Mike J. ( B9-0002 )

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11/06/2004 - Fabrication and assembly of the leg support mechanism

Here's a shot of all the components for the leg support mechanism.

 

 

The Leg Support Frame

Blueprints for the Frame

Side Supports cut from Norm's welded leg supports.

Leg Frame cross members - Gas Strut pivot points.

Leg Frame Fore/Aft cross members.

 

Here are a few shots of the assembled Leg Support Frame:

 

 

The Leg Support Bottom Plate

The bottom plate provides an attach point for the hip motor and the leg section electronics.

Blueprints for the Bottom Plate:

Bottom Plate.

Here's a shot of the bottom plate in position:

 

 

The Hip Motor Bracket

Blueprints for the Hip Motor Bracket:

Hip Motor Bracket.

A few shots of the motor bracket:

 

 

The Leg Frame Back Plate

The back plate helps hold the support's "square" and provides an attach point for the 12" hinge.

Blueprints for the Back Plate:

Back Plate.

Here are a few shots of the back plate:

 

The Hip Hinges and Gas Shock Struts

The Hip hinge is just a 12" hinge that I picked up at a local hardware store.

The Gas Struts hold most of the weight of the torso. This allows the hip motor to raise and lower without excessive loads.

Part Numbers for the "Strong Arm" struts: NAPA 819 -5245    CarQuest 4419

Part Numbers for the "Strong Arm" struts are no longer valid as of 5/9/15.
New part number that can be used in this build
would be : 4517.
Best deal is at AutoZone at time of this writing.
AutoZone cross referenced the Strong Arm part number to the following: SG359009

Information on the strut itself:
Stabilus  Lift-O-Mat  USA - Gastonia, NC 28052  3824LG 0230N 213/14 C27
Above infromation thanks to Greg Logue.

Here's a shot of the struts and the hinge:

 

Hinge in position.

 

Struts in position:

 

Motor attached to Hip Bracket:

 

The Hip Actuator Arm and Connector Rod

The arm (red) and rod (yellow) allow the motor to raise and lower the front of the hinged sub waist plate. This allows the Robot to lean forward and backwards.

Blueprints for the Arm & Connector:

Arm & Connector.

Here are a few shots of the arm & connector parts:

 

A brass bushing and nylon spacers for the linkage.

 

Mounted to the lower plate:

 

OOPic and Motor Controller assembly mounted to the lower plate:

 

Optical switch to detect if the Hip is above or below "level":

 

The Sub Waist Plate

The sub waist plate leans forward and back and provides a mounting location for the torso rotation motor.

Blueprints for the Plate:

Sub Waist Plate.

Here are a shot of the sub waist plate:

 

The Sub Waist Plate Frame

The sub waist frame provides strength and attach points for the gas shock struts.

Blueprints for the Frame:

Sub Waist Plate Frame.

Here is a shot of the sub waist plate frame attached to the sub waist plate underside:

 

Here's the assembly attached to hinge and gas struts, with a little help from my son!

 

Here's the connector arm and rod attached to the frame:

 

 

The Torso Rotation Motor Assembly

A Bracket holds the motor and allows for vertical adjustment of the wheel.  The wheel is a 4.5" diameter hobby wheel meant for large model RC Aircraft.

Blueprints for the Bracket and Wheel hub:

Bracket.

Hub.

Here are some shots showing how it all goes together:

 

Here it is attached to the sub waist plate:

 

Here's the whole thing in place on the Treads:

 

The Donut/Waist Plate assembly, attached to the sub waist plate:

 

Matthew shows off the suports with the torso in place:

 

Testing everything, hip motion, torso rotation and soil sampler control.

Fun Stuff!!

 

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