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 […]
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
Closed Monday, February 21st
We all have family, in one form or another. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, pets... In some cases, even a delapitated, 20 year-old Honda Civic lovingly referred to as Lou. It has rust in the rear quarter panels and the steering wheel squeeks when it gets cold, but things just wouldn't be the […]
New Product Friday: Raspberry SAFE, IR S...
Friday! New stuff! Go! Solarbotics Raspberry SAFE $8.95 Now that you've waited a long, long while for your Raspberry Pi® board to arrive you'll want to protect your precious! Use the Raspberry SAFE to protect it from the harmful environment that is your desk. I2C-It Sharp IR Distance Sensor (10 to 80cm range) $16.45 We've […]
New Product: Metric Hardware
M3x10mm Allen Hex Socket Head Cap Black Steel Screw, 10 pcs 1.90 M3x10mm Allen Hex Socket Head Cap Black Steel Screw, 10 pcs M1.7x4mm 304 Stainless Steel Cross countersunk head Machine Screw $1.95 M1.7x4mm 304 Stainless Steel Philips head countersunk machine screws, qty 10 M3x3mm Hex Socket Head Set Screws Cup Point (grub) $1.95 Don't […]
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.