Manoi PF01 assembly tutorial
Manoi PF01 assembly tutorial
by Peabo
Sat May 24, 2008 9:52 pm
This is in relation to the other thread I started. I thought it might be useful to have a new one describing the build process of Manoi PF01.
I ordered from Kumotek, who were very helpful in getting him to me as soon as possible. He was shipped directly from Japan and was held up in Kyosho's factory for a few weeks, but once he shipped, it took around 3 days to get to me. It was held in customs for a further 3 days and released with VAT charges as it is merchandise.
It does not ship with the 2 gyro sensors, so you have to buy those separately (you can get them in the Robosavvy shop).
I also bought a TEC-3 adapter from HotProceed and Logitech wireless PS2 controller.
http://members2.jcom.home.ne.jp/hotproceed//sub2.html
The TEC-3 allows analog input from the PS2 pad's control sticks, so you can make him wave his arms around or do whatever you want. Just email the guy and he'll let you buy one using PayPal. It's preferable to the standard controllers with aerials, since you actually need to drill a hole in Manoi's back for the antenna to poke out from with those!
There is detailed infromation about how to control Manoi's arms with the analog sticks on this page:
http://robot.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/co ... 9/735.html
Use translate.google.com if you can't read Japanese. The one piece of info that doesn't translate is that you have to click 'AUTO' on the analog input window for PA1, 2, 3 and 4 or his arms will stick out to the side when you press the Start button to enable analog control.
Manoi PF01 comes in one small box. Kumotek were kind enough to include their own CD with a lot of extremly useful bits & pieces on it. For one, it includes the entire assembly manual translated into English! I would still reccomend reading the Japanese one as you put him together, since you need to check the Kanji/Katakana/Hirigana that they assign to each screw in the manual against the Kanji/Katakana/Hirigana on the screw bags. There are several screws of the same measurements that have different heads, so don't get them mixed up. It also has some motion data which works without the gyros, should you not have purchased them.
Inside the main box are several smaller ones, containing all the various parts of Manoi. Each body part comes in its own bag, with all the appropriate screws inside too. The bags are numbered, and correspond to the steps in the manual. There is also a bag containing all the servos and PCBs that you need. Finally, there is the charger and the batteries (which you can use in a UK or US socket with the correct kettle lead - no need for an adapter). You're going to want to start charging right away as you will need power for the first part of assembly which involves zeroing all the servos.
It will take about an hour to sort out all the bags, and unpack everything, as well as removing all the screws from the servos as it startes in the manual (a few of the servos want different screws removed, so pay attention to what the manual says), so there will be plenty of time for the batteries to charge. The thing to be careful with at this stage is not to crush the wires when assembling the torso. It's a very tight fit for them and if you get them pinched in the plastic chassis, they will get stripped as they are very thin. Also, you will be disassembling the torso as soon as all the servos are set, so don't screw anything in too tightly. You'll need to install the driver for the USB-serial cable adapter which is included. Just follow the directions in the manual (you need to install it twice for some reason). Make sure each servo is working correctly by moving the slider up and down a bit before setting it to 0.
Once the torso is disassembled, you're going to start on the limbs. The arms come first and they are relatively easy to build. The things to remember are not to tighten the screws too much. They are very delicate and will strip extremely easily. Double check that you are using the correct screws before screwing them in, look at the Kanji in the manual and the Kanji on the bag; they should be EXACTLY the same. The plastic casing is also very fragile, tighten the screws too much and it will bend or even crack, so stop when you start to feel the resistance. Take care when attaching the cogs to the servos that you don't turn them too much or you may mis-align the servo. Just push straight down when you're sure they are on the right way.
The manual gives you step by step inscructions for both arms, not just one, so assembling the 2nd will be as easy as the first. There are some areas where it tells you to apply grease to to allow for smooth motion. The grease is included in a little white tub. use a cotton bud or tissue to apply it.
The legs take a lot longer to build than the arms as there are 5 servos in each. You should have connected all the appropriate wires to the servos as you were zeroing them at the start. Make sure you also attached the appropriate number-labels to each wire so that you know what each one should connect to (it tells you to do this in the manual).
The head is quite a relaxing build after all the hard work with the limbs. If you like you can jump ahead and install your remote control receiver in here right away. In the manual it doesn't tell you to do this until later, but if you want to save yourself the trouble of taking him apart again, then go ahead and install it now. I personally recommend it as it's a real pain disassembling him later just for this. If you're using the KRC remote then the instructions for installation are in the manual. If you're using the TEC-3 (recommended!) then you don't need to drill a hole in his back for the antenna, just feed the connecting wire through his neck to connect to the PCB later (note: you'll need a wire about 200-300mm in length to reach down to the PCB).
Now you're going to re-assemble the torso again. After screwing on the legs (make sure you pay attention to which is the right & left one!) you have to feed all the servo wires through the holes that it specifys in the manual, and then slide the arms and head into the appropriate grooves in the torso. At this point you'll really wish you had 4 arms as it's a small nightmare. I suggest putting the head on first then sliding the arms in underneath. Fianlly, feed the wires through and snap on the front of the torso and quickly screw it down. Make sure everything has slid into place correctly, especially the head.
Finally, put a piece of insulating tape (included) over the 2 screws that will be beneath the PCB and screw that down too. Attach all the servo wires and power wires then screw on the back cover and snap on the chest cover. If you can't snap it on easily then re-arrange the wires to make more room for it. You'll need to push it down firmly with your palm. If it really won't go then the chances are that his head or arms aren't attached correctly, so check all around them.
So now that he is built, you're going to need to set the home position (not easy!). Remove the chest, cover, attach the cable that connects to the PC and follow all the steps in the manual carefully. Refer to the diagrams, as well as using the included pastic cut-outs which outline how he is supposed to stand. This will take a good long while, but it is essential.
Once you're happy with it, you should go ahead and install the 2 gyros. This is very simple, just take off the chest cover, attach the gryos to the 2 shelves with double-sided tape (not included) and connect the 2 wires to the PCB as it states in the manual.
Now you can try out some motion data and see if it works will with your home position. If not, keep adjusting it until it's as close as you can get. Mine still is isn't perfect but it works with almost every motion (with the exception of the 'balance' once). Rememeber that the more you use him, the weaker the servos will become as the battery drains. The 'getting up' motion in particular will always fail unless he is running on a full charge, so don't use this one for reference. You can always adjust the motions themselves if you just can't seem to get them working. Also, you should rename the Japanese motion files to English as the Heart 2 Heart software may have trouble opening them otherwise. If you get an error, then you'll know.
Up until this point, you'll have been controlling Manoi from the cable that connects to the computer. If you want to use the KRC remote control then follow the installation isntructions in the manual (much easier if you already installed the receiver). If you want to use the TEC-3 then follow the same steps, but do not check the 'control with KRC-1' checkbox when you're setting it up or it won't understand the signals sent from the PS2 pad. You should note that you can do multiple button combinations to store dozens of commands on the remote. For example, you can hold triangle+up, left, right or down or both square & triangle, or circle & R1 etc. etc. for different motions. You won't run out of combinations in a hurry! Just make sure you note down what you've done! It helps to name the motions in the data table as they are in Japanese by default.
That's pretty much it! I wish you all luck
The build time is a full day, so set aside plenty of time if you want to get it done in one go.
One thing I've noticed is that Manoi literally guzzles the batteries, even though he has 3! You'll only be able to use him properly for about 10-15 minutes, after that he probably won't have enough power to standup after falling down. And he'll be totally drained after half an hour. The batteries take about an hour to charge back up, so play-time will be short! Avoid repeatedly using overly-strenuous motions, such as the standing up, or jumping ones, those really seem to suck the power out of him fast.
I ordered from Kumotek, who were very helpful in getting him to me as soon as possible. He was shipped directly from Japan and was held up in Kyosho's factory for a few weeks, but once he shipped, it took around 3 days to get to me. It was held in customs for a further 3 days and released with VAT charges as it is merchandise.
It does not ship with the 2 gyro sensors, so you have to buy those separately (you can get them in the Robosavvy shop).
I also bought a TEC-3 adapter from HotProceed and Logitech wireless PS2 controller.
http://members2.jcom.home.ne.jp/hotproceed//sub2.html
The TEC-3 allows analog input from the PS2 pad's control sticks, so you can make him wave his arms around or do whatever you want. Just email the guy and he'll let you buy one using PayPal. It's preferable to the standard controllers with aerials, since you actually need to drill a hole in Manoi's back for the antenna to poke out from with those!
There is detailed infromation about how to control Manoi's arms with the analog sticks on this page:
http://robot.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/co ... 9/735.html
Use translate.google.com if you can't read Japanese. The one piece of info that doesn't translate is that you have to click 'AUTO' on the analog input window for PA1, 2, 3 and 4 or his arms will stick out to the side when you press the Start button to enable analog control.
Manoi PF01 comes in one small box. Kumotek were kind enough to include their own CD with a lot of extremly useful bits & pieces on it. For one, it includes the entire assembly manual translated into English! I would still reccomend reading the Japanese one as you put him together, since you need to check the Kanji/Katakana/Hirigana that they assign to each screw in the manual against the Kanji/Katakana/Hirigana on the screw bags. There are several screws of the same measurements that have different heads, so don't get them mixed up. It also has some motion data which works without the gyros, should you not have purchased them.
Inside the main box are several smaller ones, containing all the various parts of Manoi. Each body part comes in its own bag, with all the appropriate screws inside too. The bags are numbered, and correspond to the steps in the manual. There is also a bag containing all the servos and PCBs that you need. Finally, there is the charger and the batteries (which you can use in a UK or US socket with the correct kettle lead - no need for an adapter). You're going to want to start charging right away as you will need power for the first part of assembly which involves zeroing all the servos.
It will take about an hour to sort out all the bags, and unpack everything, as well as removing all the screws from the servos as it startes in the manual (a few of the servos want different screws removed, so pay attention to what the manual says), so there will be plenty of time for the batteries to charge. The thing to be careful with at this stage is not to crush the wires when assembling the torso. It's a very tight fit for them and if you get them pinched in the plastic chassis, they will get stripped as they are very thin. Also, you will be disassembling the torso as soon as all the servos are set, so don't screw anything in too tightly. You'll need to install the driver for the USB-serial cable adapter which is included. Just follow the directions in the manual (you need to install it twice for some reason). Make sure each servo is working correctly by moving the slider up and down a bit before setting it to 0.
Once the torso is disassembled, you're going to start on the limbs. The arms come first and they are relatively easy to build. The things to remember are not to tighten the screws too much. They are very delicate and will strip extremely easily. Double check that you are using the correct screws before screwing them in, look at the Kanji in the manual and the Kanji on the bag; they should be EXACTLY the same. The plastic casing is also very fragile, tighten the screws too much and it will bend or even crack, so stop when you start to feel the resistance. Take care when attaching the cogs to the servos that you don't turn them too much or you may mis-align the servo. Just push straight down when you're sure they are on the right way.
The manual gives you step by step inscructions for both arms, not just one, so assembling the 2nd will be as easy as the first. There are some areas where it tells you to apply grease to to allow for smooth motion. The grease is included in a little white tub. use a cotton bud or tissue to apply it.
The legs take a lot longer to build than the arms as there are 5 servos in each. You should have connected all the appropriate wires to the servos as you were zeroing them at the start. Make sure you also attached the appropriate number-labels to each wire so that you know what each one should connect to (it tells you to do this in the manual).
The head is quite a relaxing build after all the hard work with the limbs. If you like you can jump ahead and install your remote control receiver in here right away. In the manual it doesn't tell you to do this until later, but if you want to save yourself the trouble of taking him apart again, then go ahead and install it now. I personally recommend it as it's a real pain disassembling him later just for this. If you're using the KRC remote then the instructions for installation are in the manual. If you're using the TEC-3 (recommended!) then you don't need to drill a hole in his back for the antenna, just feed the connecting wire through his neck to connect to the PCB later (note: you'll need a wire about 200-300mm in length to reach down to the PCB).
Now you're going to re-assemble the torso again. After screwing on the legs (make sure you pay attention to which is the right & left one!) you have to feed all the servo wires through the holes that it specifys in the manual, and then slide the arms and head into the appropriate grooves in the torso. At this point you'll really wish you had 4 arms as it's a small nightmare. I suggest putting the head on first then sliding the arms in underneath. Fianlly, feed the wires through and snap on the front of the torso and quickly screw it down. Make sure everything has slid into place correctly, especially the head.
Finally, put a piece of insulating tape (included) over the 2 screws that will be beneath the PCB and screw that down too. Attach all the servo wires and power wires then screw on the back cover and snap on the chest cover. If you can't snap it on easily then re-arrange the wires to make more room for it. You'll need to push it down firmly with your palm. If it really won't go then the chances are that his head or arms aren't attached correctly, so check all around them.
So now that he is built, you're going to need to set the home position (not easy!). Remove the chest, cover, attach the cable that connects to the PC and follow all the steps in the manual carefully. Refer to the diagrams, as well as using the included pastic cut-outs which outline how he is supposed to stand. This will take a good long while, but it is essential.
Once you're happy with it, you should go ahead and install the 2 gyros. This is very simple, just take off the chest cover, attach the gryos to the 2 shelves with double-sided tape (not included) and connect the 2 wires to the PCB as it states in the manual.
Now you can try out some motion data and see if it works will with your home position. If not, keep adjusting it until it's as close as you can get. Mine still is isn't perfect but it works with almost every motion (with the exception of the 'balance' once). Rememeber that the more you use him, the weaker the servos will become as the battery drains. The 'getting up' motion in particular will always fail unless he is running on a full charge, so don't use this one for reference. You can always adjust the motions themselves if you just can't seem to get them working. Also, you should rename the Japanese motion files to English as the Heart 2 Heart software may have trouble opening them otherwise. If you get an error, then you'll know.
Up until this point, you'll have been controlling Manoi from the cable that connects to the computer. If you want to use the KRC remote control then follow the installation isntructions in the manual (much easier if you already installed the receiver). If you want to use the TEC-3 then follow the same steps, but do not check the 'control with KRC-1' checkbox when you're setting it up or it won't understand the signals sent from the PS2 pad. You should note that you can do multiple button combinations to store dozens of commands on the remote. For example, you can hold triangle+up, left, right or down or both square & triangle, or circle & R1 etc. etc. for different motions. You won't run out of combinations in a hurry! Just make sure you note down what you've done! It helps to name the motions in the data table as they are in Japanese by default.
That's pretty much it! I wish you all luck
The build time is a full day, so set aside plenty of time if you want to get it done in one go.
One thing I've noticed is that Manoi literally guzzles the batteries, even though he has 3! You'll only be able to use him properly for about 10-15 minutes, after that he probably won't have enough power to standup after falling down. And he'll be totally drained after half an hour. The batteries take about an hour to charge back up, so play-time will be short! Avoid repeatedly using overly-strenuous motions, such as the standing up, or jumping ones, those really seem to suck the power out of him fast.
