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, 2003
Remember the GM5?

Hoped you ordered one while you had the chance - they're all gone now! I will most likely be a looong time before these come back, so please don't contact us asking for more - it was a rare deal for Solarbotics, which we were glad to bring to you for as long as it […]

September 11, 2013
Wednesday Cool Links, Announcements and ...

We were at the San Mateo MakerFaire, and were representing for BPS breadboards. They've announced their winners, and the first place went to  Elizabeth from Houston, Texas (age 11) (and we like unicorns too): Now that we have established our stance towards robotic (roboCorns) and regular unicorns (unicornus vulgaris), here's some links. They are just […]

February 27, 2009
PICAXE Project Boards

For the past few months we've had bundles for many of the PICAXE project boards. They come with cables and a battery holder, and are generally what you need if you're getting started in this kind of stuff for the first time. But what if you already have all those fun appetizers on the side, […]

September 13, 2005
Pendulum project

It's really nice to receive pics of projects people have built out of our book "Junkbots". Here's one of the latest: the Pendulum by Christopher Pepe. Nice magnetic suspension mechanism! Read More...

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.