WALL-E Build Progress

WALL-E has undergone several upgrades this spring. Most notably was the transition from the old digital PCM Futaba radio, to the new 2.4GHz system, which will be more reliable and resistant to external FM interference. I chose the Futaba 10CAP, which will give me room to grow as time goes by.

I also upgraded the linear actuator used in the arm lift mechanism, and will be adding a second actuator to the left arm as well.

Next up, a few cosmetic changes to the arms and another track drive upgrade. The drive system has been a challenge throughout this build, and I continue to improve it as time goes by.

25 comments:

  1. i am very interested to know how you designed wall-e

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  2. I used reference shots, including screen grabs, movie posters and anything I could find on the internet. Once I had that, it was a matter off setting a scale, which another builder had already done. Lots of trial and error.

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  3. Any specifics on how you worked the mechanics & electronics for those of us willing to try and replicate?

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  4. Sure thing. The body is hand made from MDF (medium density fiberboard), which can be found at Home Depot. The head is made entirely of foam board and layers of heavy matte paper. The arms are aluminum tubing skinned with paper and the hands are resin casted from an MDF master.

    The electronics consist of a Futaba 10CAP 2.4 GHz radio, Vantec RDFR-36 speed controller and CF Sound III for the MP3 audio system.

    The treads are plastic conveyor track (series 821) and the drive motors are NPC 2212s. The outer treads are poured urethane and were cast from an MDF master.

    I will try and knock out a few videos on the construction this summer.

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  5. Hi Michael, I came across your wall-e project and I thought great idea. I know also you do R2 but its the wall-e im interested in replicating as it a great character. As I live in the U.K some items I might have a hard time sourcing some of the track items . But im use to R.C models but any advice or part source could be helpful. Are there a basic cut out plan for body dimensions etc at the moment out there or still people working on there own initiative. Paul

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  6. Hi Paul! The WALL-E Builders Club is working on a set of plans. It has been slow, but we are getting there. Feel free to join the site and check out what we have so far.

    The WALL-E Builders Club can be found here: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/wallebuilders/info

    As far as parts, you can certainly find the motors and conveyor track (straight acetal plastic, series 821) online. Everything was hand made from scratch, so you will have to find what works best for your build. I have welding experience, so I used steel for the undercarriage.

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    1. Thanks Michael. I have signed up the club.. and looking forward to my build. I've started my research and gathering ideas for the build and parts etc.. back to plans. Its more of his scale size at the moment, just overall dimensions.

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  7. The plans are available to members of the WALL-E Builders Club. It is a Yahoo Group and can be found online.

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    1. I applied for membership but no acceptance yet. I just need the dimensions of all the mechanical parts used for making it. Please help

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  8. Hi, Michael. I have applied to join The WALL-E Builders Club, please let me in.
    Thx.
    Williams

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  9. Hi Michael,
    I am wall-e builder in Korea. Please approve to join yahoo builder club.
    Thank you.
    Jointaek

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  10. Hello.Walle e robot product,is for sale?

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  11. Just curious, have you made the track and wheel files you used available? I'm on the yahoo group and it's pretty tedious navigating through it, but I couldn't find anything that pointed to your files. Just wasn't sure if you had made them public or not. Thanks!

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    1. Sorry, no files have been made at this point.

      Everything I did was handmade from reference photos.

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    2. Thanks for getting back to me, just wanted to get started on the drivetrain build first since I think that would be the most difficult and costly to scale to the rest of the machine.

      If you had to start from the beginning, are there any major changes you would make? Or anything you would recommend to someone just starting to focus on?

      Thanks
      Scott

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. Hi Michael. Wonderful work, absolutely inspiring. Would you ever consider replicating the wall-e build for a fee? My wife, who i love more than anything, absolutely adores wall-e, not just the movie and character but the entire ethos and broader message of the movie, and she would be so overwhelmed by such a gift. Now, unfortunately, i'm entirely clueless when it comes to electronics or construction. Thanks for any response.

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    1. Unfortunately I am unable to make copies, as I work for Disney/ Lucasfilm. I would suggest joining the WALL-E Builders Club...they are very encouraging, and can help you reach your goal.

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    2. Hi Michael,
      I have applied for WALL-E Builders club. could you approve the request. thank you!

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  14. Hi Michael

    Greetings from Spain,Catalin here
    My 4 years old kid its a big big Wall-e fan.
    Relly i want to start this project with him and i need some advise..pictures...data...size if its posible.
    I dont know if building material its same here in Spain for this i need some pictures..description to find something arround.
    Thank you Michael
    catalinstoica23@yahoo.com

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  15. Hi Michael. Nice work on Wall-E. Hope my Wall-E will turn out as cool as your one. :)

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  16. hey, i realy liked Wall-e, Did you use any specific kind of software to desing it?

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  17. My son is autistic and I bought him a small wall-e robot which he loves and considers his best friend. I would love to take him to see your robot. Are you going to any events such as Comic-Con soon? It would be the happiest day of his life!

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  18. can you please send the making video of WALL-E robot

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