DIY Dalek Thread

[Anonymous No.168683]

thinking of making a full size dalek with some friends, anyone done this before?, im looking for general build advice

we're thinking thin MDF shell, possibly vacuum cleaner motors, but idk if they're likely to be strong enough. if we can scavenge from the dump what sort of thing should i be looking out for?

we'll have little idea about what motor controller to use. any advice hear as well would be much appreciated! i'm capable with an arduino do you think some opto-isolation will be ok or should i be looking at some bespoke hardware? i've really only done low voltage stuff with arduino up till now.
initially I'm thinking radio control, but eventually id like to put sonar or and a laser scanner in it program the blighter to be autonomous and send my little friend into battle (well paint ball).

on a side note might the image processing for a laser scanner be ok on a Raspberry pi or do you think it would overwhelm it?

for the tools and eye stalk i reckon big servos will do the job of tipping them up & down.

im thinking for rotating the tools and head independently i need a split axle up the centre, chain drive each section. do you guys think this might work? can you think of a better / simpler way of doing this?

how much might this project end up costing? if we scavenged motors, car batteries but splashed out on the electronics and MDF, assume RC for now? i reckon we can scrape together £200 £300 ish off the mark between us. one of us has some old radio kit for RC plains, so i reckon we can get away without needing an expensive transmitter.

[Anonymous No.168743]

There was a guy I saw on Deviantart that built his own full sized dalek
just go there and search "dalek storm" it looks badass

[GammaMan No.168778]

Vacuum cleaner motors run really fast with very little torque. They aren't going to be able to turn wheels unless you add a reduction gear system, and cobbling together a set of gears from spare parts can be a nightmare. Also unless you're getting them a battery powered vacuum they will be AC motors, which you can't run off of a DC battery with a lot of hardware.

Find yourself some DC motors with gear systems already on them like ones from car power windows, electric wheelchairs, or battery powered drills.

>>do you think some opto-isolation will be ok
You shouldn't need opto-isolation

>>we'll have little idea about what motor controller to use.
You'll first need to know the voltage and current of the motors. Once you do go to: search.digikey.com/ca/en/cat/integrated-circuits-ics/pmic-motor-and-fan-controllers-drivers/ then select the properties you need from the dropdown.


>on a side note might the image processing for a laser scanner be ok on a Raspberry pi or do you think it would overwhelm it?
I've built a laser scanner with hardware far inferior to the rasberry. http://www.odec.ca/projects/2004/kram4r0/public_html/scan7.html

[Anonymous No.168789]

>>168683
>we're thinking thin MDF shell
I wouldn't. Thin ply is a better choice, or even that hardboard stuff.

>possibly vacuum cleaner motors
-Noise might be an issue.

>if we can scavenge from the dump what sort of thing should i be looking out for?
Power tool motors
+usually fairly strong
+inexpensive
-loud
-the RPM range may make them unsuitable for direct drive, requiring gears or pulleys.

Wheelchair motors
+Strong enough - high torque, low speed
+generally 24VDC
+quiet
-It'd be a very lucky find if you got a functional one at a dump, though.

>we'll have little idea about what motor controller to use
That's going to depend on your motor and what amount of precision is required. If it is just a regular brushed DC motor and you are just doing basic movement, then a simple* H-bridge would do the trick.

>do you think some opto-isolation will be ok
If you are using a 24VDC system with 2 12V batteries, opto-isolation wouldn't be necessary. You'd simply set up a +12V rail and a +24V rail. 12V for the arduino, 24 for the motor, use power MOSFETs for the bridge.

>eventually autonomous
>image processing for a laser scanner
Build it and make it move first.

>im thinking for rotating the tools and head independently i need a split axle up the centre, chain drive each section. do you guys think this might work? can you think of a better / simpler way of doing this?
Use separate motors directly at the tool or head.

>how much might this project end up costing?
As much as you let it. The motors and electromech will be the biggest expense by far, followed by the chassis and body.

[Anonymous No.168821]

>>168683
I actually have the instructions for a full sized dalek on my computer somewhere.

give me time and I will find them.

[Anonymous No.168851]

>>168821
here they are, enjoy.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ai1wcufbi6f2n7y/How To Build a REAL Dalek.doc

They're for an 'old fashioned' Dalek, but I'm sure you can use the basic structure and update the materials, (for the neck, head etc) by just tweaking the design slightly.

It's still a hell of a lot better than starting from scratch.

[Anonymous No.169758]

hay guys OP hear!
wow you guys are amazing lots of excellent advice hear!!
i'll defo keep my eyes out and see what we can grab on the motorised wheel chair front!

it seems the best way to continue is to build the base and the shell separately as money allows.
plywood sounds a better idea for the shell than MDF we'll go for that!!:D possibly pine for the base, i think we'd want something more resilient than MDF.

thanks guys for your input for micro controllers :D we'll try it the hard way, then if that doesn't work we'll resort to GammaMan's link to digikey
also biiiiiiigg thanks to anon for your dalek plans, i took a quick scan, they look pretty damned sexy and quite followable

will post pics and keep you guys updated as time goes by on this project!

if you've got any other plans ideas advice to go into the mix more the merrier i say!!
also: this thread needs more daleks post em if you've got em