We missed last week's Cool Links, so we'll empty our backlog and throw a few extras your way. 1-Bit Symphony This whole album is chiptunes all done on a microcontroller and placed in a CD case. The album/cover art is actually what makes the music. Ted Talk - Massimo Banzi: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination […]
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
More Tidbits!
Well, it's once again that fantasmical time where we recap all the neat stuff we've been up to over the last week. There's nothing massively huge to announce today, but there are a few odds and ends... It's March, and St. Patrick's day is almost among us. For those of you who like to celebrate […]
Merging Solarbotics & HVW Inventori...
So... We've finally decided to go all-out and bring over all the inventory from HVW Tech and integrate it into Solarbotics. This is a pretty big undertaking, and as such you're going to need to tip toe around the construction tape and sawdust while we re-arrange everything. How will this effect you? First off, we're […]
Latest from our Favourite BEAM Roboticis...
Wondering what Mark Tilden and his crew at Wow-Wee have been up to lately? Thanks to Engadget and the BEAM-mailing list, we can see what they've released at the latest "Consumer Electronics Show" (CES), here on this page and this page. Love the Elvis head... just gotta drop that chip into the monkey head they […]
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.