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 24, 2012
Arduino Leonardo Preorder, Cool Link Wed...

Big news! We've put in an order to bring in a schwack-load (a scientific unit of measurement) of the new n' shiny Arduino Leonardo. We can't quite say when they're set to arrive, though, but we're hoping it'll only be a few weeks...ish. Looks like this will be a really popular board, due to the impressive […]

July 12, 2004
YaaHOO! Stampede & GM11's!

Yup, it's that time of the year in Calgary, pahdnah (no, that's not an East Indian name - it's cowboy for friend). The Calgary Stampede is upon us, and we're expecting to give our staff a wee bit of leeway to enjoy themselves a bit. It shouldn't affect your service, but don't be surprised if […]

April 27, 2005
Sumovore Upgrade Kit

What's new at Solarbotics? We've just released our Sumovore Baseplate Upgrade Kit which will let you replace the mounting tape & zip-tie restraints with a black powder-coated steel baseplate! This upgrade makes the Sumovore much more robust, and also increases the mass for a more competitive edge. Note that all new Sumovores from Solarbotics will […]

November 12, 2014
Wednesday Cool Links: Bioluminescence, F...

Keep warm! What else can I say... This is the season of thermosocks, spice chai, frozen windshields and many layers. For those who are not hibernating just yet, here's a weekly dose of entertainment: Bioluminescent Bacteria Lamp I want one! Hopefully no bacteria were hurt in this lighting experiment, and they were all paid accordingly […]

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.