Since we’re running with this whole ‘constant beta’ mentality that is being discussed a lot in the start-up world, here’s a few new updated parts. I’ve already shifted many around, taken some down and hopefully made the system better and robust at every turn. Kaizen has worked out pretty well for the Japanese, right?

I built up the balls a bit and redesigned my compliance slots in the ball to see if they add anything. The sockets tend to flex to create compliance, but I wanted to see if this makes any difference. After playing with all the parts tonight, i think the new ball size might be too large, but we’ll see. Parts should be here on Dec 2nd or so.

What else? Oh, yeah, material efficiency. I cut a couple parts down a bit to see if making a cruciform cross section makes the shafts less sturdy. K’NEX use a cruciform shaft, so I think its worth the try. We’re probably saving pennies, but everything helps.

So, in addition to some new upper arms, torso and hip, I redesigned a forearm. Mostly because they were just too damn ugly, but the added bonus was that I cut a sizable amount of material out of the design. I also created a very small, thin-walled socket for the wrist. Its pretty teeny, but hopefully still robust. When they come in, I may try to tilt the socket a bit more to let the wrist bend more naturally. I moved the socket on the feet and you can see from my last post that the feet actually have a pretty good amount of travel. I’m pretty pleased with the new design, now I need to work it into the ‘diamond’ configuration. I’m guessing it won’t be as pretty as this design.