A question

[RobovieFan]

Is LynxMotion a good place to get parts and servos for a custom robot?

[Robo1]

I haven't used there stuff my self but I have seen some good robots made by there kit. I would say it's a good place to start. you can pick up a couple of servos and brackets and use there board to get started then from there you can use a combination of different products to expand you robot.

hope this helps bren

[KurtE]

Is LynxMotion a good place to get parts and servos for a custom robot?

Yes, I think so. I am currently building one of their 3 DOF hex robots, which is all built with their SES parts. This will allow me to change the robot as my needs or desires change. Also most of the SES parts have been or are in the process of being 3d modeled and there are several people who are designing their own robot this way.

I also like that the person who builds the pieces and owns the company is there to answer questions and give a helping hand. This is why I ended up choosing them over Robotis.

Hope this helps

[Joe]

This is a question I've been wrestling with myself. They have some obnoxious store policies (e.g. no PayPal, and charging $8 shipping on a $1.50 bag of fasteners that weigh a few ounces) which have so far kept me from jumping in. I like to start small, and their store policies really prevent you from doing that.

Also, some of their prices seem a bit high (like $18 for a simple pair of flat aluminum feet!). But prices on some of their other brackets are pretty reasonable. This may reflect their own costs in having aluminum machined, which relates to how many of a particular part they are selling.

But, at the end of the day, they DO make aluminum parts that work with standard servos, and I like that. They also have a great user community and a helpful forum, and I like that too.

The alternatives I've been considering are:

1. Make my own brackets and other parts out of laser-cut acryllic. I designed a pair of 3D feet (i.e., eliminating the need for an additional bracket to grip the servo) in QCad, and got a quote from Pololu: $25 (which is their minimum laser-cut order) would make four such feet. That's substantially cheaper than the Lynxmotion equivalent. But... acryllic is probably going to be heavier and somewhat weaker than aluminum, and I would probably make design mistakes that resulted in scrapping parts; it's also a lot more work to go this route (unless someone else wants to team up on it — any takers?).

2. Make molded plastic parts, by shaping them first with Sculpey (a polymer clay) and then casting them in resin or something similar. This is fairly cheap, but even more work than laser-cut plastic. Getting precise parts this way is difficult. I'm a cheap bugger, but even I have lower bounds on the value of my time.

Ideal for me would be if I had a CNC milling machine; then I'd build my robot parts out of 1/8" plywood, which is strong, easy, and cheap. But I don't have such a machine and can't afford one.

I haven't come up with any other routes for a do-it-yourself robot builder. I actually tried pricing a simple aluminum bracket at eMachineShop, and it was ridiculously expensive unless you order a large quantity. Again, I suppose if you have your own milling machine (and a few others), you can make your own brackets fairly cheaply, but there's a high up-front cost and a fair amount of time involved in that.

So, I'll probably end up going with Lynxmotion too — but if any other home-builders here have better ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Best,
— Joe

[RobovieFan]

I'm waiting until they come out with the torso rotation kit. It looks good from the picture.

[RamDragon]

Just getting into robotics, myself, but one of the routs I'm pursuing for fabricating parts comes from a combination of car care and 5 years in prop and set design for theatre. For around $20 at Wal-Mart, I've procured clear fiberglass resin and 8 square feet of fiberglass fabric (not to be confused with the mat). By printing the parts out on my printer on heavy Bristol (not recommended for printers that can't handle cardstock) I can cut and shape my parts quickly with Elmer’s, then carbon fiber over them. Since I already printed my design on the paper back, locating precise holes will be easy.

I have also used that technique for producing complex fiberglass shapes by using polymer clay as a base.

I'm still hunting servos (I'm an art student again so money don't come cheap) so I'm still in the "dream" stage. I should point out, though, that fiberglass techniques can get expensive because cleaning up the edges is X-Acto intensive. Just a thought for another technique I haven't seen here on the boards yet.

[Joe]

I'm still hunting servos (I'm an art student again so money don't come cheap) so I'm still in the "dream" stage. I should point out, though, that fiberglass techniques can get expensive because cleaning up the edges is X-Acto intensive. Just a thought for another technique I haven't seen here on the boards yet.

I think most of us here don't have the skills. So let me suggest a way to fund your robotics hobby: make lightweight custom robot parts with your fiberglass techniques (or resin, or whatever works best), and sell them to the many robot hobbyists with great electronics and coding skills who couldn't sculpt their way out of a paper bag.

I'd suggest starting with heads and chest plating, and then move on to limbs and feet. Be sure to consider how these parts would be mounted on the robot frame... a good way to start might be to buy a couple of Lynxmotion brackets, and copy their hole pattern. Or just hang out in these forums and ask what people want, and how they'd like to mount it.

Best,
- Joe

[RamDragon]

I think most of us here don't have the skills. So let me suggest a way to fund your robotics hobby: make lightweight custom robot parts with your fiberglass techniques (or resin, or whatever works best), and sell them to the many robot hobbyists with great electronics and coding skills who couldn't sculpt their way out of a paper bag.

That's a really good idea. I've done similar things for people I know personally. It's easier to get things to people you know.

Yeah, I guess all I'd need is exterior dimentions on the robot and hole placement guides. The rest'd be easy.