Making R2-D2
The aluminum dome was purchased as 2 partly laser-cut pieces of aluminum (one inside the other for depth). I cut the extra parts I wanted removed, and bolted the pieces together, then added electronics and assorted greebles (R2D2 parts) that I 3D printed. The designs for the body and legs are based largely on the Michael Baddeley v2 design files, but with lots of modifications:
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The electronics system was created by interconnecting various modules: an 8 channel PWM radio control, 1 channel radio control relay, 12 channel radio control relay, Syren and Sabre motor controllers, MP3 trigger board, Amp, power controller & thermal circuit breakers. It has two power systems, lithium (for light weight) and sealed lead-acid (in case of a location with a lithium ban) and a buck converter to upscale both to a common drive voltage for higher speeds. R2-D2 has a working gripper arm and utility arms. Finally, R2D2 was weathered with 3 different colours of paint and some baking soda & steam weathering of the copper hoses.
R2-D2 isn't available for purchase or rent, but I do take it to children's hospitals and conventions sometimes (See R2-D2's Adventures) and even got to be at the Canadian premiere of The Rise Of Skywalker. When roaming, there’s always the risk of running into a broken elevator or losing power far from the car, so it’s nice to have an emergency hand cart that can even go up/down stairs, so I created one. It leverages the folding and stair-climbing ability of a commercial cart, and adds cross-bars and a longer base plate to allow R2 to switch from 3 legs down, into a one leg down position that's easier to stabilize. It’s only 6 kg and can fold to fit into a backpack.
