Painted GraviTrack

Solar botics
March 5, 2018

We always enjoy seeing our products being modified, revamped and DIY-ed, as well as the results of these transformations.

Our customer Vera Kark provided us with some thoughtful feedback on adding mechanical tweaks to improve our Solar GraviTrack build and documentation. She also painted the brown MDF of the machine. She used tempera paint on the wood components still in panelized form, and the GraviTrack's performance seemed to be unaffected. 

The GraviTrack looks great in vibrant jewel tone colours, however, we do not recommend applying paint to the hand mechanism itself. You can paint the base and the rails, avoiding the hand mechanism completely. The moisture and the thickness of the paint might affect the precise tolerances of the moving parts, and will interfere with its proper functioning. Another relatively safe option might be felt tip marker since the moisture from alcohol evaporates quickly.

 

Photos & video by Vera Kark

P.S. Also, a particularly bad idea is painting your GraviTrack after the assembly is completed. Even though we were using a very watered down acrylic paint, the mechanism seized up the moment the paint became sticky. Don't be like us. Take care of your GraviTrack.

A portrait of a sad stuck GraviTrack

MORE POSTS

June 8, 2004
GM15 Dual-Deal; Microcontrollers!

Ok, ok - we've been getting requests (no; more like demands) that we offer a bit of a deal for getting the GM15's in pairs. Alright then. How does $30USD or $40Cdn a pair strike you? Ok, now let's see some nano-sumo robots! "Wot's this? A microcontroller at Solarbotics??" Yup. The Atmel ATMega8L is part […]

October 11, 2002
Junkbots book website

We've just had the author copies of the book arrive today! Woohoo! That means that our regular inventory must be near behind. Stay tuned! This is as good as a time to announce the support website for the book at http://junkbots.solarbotics.com. The book says come to our website for support, but we've since constructed a […]

December 13, 2019
Christmas Holiday Schedule - 2019

With the holidays fast approaching we would like to announce our holiday schedule which is outlined below. When deciding how to ship your orders, please review the shipping estimates at checkout as some methods may not arrive before the beginning of the holidays!

December 10, 2001
Technology Index Closes...

We're sorry to report that Mr. Bilton of Technology Index has informed us that his popular UK webstore is shut down due to circumstances not having to do with its business. We hope things work out for Mr. Bilton, and that Technology Index will reopen for business when things get better.

Solarbotics Ltd Logo
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!

Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.

cart