It's Starting to Look a Lot Like a Mouse Droid

I took some spare time today to put velcro on the other ends of the blocks, stick them to the top greeblies, and stick those on top of the mouse droid/top shell.

I also did some touching up on the paint for parts of the side greeblies, and stuck the sticks to velcro. They will go on the sides soon.

I also decided to paint the edges of the MDF just for looks.

Longer Bolts, Some Painting

I went to Home Depot today and got longer bolts for the RC car body, MDF, and shell "sandwich". 

The drill bit I used was a 13/64, and my original bolts were #10 x 1 inch. These new ones are #10-24's that are 1 and 1/2 inches long.

They're in! Much less of a chance of things falling off. I also put 3 washers on to distribute some of the weight a bit more. 

I also got my paint today from the craft store, so I got to work hand painting the sticks and blocks. 

Suspension Solved, Strengthening the Lower Shell, and More (special thanks to Mike Senna)

This morning, I went to Mike Senna's place to get help with my suspension problem. The plan was to take off the small end pieces, put brass tubing on each rod, move the shock parts closer to the RC car body, and put everything back together.

Mike figured out you can use other holes on the back wheels, not just the large threaded one, to move the suspension parts closer to the RC car body. He let me do the rest, which was tough. You have to keep strong pressure on the screw so you don't strip it, and keep it as straight as you can. It's not meant to be the primary spot for the screws, but can be used. 

Next, Mike used his mini cut off saw to cut the brass tube into smaller pieces. He measured the rods and cut the brass tube to size. 

Next was slipping the brass tubes over the rods, putting the end parts back on, and screwing the suspension parts back in.

I wasn't planning to do anything with the bottom shell yet, but Mike mentioned the bottom shell would be vulnerable to cracking. The shells are thin and the RC car is heavy, so the bottom shell needs more support. He had some MDF that he cut down a little and had me drill into. I had to do a few adjustments, but I got the MDF lined up with the shell and car. I'm likely going to buy longer bolts because these #10 x 1'' are a bit too short. 

During some test driving, a tiny part that I believe is called a wheel pin was temporarily lost. This kept one of the back wheels from working properly, messing with the rear wheel drive, which was due to the missing pin and the need to tighten the wheels. 

Whoever owned this Traxxas before me switched the plugs that connect the motor and ESC, so Mike showed me how to switch them. Unsure why, but it turns out this is an easy fix. 

After all this, the bottom shell drove well with both frame parts in. I put the top shell on (a small increase in weight), and did more successful test drives. It. looks great even without details, but there's still more work to be done. A successful breakthrough and lots of progress thanks to Mike!

Traxxas Bandit ESC Set

I wanted to test my Traxxas to make sure it would run, since I haven't touched it since pre-covid, and ran into a small problem. Something must have gone wrong between the remote controller and Electronic Speed Controller (ESC), because it wasn't driving. It was turning, but not driving. I noticed the ESC LED was blinking red and green. 

I did some googling and found this from Traxxas: https://traxxas.com/support/What-Do-When-ESC-Flashing-Red-and-Green

I'm pretty sure I just reset the ESC and paired it with the remote again, or something similar. 

I tested the car again, and it "drove". The suspension has been taken apart, so I had to hold it up a little and test it (since I only have two arms, I couldn't film it). 

I thought I'd post this in case anyone else ran into this problem.

Painting the Shell

Today was the best way to paint the inner frame and shell, so I got to it. It was cloudy most of the day, but the temperature and humidity was right. 

I used one can of Gloss Black Rustoleum to do 2 coats on the shell, and one on the frame. I allowed the instructions on the can for prep, painting, dry times, and more.

So there's some wind and a tree nearby, which was shedding plant material on my shell. Nothing stuck, but I was tired of brushing it off and stuff. So I took it to the garage and will let it dry and set/cure with some better shelter. 

I may add another coat soon, but the weather started to get unpredictable today (cloudy and sunny, super sunny, then windy...which is a bigger problem), so I'm going to stop for now. 

Brass 5/32 Tube

 I order this from Grainger, and it arrived today. This will be for locking out the shocks.

Shell Prep

I took about 20-30 minutes to clean off my ABS plastic Shell before painting. This is done to get dirt and dust off.

Most guides say to use mild dish soap, but I only had whatever ultra oxy Palmolive is. I was gentle and light when using it, just in case. 

I gave the shell a shower, let it dry for at least 30 minutes, and wrapped the shell in some loose plastic to protect it from further dust.

I plan to keep it wrapped up until painting time. 

On a side note, I also cut some more thin wooden dowels for some of the side Greeblies. I embarrassingly forgot to cut enough out for both sides. I'll paint those when I paint the shell.  

Good Shocks Progress

I did some research and reading on the Mouse Droid Forums, and found you can remove the small end pieces on the shocks. The next mystery was how. I found a blog called CptCasey's WIP that helped me figure out how to remove the pieces.  

CptCasey's WIP: https://forum.mousedroidbuilders.club/thread-550.html?highlight=metal+tube 

I'm not sure what kind of tool this is, maybe diagonal pliers, but it gripped the rod tight enough to where I could unscrew the small end piece. It's my dads, and quite old, but it works well. 

I got the first front one off with a little brain power and sore fingers. You need a very tight grip so that the rod doesn't spin, otherwise every move is pointless. 

I've circled the threaded part in red.

Repeated 3 more times (this is the front done), and then you can put spacers/piping/tubes/whatever to keep the rods fully extended (if you go this route). 

Working on the Suspension Issue

I took some steps to fixing the wheels pushing against the frame, which is a suspension problem.  The wheels need to stand taller and closer to the body, not wider, so they don't hit the frame. This is the best method from the Mouse Droid Builders for my build, and they are helping me a lot. 

First, remove the old straw pieces and springs (springs are probably not needed).

Taking off these plastic things, which I don't know the function, and the bottom screws. I will keep the plastic bits even if I don't need them.

My dad has some 1/2 inch diameter PVC pipe and a cutting tool for it, so this will be used to lock out the shocks. This will be stiffer and stronger, and support the droid more. 

After slipping the pvc over, here it is now. The front are 2 1/5 inches long, and the back are about 2 3/4 inches long. It rolls a lot better with the frame in. 

The back wheels are better, but still rubbing. 

Same for the front, especially the front.

And the clearance is better, but could improve. I will continue working on it, hopefully to avoid sanding the frame down. 

Velcro

I added velcro to the bottom of everything now that I know it works. This apparently holds up to 10 pounds, which is much more than what we have here.

For the top Greeblies

For the PCBs

For more of the side Greeblies

They will all have to wait for the shell to be painted before I stick the other sticky side on.

Attaching the Traxxas, plus some sanding

The weather wasn't good for painting today (heat and wind), and I was recovering from covid19 dose 2 Friday-Saturday, so I decided to drill holes for attaching the Traxxas Bandit to the shell. It was really the only thing I could do. I saw other methods, but builders like Eric (showed me his droid at a build just before covid19 hit) recommended the bolt method. 

This is the area is where a few screws can go, the ideal is about 4, no more than 6. 

I also sanded off some more material with my dremel to allow the wheels more room in the middle and wheel wells.

I took a break to gently sand my shells with 300 and 320 grit sandpaper. This helps the paint adhere better, and I will give it a cleaning later to get off any dust, burs, and dirt. I followed a guide like this one https://www.hunker.com/13413297/how-to-prep-paint-abs-plastic, as I did recall builders advising sanding. 

You can see here it is not super shiny anymore and has some sanding dust, but is NOT scratched. Be gentle and use fine grit sandpaper. You can use a tack cloth on this later. 

I got 250 assorted screws, nuts, and washers from Harbor Freight because we ALWAYS seem to run low on them. I'm thinking of another Mouse or Gonk droid later, upgrades for this Mouse Droid,  Mo from Wall-E, and/or general household repairs for these. 

I'm using the 1 inch long machine bolts here, smallest I could find. I have read countersunk machine screws are also recommended, so these bolts aren't the be-all end-all here.

I didn't want my Traxxas slipping around while measuring and drilling, so I tested some of the heavy duty velcro I bought. It held things steady, but will need to go later as there's too much space between the shell and RC car now. This should definitely work for the Greeblies. 

I only had to test two drill bits to find the right one for the bolts. I have no idea how long my dad has had these, but they work.

Bolts, nuts, and washers assembled here. I'm likely using 4-6 of these setups in the final product. 

I wasn't sure what to expect drilling through this plastic, but it was quite easy. The bit went through the shell easily as well, but I expected that. 

I will be doing some more research on how to assemble everything here, because the washers will help spread out some force and weight. 

It looks like the weather will be better for painting next weekend, which is the good news. 

The bad news....There's also a new issues where the wheels push against the frame, meaning it won't drive very well (if at all). I will likely redo the shocks/suspension (stronger material), get better wheels, and/or sand down a tiny bit of the frame if needed (would hate to do this to such a nice frame). I'm going to do research on this before anything, though.