R6-T3x Intro and Overview
When I decided to build my own Astromech I knew that I was starting down a long and winding road. Let’s be honest here; I didn’t set out to build just any astromech, I was gonna build an R2D2! A trait that I have had as long as I can remember is that I always have preferred to go my own way… I just gotta be me. This means that I tend to run in a different direction than the majority. Sometimes this trait has provided me with an amazing journey, but often it only meant that I was not just blazing a new trail, but actually re-inventing the wheel! Working this way often means that I am working longer and harder on a problem than necessary, but for me it really is the problem-solving that I enjoy.
R6-T3x Backstory
I enjoy having a back-story. At this time, R6-T3x is referred to as "it" because I don't yet know for certain if it has Masculine or Feminine traits. This post will be updated semi-regularly as I learn more about R6-T3x.
R6-T3x is a tough little R6 Astromech. The R6 Series from IA was considered to be the company’s biggest triumph since releasing the R2 decades earlier. Rugged and Quick with the most advanced CPU to date, it was promptly adopted by Military as well as the General Consumer. 6-T3x is an ex- Imperial Military Droid, currently aligned with the New Republic. Just to be clear, this is not a Captured Imperial Droid that has been re-programmed to work with the Alliance… for all intents and purposes 6-t3x Chose to align itself with the Alliance!
Composite Skins Overview
As I have mentioned before, I have decided to build with Composite Skins.What this means, in essence, is the body of my R6 will be skinned with a shell made up of a fiberglass composite. I have purchased a set of molds from long-time Builders Club member Crash, who had made a number of skin sets for club members plus two sets which we towards building the R2-D2s which were featured in daily parades at the Hollywood Studios park at Disney World.
Legs Overview
I have been gathering info, parts and supplies for my Composite Skins. My molds are now in hand, but my BC weather is just a bit too unstable yet to dive in to this part of the project. I have built a simple practice frame out of standard grade 1/2” plywood, but have chosen to attempt a more minimalistic frame more suited to my new skins. I have some ideas, but will wait until I have a set of skins made before proceeding. In the mean time, I decided to tackle the Legs. It is a bit unconventional I think to start here, but hey… I’m going my own way…
First Skin Run
Skins! I’m really excited to have created my first couple sets of Composite Skins. The process required a fair amount of prep work, including a two hour drive to meet with a Composites Expert to help refine my plan and choose products. As mentioned earlier, I purchased molds from long-time Builder’s Club Member, Crash. I have worked through the exact process that Crash used to produce up to 100 Skins from these molds in the past (including Skins for a Disney park) and have made a few small tweaks for local conditions and my supplier’s recommendations.
Legs Template
I’m going to begin my Legs project by making an acrylic Template. This template will then be used to finish the ply-wood layers on my router table. I considered printing out a full-scale drawing based on the Club Blueprints to transfer to my template material but instead I did a new drawing with all the important dimensions in place, and used that to layout the leg outline by hand on my template material.
Leg Pieces and Assembly
In my past post I talked about making a Template for my wooden legs. The idea was that I’d rough cut the patterns, and then use the template to finish the pieces on my router table. Well, as Adam Savage says, “No plan survives first contact with implementation”. I’ll get back to this later. I am using Baltic Birch Plywood for these legs, in 12mm and 18mm thickness. Note: Yes, I may speak in the sensible measurement scale (metric) sometimes… I’ll go back and forth between fractional inches and metric on a whim. This is a byproduct of growing up during the metrification of Canada in the early 70s. If you’re lucky (or not) you may even catch me measuring by Smoot… but I digress…
Shoulder Flanges
I printed an ABS template for the bolt pattern (Legs, through Shoulder Flanges to Frame) which I used to transfer the center points for the bolts which are evenly spaced on a 5” radius. The Legs were drilled out on the Drill Press, using some jigging to keep things square and true. The bolt holes were counter-sunk on the outside surface. I also used a 2.5” Hole Saw and my Plunge Router for the clearance hole for the Shoulder Hubs, which should really have been done before the glue-up of the pieces.
Skins and Body
As soon as I got my Skins molds in hand and the weather here in BC warmed up a bit, I got to making Skins. For R6-T3x, I planned on Bonded Composite Skins and a minimalistic Frame. These skins are quite rigid, and don’t need a conventional frame. In fact, I’m convinced that I could get away with no frame at all which is why I have been experimenting with a uni-body idea over in the Body and Frame forum. But, I was antsy to get going on 6-T3x and had not finished a design that I was confident in the Legs attachment, so I compromised for this build. I used the methods I was happy with so far; Bonded Skins with Top Ring and full bottom, but open holes for the Shoulder Flanges. Keeping in mind that at this point I still was not sure if 6-T3x was going to be static or have a foot drive system, I chose to build a minimal frame which will be rigid enough to keep the legs straight.
Printed Skirt
The skirt is another plan gone awry. I had decided that I was going to model, mold and cast in composites a Skirt. I considered a Wood Model, and I considered Foam, and I considered modeling clay over a Wood Armature. In the end I decided to model the Skirt in CAD and print it out in pieces out of ABS, weld the pieces and prepare for molding. So far So good... right?
Legs - The CNC Test
Well, I'm well on my way with this build and now I have finished construction of my CNC machine (router & large 3D Print Bed). After calibrating and some testing, my first meaningful project with it was to cut a full set of Birch pieces for another pair of Legs and Center Ankle. This worked beautifully. I was more than happy with the results and seriously considered (for a moment) abandoning the R6 Legs that I had started. However, I was far enough along that I had to see the first set completed… I couldn’t waste the time I had already put into them. The new pieces will be a good start on my next Astromech! (To be honest, my Hand Cut layers were every bit as good and accurate as the CNC cut ones… the only thing I missed was the ability to pre-drill accurate holes)
R6 Dome v1.0 (ugly placeholder)
Once I had the body built, and a skirt attached, I knew that I needed to get a dome sitting on it ASAP. I decided that I’d stick to what was working, and build a composite dome. I thought that I could rough out an R6 Dome to be molded and cast in a weekend so that I’d have a place-holder piece to help visualize things as I moved forward. Of course, the weekend turned into a week.