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

May 25, 2004
Content Added

Well, it's not exactly news, but we have managed to import most of the old content back into the site. There are still a few more additions to go, but this should keep you tinkering on new projects until then. Head over to the BEAM Resources section for the added BEP Applications, Photo Galleries, and […]

May 7, 2007
The return of the MCM...

Remember many, many moons back when Solarbotics was a young company, with just a few hacker-type objects to offer the robotics community? One of these items was the "Metal Cassette Mechanism", and was the heart of a great many Solarengine Kit. Hail the return of the almighty MCM! (Ok, it isn't as earth-shaking as all […]

May 26, 2009
We are at the Maker Faire!

Solarbotics and HVW Tech will be at the Bay Area Maker Faire this weekend!  If you have a chance to come out be sure to stop by and say hi, we'll be in our booth all day Saturday and Sunday.  Also Dave will be doing a presentation in the workshop area over the weekend, so […]

September 23, 2009
Makecation Judging

Well, my stint as Makezine's Soldering Makecation councellor is over. Last thing to do is go over the entries and pick some winners. See them here!

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.

Copyright © 2024 Solarbotics Ltd. All Rights Reserved
cart