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 GraviTrackafter 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.
Everything is better with chocolate, even the new links: Self-Folding Paper Robot Inspired by origami paper sculptures and equipped with motor. (Via Beautiful Decay) Edible Chocolate LEGOs Mmmm, best Lego ever. (Via Colossal) Drawing Robot Seen lots of drawing robots before, but this one uses fans to create vacuum and attach itself to the metal […]
Alrighty, the week has already slid by and it's time for another update. We have one new product to show off - Practical Arduino by Jonathan Oxer and Hugh Blemings. It contains 13 projects packed into 16 chapters/420+ pages, covering a wide array of an Arduino's potential. It's a pretty comprehensive read. Perhaps the biggest […]
We do some stuff around the office just for fun once-in-a-while. One of these projects resulted in this set of Vibebots, built by Grant McKee. Simple, a bit noisy, but FUN!
We're gonna be at the MAKEr Faire this May! Come by our booth where we'll be populating our MSE-style solar cells and attaching them to junk salvaged from Michael Shiloh's Play Day Area!
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.