SketchUp Models - Lynxmotion SES 290 Biped

First of all, I have to express my gratitude to the guys of "@Last Software" for the amazing 3D design software that is SketchUp. SketchUp is an very versatile tool aimed mainly at creating concept images for any design imaginable. By creating a quick concept sketch, you can easily start to visualise the final shape of your design and work on improvements and details. It is particularly useful, but not limited to, areas such as engineering, architecture, interior design, computer hardware etc. Its strong point is its ease-of-use, which enables anyone to design and unfold their imagination with a very natural and effortless flow and is not limited to professional artists/designers. Right from first time you use it and try the tutorials you'll most certainly love it and won't trade it in for anything! It's no surprise it has recently joined forces with Google, offering a free version of the software, Google Sketchup, and its fame continues to rise. Google SketchUp also enable you to share your creations with the rest of the world (3D Warehouse) and even import them into Google Earth.

So with the power of this tool in hand(!), I thought the best way to familiarise myself with it would be to create a 3D robot model. Lynxmotion, a popular manufacturer of quality hobby robotics hardware, has a very interesting new line of components called the Servo Erector Set, which can be used to construct various types of robots in a way that brings back memories of good old LEGO!

The site provides 3D models of many components but only in Solidworks format, so I thought it would be a challenge (and a way to spend free time!) to first create the individual components and then use these to build up various existing and custom designs. The servo design was based on a servo I had lying around, and the dimensions of  the SES components were a bit of a guess since I only had pictures to work with and not exact dimensions. However they should be fairly representative of the actual components and give a more or less accurate layout of the constructions. This way you could design a 3D model before creating the actual design in order to get a feeling of the final dimensions and spot any arising design flaws.

Starting with the brackets:

The actual SES brackets can be seen here.

The final 3D SketchUp Models are the following:

Ankle Bracket 15-degree ankle servo bracket	Lynx 209 Biped Torso Main frame of the Lynxmotion 209 Biped, but can also be used for any custom biped	Multi-Purpose Bracket Dual inline Multi-Purpose servo bracket
Robot Foot Plate Plate for robot feet	Interconnect Bracket Designed to connect two Multi-Purpose servo brackets	L-Connector Bracket Designed to attach a C-Bracket to the end of a Multi-Purpose servo bracket
Long C-Bracket Useful for creating servo hinges for robot limbs	Multi-Purpose Bracket Useful for making multi-axis joints for robot limbs	Offset C-Bracket Made for use in biped shoulders, but can also be used anywhere an offset is required
Passive Hinge Useful combined with a Multi-Purpose servo bracket or another passive hinge	Short C-Bracket Useful for creating servo hinges for robot limbs

 

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