New Year, New Possibilities

01/02/2019

After the disappointment with the 18" dome I had ordered, and the lack of response from larger plastics fabricators (who apparently don't want new business; looking at you Crossman Mfg. and California Quality Plastics), I assumed the project would stall indefinitely (again) since the dome is pretty crucial to the project. Fortunately, I stumbled on a possible alternative that was not at all on my radar as an option: a dome cover for food trays.

I had no idea that they made really large dome covers, so was pleasantly surprised when I discovered them. I resisted the idea at first since I originally wanted a whole hemispherical dome without a seam, but the covers are injection molded, which eliminates the distortion inevitable in vac-formed domes and gives a consistent thickness. I was not crazy about the fact that the front half is larger and rolls back over the back half, but when I though about it, I decided that by turning it around, the front could actually roll back into the larger (now) back half and allow easy access to the internal head details, either for maintenance or for "business" if I should be able to do any film projects with the robot. It also added an extra detail that hearkened back to the head design of Maria from "Metropolis"; which can't be a bad thing, right? :)

This change also "forced" me to do some redesigning of the head to accommodate the change and ended up opening up more design ideas. I also lucked into an exceptionally good deal price-wise and decided that it was fated to be, so I grabbed one quickly and started modifying the dimensions of the head details (slightly) to fit the new size and shape.

Although constantly having to change things can be frustrating, when I started this project I deliberately left many details vague or completely out since I was anticipating these kinds of potential setbacks. I still started with some basic design elements and ideas, but knew if I stayed "fluid" with the design, I'd likely have an easier time completing the robot than I would if I stuck to a rigid idea or blueprint. As long as the aesthetic and spirit are right, it should still turn out like I want.