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| =Procedure= | | =Procedure= |
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− | The following procedure will show the process of vacuum forming and painting/decorating a PETG body for a 152 robot. There are many ways to shape, paint, decorate, and customize your vacuum formed body. The examples given in this training venture are intended to demonstrate some of the possibilities for how you might design and build your own vacuum formed body. You are encouraged to use these examples as stepping stones to build even more creative and inspiring body shells for your robot. Just make sure your final product is GFU appropriate. | + | The following procedure will show the process of vacuum forming and painting/decorating a PETG shell for a 152 robot. There are many ways to shape, paint, decorate, and customize your vacuum formed shell. The examples given in this training venture are intended to demonstrate some of the possibilities for how you might design and build your own vacuum formed shell. You are encouraged to use these examples as stepping stones to build even more creative and inspiring shells for your robot. Just make sure your final product is GFU appropriate. |
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| + | In the example of the orange cat shell at the top of this page, I designed and 3D printed a mold for the shape. After cutting away the excess PETG plastic, I hand-painted the inside of the shell. I used stacked vinyl cutouts for the nose, mouth, and whiskers. I cut white vinyl pieces for the claws. Finally, I added the construction paper ears and googly eyes as the finishing touches. (My orange cat at home--which was the inspiration for this build--has no tail... just in case you were wondering why there's no tail) |
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| + | But now we will [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n67RYI_0sc0 pivot], and I will explain a second example robot shell in greater detail with pictures to show you the process. |
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| + | There are several modular mold pieces that you can use to create the general shape of your robot's shell. Ask one of the 152 TAs where these modular mold pieces will be kept. You are encouraged to add extra 3D printed parts or wooden pieces or create your own custom shape for your shell. Keep in mind that the vacuum former has limits for how far you can draw down the heated plastic before it rips or begins webbing. For example, don't expect to vacuum form a 6-inch cube cleanly with zero webbing. There are creative ways to minimize webbing or stack two vacuum forms together, but this will be part of your creative discovery of how vacuum forming works. |
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− | In the example of the orange cat body at the top of this page, I designed and 3D printed a mold for the shape. After cutting away the excess PETG plastic, I hand-painted the inside of the body shell. I used stacked vinyl cutouts for the nose, mouth, and whiskers. I cut white vinyl pieces for the claws. Finally, I added the construction paper ears and googly eyes as the finishing touches. (My orange cat at home--which was the inspiration for this build--has no tail... just in case you were wondering why there's no tail)
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− | But now we will [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n67RYI_0sc0 pivot], and I will explain a second example robot body shell in greater detail with pictures to show you the process.
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| [[File:Robot Mold Example.jpg|500px|none]] | | [[File:Robot Mold Example.jpg|500px|none]] |