amazing
Your 3D software has default gear templates that you just modify the diameter of?
Great Progress. Will you use magnets to attach the sides?
i think the mathmatics in the bottom ring is not quite right yet...
Maybe the stick should not control the speed of the ring, but the accelaration, since that is what controls the rotation of the robot. Imagine this: if you push the stick all the way to the right now, the robot will jump to the right and then settle down. as soon as you let go of the stick, the robot will spin in the other direction with the same force. if you made it so that if you let go of the stick, the ring keeps its rotational velocity, and it is only manipulated if the stick is pushed to the other side, it would make much more sense. I don't know how much battery that would suck though...
+James Bruton (XRobots) instead of screwing around with a bunch of clumsy hacks to avoid confusing the magnetometer, replace the thing that is making the magnetometer confused with something that won't.
Where did you get the globe used for the head?
Maybe for the sides you can make it so you can replace them with transparent halves for when you want to show off the insides. I'm very impressed so far!
+James Bruton (XRobots) it takes to much time for head to react on the command. Supposingly, if you replace those wheels at the bottom of the head with ball wheels turning all around you will reduce friction between head and body and achieve more stability.
+Александр Рапопорт He did try out ball wheels in an earlier video, but if I recall correctly the balls had to be hard to prevent them from getting stuck in their 'joints'. This caused more friction on the surface and it didn't sound smooth.
I know this is probably too late, but you can do much more than double the power of your magnets by putting a steel bar across the back of them. Remember, magnetism is the same thing as electricity, so it only works if there is a complete circuit. Air is a weak magnetic conductor, but any ferrous metal will increase the power or your magnets by a LOT. The best thing I've seen on the internet about the effect is Frank Ford's page on molded magnetic clamps. Check it out - it is extremely useful when using magnets.
James,im wondering what a good material for making a iron man suit is? i dont want to use fiberglass because so its cheap. im going to make it from a Pepakura design but my idea is like your hulkbuster (Leave it standing with nobody in it.) and the frame is made out of wood,i also do not have a 3D printer,so any ideas? Thanks
Can you do a video about how you gets your printer print so good? :)
James with your first bb8 you could use it as a giveaway competition thing.
nice job man keep up the great work
where will you get the sound effcts from
you might need metal supports for the wheels on the head
Hi, Im not that great when it comes to these kind of things. But in later years I have been dreaming about doing this sort of build. Is this sort of build to advanced? I have time and money, so thats not the problem. Would be really cool to have built a BB-8.
What would you do if your BB-8 is even better then the original one and sphero would use your technic?
+Alpha77productions Btw please make a Q and A video!
***** So was that man who let you (and BB-8) drive the mantisbot the true creator? Didn't know that yet! Thx for telling me!
what design program do you use?
You need to try using spherical wheels on the head. i believe the casters, due to the point of contact being offset from the axial pivot, are creating an inconsistent load on the head actuator... Should be sinusoidal loading. This will account for at least some of the "jerkyness" you are experiencing.
Just discovered your channel. Great videos!
+James Bruton (XRobots) hahaha just watched it. you had already thought about it,
For stopping (still watching the episode as I type :-) ), could you not move the head backwards, so that it doesn't wobble that much? Anyway, loving your show since I discovered it a couple of months ago :-)
Have you thought about using ball casters for the tracking of the head instead of wheels, would it help with the smoothness?
Looking good btw.
+James Gray www.dfrobot.com/wiki/images/9/95/Metal_ball_casters.jpg
+James Bruton (XRobots) ah must have missed that. I'll check it out
1:25ish, am I seeing a blue toggle switch from Maplins? Lemme know, and I'll tell you how to get a staff discount.
Horrid place don't you think? Overpriced, majority of staff don't know anything or very little, and basically, the whole name depends on old people too scared to buy online :/
Hey James I've got two projects for u to try: robocop costume with gun in the leg and build a fully functional transformer costume ur projects are amazing
I would love to see you build iron man mark 42 if you could start that after hulk buster is dont i would love to see it.
Amazing build. But to have more stability and good balancing you should move the weight as lower as you can. This avoid inertia movement due to the too high distance between the floor level and the gravity center of your bb8.
I wonder how expensive all the parts were hence the droid itself
if you make the gears slanted they will make a lot less noise
pls I beg, when your done, do a working robitc c3popls tell me if you cant or will
You should add a camera for the eye
love what your doing man. are you a Fallout fan?? if so i would love to see a pip-boy 300 build (a bit like the collectors edition one) on your channel as i think that you would do it more than justice :)
Hi!
just wanted to know... how much does the BB-8 weigh so far?
amazing job
Seems to be having a lot more trouble turning on the spot now and once you add the speakers, amp any arms it could be quite difficult to turn, especially on carpet flooring. Any plans for improving that? I can't really think of anything to suggest.
Ah ok, way ahead of me, haha. Good luck.
what size globe did you use and are you going to use same head dolly for version 3?
Thanks James look forward to your new solution. Itching to build and trying of find a big enough printer to print the cheese bits as all my friends have small Beds grr
Do you think you could make it go back like it does when it goes front?
Ok thanks!
Give this man a small loan of a million dollars :D
Hi James! Would you recommend a 2nd hand Taz 3 lulzbot? It's about half price and I'm tempted to buy it.. is it much different' than the new model?
***** Thanks James I just figure it's smarter to spend less and get more, so to speak. Because I think a mini will be too small! I just can't justify 2k+ for something that I may never use, but for 1k, if it doesn't pan out then I won't feel so bad. I have alot of ideas and alot of models I've made in 123d but waiting for prints to arrive drives me mental!
you should have bb-8 rwact when you push it
I want to make an Android but I have no idea where to start
James why not put a couple of QI inductive charging pads on the inside of BB8? That way you wouldn't have to take him apart to charge him?
***** Well if you had a few qi pads you could use one per cell and the slower you charge a lipo the better... but it would be cool to have a little panel that flips out and reveals the balance charging leads..awesome work by the way I still dont kn
ow how you find the time!!