Hexapod Kit Improvements

[vorpalrobotics]

We've been quietly introducing improvements into the Vorpal Hexapod kits over the last couple of months. Some of these required mods to the STL files, which have all been posted for over 30 days.

These improvements make the kit significantly easier to build and are aimed primarily at students in workshops, camps, and classroom settings. For these younger builders, these changes save approximately 20 to 25 minutes of build time (based on a workshop I ran with the new version).

Here's a complete list of improvements this year. These have been shipping since late October to early November, so if you ordered recently, you'll be getting all these improvements.

1. Decorations now use hook and loop fasteners, not magnets. Many people (especially children) had trouble installing the magnets. For eye attachments, the magnets also tended allow the eyes to twist sideways. We now use 10mm hook and loop fasteners (generic type of Velcro). These have peel and stick backings so are extremely easy to install. (Note that games such as joust and capture the flag still use magnets which are included in the Deluxe versions of the kit).
2. Switch Adapter gone. We eliminated the switch adapter on the gamepad earlier this year, and Max The Megapod's initial release also did away with the switch adapter. This again was something that many children had great difficulty screwing into place since it required coordinating both hands while turning the screw with enough force to cut threads. Now there's a slot under the switch hole that allows the switch wires to be threaded through, then the switch is simply pressed into place. In classroom environments, this actually cut build time by almost ten minutes!
3. Foam Padding on Bottom of Robot. This is another improvement that originated in Max The Megapod. The kit now includes a foam pad that self-sticks to the bottom of the robot. This reduces stress on servos and leg hinges during dance moves that slam the robot to the floor. Those slams could sometimes also cause wires to jiggle enough to temporarily lose bluetooth connections.
4. SD Card Reader and SD Card now included in Bare Bones Kit. The SD Card and Reader have moved from the Deluxe add-on to the main gamepad kit bag, therefore is now included in Bare Bones kits. The reason for this change is that more and more of our planned features rely on the SD card, so moving forward we feel it's an essential part of the project and not just an extra.
5. Deluxe Complete Kit now has certain plastic parts pre-inserted. The Deluxe Complete kit includes all the plastic parts. In the past we did some quick cleanup work (flame polishing off strings or drips, etc.) then shipped the parts. We now pre-build the leg hinges and insert the Bars into the Electronics Caddy. These were operations that many children had trouble with. We also caught certain printed part problems by doing this (for example, under-extrusion can cause the leg hinges to be too loose).  These changes cut about 10 to 15 minutes off the build time which is important for school and camp situations.
6. Improvements to Electronics Caddy.  In prior versions it was possible to install the electronics caddy in the wrong orientation inside the robot. This would sometimes cause wires to be pinched or made it more difficult to get the cap on. The Caddy now has rectangular holes in two places which are oriented in a way that make it impossible to insert in the wrong orientation (the base now has rectangular pegs to match these holes). There is also now a slot to better accommodate the battery wires, and the retention tab for the HC05 wires is now shorter which makes it easier to insert the HC05 module and route its wires.
7. Reverse Voltage Protection. In versions of the kit before November 2019, there was no reverse voltage protection on the robot. This mean that if both batteries were inserted backwards, the robot electronics would fry immediately on power up. Again, this issue typically occurred with younger children. There is now a 3 amp protection diode on the robot electrical system. (The gamepad uses a 9v battery and there's only one way to plug it in, so we haven't included this feature on the gamepad. We strongly suggest turning the power off before inserting batteries).

We continue to improve our flagship Vorpal Hexapod project based on feedback and experience working with kids, showing the product at maker faires, etc.

If you have suggestions, feel free to share them either on this forum, or by directly emailing me at pend AT vorpalrobotics.com

Take care,

Steve P.