Okay, so being stuck at home, means for most people, you need something fun, productive, and creative, and somewhat challenging to do. My mother bought me something that is all those things in one. Say hello to the Meccano XL 2.0 Personal robot:
It really is an amazing thing. While it can be frustrating, It is totally worth it. I just wanted to kind of go over what building something like a robot may be at this, some tips, and recommendation, not specifically this on particular robots, but for building things in general.
I think without a doubt the start of a project is the hardest, but when you get into the zone, it kind of just flows. In the beginning, I didn't know the proper way to screw something in such a tiny space, so I asked for help, and things just kind of sped up after that. I built the central control system and the chest in about two days. It. was a fun starting experience. After that, when I started building the arms, I got to use motors, and that's where things get interesting. It takes making a lot of connections to do that. You have to screw, connect, add. constantly. This was one of the parts where I had to unscrew something 10 times. It's not fun, but the trick is to not get frustrated. I then had to make the other arm. Then I made the head. Let me tell you this: When you make the head, that is what really makes things come alive. When I attached the head, it looked like it was already done. Our robot then started chilling legless on the couch for the next week.
This was without a doubt, building the legs. You think you have them built, but then you figure out the orientation was all wrong, which can end up being super confusing and frustrating because you have to rebuild the legs. As for the feet, you would think that the feet would include a few screws, a wheel, and a motor, but that's not the case. If anything, it took the longest to build. I had a few kinks along the way, and after I got the feet and legs attached, my robot, was up and standing. Only one problem though: My feet were backward. This will likely happen with any engineering challenge. You'll build the entire thing, and figure out something is wrong with it. By unlike me, you should really take the time to reflect on what you did wrong, instead of all outgoing to rebuild the part, when really, you only need one part rebuilt. In my case, I rebuilt the entire feet when all I had to do was switch the motors, which would have taken much less time. In engineering, patience is of the essence. Finally, I got him done. I renamed him, Buddy because my mom kept calling him that during the process.
Some Tips:
Tip one:
Have a workspace. Make sure you always have a nice at least decent sized place to work. if its a weeklong project, a table might be your best option if you can get ahold of it. Any project longer than two weeks, you should always reserve a bigger space. Try the garage or at least a closed-up corner in your room. Make sure you have easy access getting in and out, and make sure you can always get some snacks to keep you going.
Tip two:
Don't get frustrated. Frustration can lead to a lot of problems both physically and mentally that can completely ruin your engineering experience. If you are physically frustrated you may end up throwing or breaking things that may be of importance to your project. If you are upset inside your mind, you might end up ruining the entire experience. This is why the most important thing about engineering is not to get mad.
In conclusion, engineering is not about the destination(although that's what you're trying to accomplish), its about the journey. The experience, and most of all, is to make sure you have fun!
It really is an amazing thing. While it can be frustrating, It is totally worth it. I just wanted to kind of go over what building something like a robot may be at this, some tips, and recommendation, not specifically this on particular robots, but for building things in general.
Let's get started. First Let me talk about my experience building this robot before we get to tips and recommendations.
So just a heads-up, when you first start building something, not everything is going to go as planned. Stuff is going to happen along the way that will upset and annoy you. Don't let that get to you. Throughout this, I probably had to screw and re-screw over 100 times. It's not going to be easy, but make sure you keep at it.
Let's get to the building experience.
Starting the project:
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The Hardest Part:
This was without a doubt, building the legs. You think you have them built, but then you figure out the orientation was all wrong, which can end up being super confusing and frustrating because you have to rebuild the legs. As for the feet, you would think that the feet would include a few screws, a wheel, and a motor, but that's not the case. If anything, it took the longest to build. I had a few kinks along the way, and after I got the feet and legs attached, my robot, was up and standing. Only one problem though: My feet were backward. This will likely happen with any engineering challenge. You'll build the entire thing, and figure out something is wrong with it. By unlike me, you should really take the time to reflect on what you did wrong, instead of all outgoing to rebuild the part, when really, you only need one part rebuilt. In my case, I rebuilt the entire feet when all I had to do was switch the motors, which would have taken much less time. In engineering, patience is of the essence. Finally, I got him done. I renamed him, Buddy because my mom kept calling him that during the process.
Some Tips:Tip one:
Have a workspace. Make sure you always have a nice at least decent sized place to work. if its a weeklong project, a table might be your best option if you can get ahold of it. Any project longer than two weeks, you should always reserve a bigger space. Try the garage or at least a closed-up corner in your room. Make sure you have easy access getting in and out, and make sure you can always get some snacks to keep you going.
Tip two:
Don't get frustrated. Frustration can lead to a lot of problems both physically and mentally that can completely ruin your engineering experience. If you are physically frustrated you may end up throwing or breaking things that may be of importance to your project. If you are upset inside your mind, you might end up ruining the entire experience. This is why the most important thing about engineering is not to get mad.
In conclusion, engineering is not about the destination(although that's what you're trying to accomplish), its about the journey. The experience, and most of all, is to make sure you have fun!
Really good lesson learns. Patience is the key.
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