Salamander, take 2
This is the second body. Softer — I printed it at 0.2mm layers and annealed overnight. The legs still drag a little on carpet, but they’re unmistakably more compliant than v1.
Status
Soft legs in. Servos on order. I’m calling this 62% done.
What printed
The body printed clean at 0.2mm on the Bambu. Used eSun PLA+ in matte black, annealed at 70°C for 8 hours. The leg sockets came out tight — I had to ream them with a 3mm drill bit, but the fit is snug now.
What broke
The spine joint — the silicone rod I cast for v1 is too stiff for the new body geometry. It bows instead of articulating at the joints. Back to the drawing board on that one.
Next steps
Servos
Shopping for smaller 9g metal-gear with an analog feedback pin — the spine needs position sense more than torque.
The spine problem
Currently the spine is a single silicone rod glued into both halves of the body. It bends wrong — it bows instead of articulating. I’m prototyping a vertebrae approach: 5 rigid discs on a central tendon.
Linoleum tests
Carpet is mean. Linoleum is fair. Concrete is still ahead.
Links
- microfluid-pump — the pump project, related