Page 194 - Robot Builder's Bonanza

CONSTRUCTION WITH SNAP- TOGETHER COMPONENTS 163

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
As of this writing, these most excellent construction toy sets are not in production— though
that could change if some company buys the rights and production molds, and re- releases the
product. In any case, you may be able find bits and pieces at garage sales, resale shops, and
online traders (try Craigslist and eBay):
• Milton Bradley Robotix
• Capsela
• Construx

Construction with Snap- Together Components

I’m far from the purist. I don’t mind reusing things like LEGO bricks (see Figure 16-3), MEGA
Bloks, and K’NEX (see above) in my robots. “Parts is parts,” as they say. Unless you’re going
after an unusual design, there is no cutting or drilling involved— just pick the piece you want
to use, and snap it into place.

MAKING JOINTS (MORE OR LESS) PERMANENT
Snap- together components are by their nature temporary. They are made to be taken apart
and reused. This may be your aim with your latest robot creation. Also bear in mind that
temporary constructions can come apart when you don’t want them to, especially if the robot
is mishandled, takes a fall from the workbench, or bangs into objects or other robots.
Though snap- together parts are most often used in robotic constructions with or without
adhesives, it is also perfectly acceptable to use other binding techniques with them, including
double- sided foam tape and nylon tie- wraps. By no means are you limited in any way in how
you lash the goodies together. As the variations are endless, I’ll just leave the discussion at
that, and let your creativity come up with interesting alternatives.
If you decide gluing the parts together is the method, pick the glue to match the kind of
plastic used for molding the pieces.

Figure 16-3 A small desktop robot made
with surplus LEGO bricks and beams. The
LEGO pieces are glued together.

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