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Kosan-Kun No1 Hardware Information
Battery voltage 12V
Number of servo motors 24 (PWM) (Assignment information)
DC motor (for blowing air)
Weight ?
Full length In an upright position 80cm
Control board RCB-3HV
Ports USB Port x 2
Kosan-Kun No2 Hardware Information
Battery voltage 12V
Number of servo motors 24 (シリアル) (Assignment information)
DC motor (for blowing air)
Weight ?
Full length In an upright position 80cm
Control board RCB-4HV
Ports
Casing - Cutting and alumite
The head is acrylic. The frame making up the body is aluminum. Basically, it is an original product cut by myself, but some parts that are outsourced cutting are mixed.
In the body, the exterior made with resin and acrylic on aluminum are attached.

Create drawings of parts with CAD software. (Drawing of Kosan-kun No. 1)


Although it is possible to create three-dimensional parts as long as they can be seen without obstruction, in the ordinary cutting, I create a plan view.

As the weight gets bigger, the movement of the robot gets worse. So, I try to reduce weight as much as possible. For example, devise a way to preserve a certain degree of strength and cutout some parts.
See Production of CAD data and aluminum cutting by CNC.

I will put the parts designed by CAD on a cutting machine called CNC.
The left picture is CNC called BLACK II.
You can puncture the screw hole to the correct position.
Although aluminum plate is sold at DIY shops, strength is weak, so I recommend purchasing from robot parts specialty store.
Cutting the aluminum with a drill and cut out the parts takes time. Even small parts can take several hours to cut.

If you do not have CNC, you can order aluminum cutting service at a store selling hobby robot parts etc. If you send CAD data such as DXF format, the shop cuts the aluminum and sends it back.

When purchasing CNC, the point is how wide you can cut. For example, if the largest cutting surface is 20 cm × 15 cm, the size of the largest parts that can be produced will also be this size.


See Production of CAD data and aluminum cutting by CNC.

Since bare aluminum does not look good, attach the exterior made with acrylic or resin to the portion  to the blank spaces. I design parts with 3D software for 3D printers. Unlike CNC, 3D printers can create complicated stereoscopic solids that can not be seen through.

As with CNC, when purchasing 3D printers, it is the point that how wide it can produce. The left is a low price 3D printer called Da Vinci.

Cutting aluminum results the color of metal as it is. It does not look good, so I will process coloring called alumite. You can paint parts with ordinary paint, but it will be bald a little. Since alumite performs chemical processing, it seems that the color of the material itself.

Unlike ordinary painting, alumite has limitations on the color that can be selected. Particular attention should be paid to white. White alumite can not be made because there is no dye. When placing orders by saying "white" or "white" to the trader, things that are transparently alumite return. The right picture robot uses parts alumite to green and orange. It is common for metallic texture to remain even after alumite.

A kit for selling alumite at home is sold, but you can also order from an agency. You can look for places where you can order a small number of parts of alumite on the net.
Assembly
Combine the cut aluminum and acrylic to assemble the robot.

Bend aluminum parts as needed. It is almost always bent to 90 degrees.
Machines for bending aluminum are very primitive. It is a feeling that bends a little by sandwiching an aluminum plate in a machine.

There are also tools for bending small parts. It is a product called a pocket vendor.
I think that you can imagine how it works from the photograph. We hold the parts and bend it manually with the two tools.

Screw each part with screws. In hobby robots appearing in battle tournaments etc., in many cases screws are used called M2. Many things around this servo motor are of this size.
Since there is a possibility that the screw will break if there is not enough strength, we choose the one that is as strong as possible.
Controller (control board)
Kosan-kun's servomotors are basically made by Kondo Science.
There are two types of controllers: serial type and PWM type. Kosan-kun No. 1 is PWM type,  Kosan-kun No 2 is serial type.

PWM is a device type that is also used for PC FAN controller.
Probably, it is operated by the frequency of the signal output from the signal line.
In the case of PWM type, each servomotor must be wired to the controller.
There is a disadvantage that wiring is messed up.
The left is the controller around Kosan-kun No. 1.
There are 24 servos and cables, so I summarize with tubes.

In the case of the serial type, it is possible to daisy-chain the servo motors.
The left is the controller around Kosan-kun No 2.
Since the controller only has cables for only head, right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot, the wiring is clearer.

The green area is the back side of the controller. Touching the metal or wetting with water will cause serious damages.
Actuator

Kosan-kun's servomotor is basically made by Kondo Science.
Unlike a normal motor (called DC motor), the servomotor can stop at any specified angle. As DC motor supplied power, it continues to turn. The servomotor stops at the angle specified by the signal line and tries to stay at that angle even if external force is applied.
As with the controller, there are two types of servo motors, serial type and PWM type. Kosan-kun No. 1 is PWM type, Kosan-kun No. 2 is serial type.

PWM type servo motors include 4024, 4013, 4014, etc.
 (As these products are made with the same size, you can easily replace each other later.)

The point of which servo motor to be used is torque. If the torque is weak it will make it difficult to get up and walking.
Although 4024 is inexpensive, the torque is weak and the internal gear is also made of resin, so it will crack immediately.
4014 is high torque. The torque of 4013 is slightly lower, but the speed is faster. Kosan-kun No.1 applies in combination with 4014 and 4013.

There are 4031, 4032, 4033, 4034, etc. for serial type servo motors.
4031 is inexpensive and weak torque. 4034 has a high torque, 4033, 4032 a torque is dropped and the speed is faster.
Kosan-kun No. 2 is made up of combinations of 4032, 4033, and 4034.
Power supply unit

Voltages of parts that are generally distributed include 5 V, 7 V, 12 V, etc.
5 V is the USB voltage. 7V is the voltage used for radio controllers and so on. 12V is the voltage of the car's battery. Cigar socket etc is also 12V. Since the internal voltage of the PC is also 12 V, parts such as hard disk and FAN operate with 12 V in many cases.

Servo motors and controllers are available in 7V or 12V.
Both Kosan-kun No. 1 and 2 are powered by 12V.
If it is set to 12V, it is convenient because parts sold as accessories for cars such as LEDs and parts of the personal computer can be diverted as it is.
The left blue pack is the battery.
In order to see the state of the battery, the front of the robot is equipped with an LED counter that displays bolts.
Values between 11V and 12V are displayed. Although it should not operate when the voltage is low, depending on the battery, even if the value is as low as 8 V, it seems that it can supply the necessary power to work properly. (It seems that it is not a simple thing when the voltage drops to 11 V. In some cases it may work and some cases it may not work.)
 
NiCad and LiPo (Lithium polymer) etc are available for a battery for robot.
Capacity is indicated in milliamps.
I want at least 800 mA. Still it can only drive about 5 minutes. (It depends on usage.)
I have a maximum of 2,500 mA, but it costs more than 10,000 yen.
For charging, a charger for LiPo is necessary. It usually comes with a function called a balancer, in addition to + -, a balancer terminal is attached.
Lithium polymer requires careful handling.
 

When a 100 V outlet can be used, it can be used for power supply by converting to 12 V using stabilized power supply.
Since the power unit of the PC is also 12V, it should be usable.
The left is a regulated power supply.
Using the stabilized power supply may cause the remote control to become ineffective. Probably, I think that noise is contained when moving the servo motors at once. The stabilized power supply has a knob that corresponds to noise, and it seems that trouble decreases when adjusting this, but it is not certain. Troubles of remote control do not occur with battery for robot. I think that trouble of this remote control is related to the instantaneous power of the battery described later, but it is not certain.

For a car battery, a cheap one can be bought for about 2500 yen at Amazon.
It is a type with liquid inside, the battery for the car is 12V, the battery for the motor cycle is 6V.
When purchasing, since only the battery is contained in the box, I purchase the terminal parts for installation at the DIY shops. It is about 500 yen. (I think that you can connect even if you do not have a terminal ...)
Since capacity is larger, it can be used for outdoor events without power supply. Unlike using with car, after using it, you have to charge, so you need a charger for the car's battery.
The size of the battery for the car can be known from the model number, but the capacity (ampere) is not clear. You can check the capacity from the model number on the net.

The performance of the battery is roughly determined by the number of volts and ampere, but besides that, there is performance like an instantaneous power.
From the experience, if the instantaneous power is low, when turning on the robot (when the servos move all together?), it seems that there is a case where resetting is applied without power and then it does not work well after that.
It will happen if the batteries for the robot are exhausted. I think that this tends to occur, compare to using an on-board battery.
This battery for radio control car, the value of this instantaneous power may be indicated in the package. (I forgot the name of the unit, probably the value of CCA or RC.)
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