Robert the Robot....

[MikeMercury]

Bit of a wild idea, but could they have used bass guitar strings? Fairly damned flexible and the low 'E' would possibly be the right thickness being approx 4mm diameter... Only thing being that around the time of the production most (if not all) commercially guitar strings in the UK would have been 'flatwound'.

Possibly piano strings could have been used?

[Captain Sci-Fi]

Originally Posted by MikeMercury

Bit of a wild idea, but could they have used bass guitar strings? Fairly damned flexible and the low 'E' would possibly be the right thickness being approx 4mm diameter... Only thing being that around the time of the production most (if not all) commercially guitar strings in the UK would have been 'flatwound'.

Possibly piano strings could have been used?

Hi Mike,

Now there's an idea (reaches for his Westone Thunder 1A bass guitar)

Darn it, I use roundwound strings and the lowest E String is too narrow, but you have given me a whole new direction to look at so thanks for that.

Cap'n

[portland182]

Is it an optical illusion, or are the arm 'wires' thinner than the leg wires in micks photo?/\

[MikeMercury]

Originally Posted by Captain Sci-Fi

Hi Mike,

Now there's an idea (reaches for his Westone Thunder 1A bass guitar)

Darn it, I use roundwound strings and the lowest E String is too narrow, but you have given me a whole new direction to look at so thanks for that.

Cap'n

(Glancing in the corner of my room and noticing the whopping great big double bass) Wound gut double bass strings are another possibility, I don't have them but I know round wound 'E' gut strings are available (or round wound nylon (cheaper for schools)) wider in diameter and much longer in length but still highly flexible however possibly cost prohibitive??

[mimrie]

A few screen grabs of Robert;









These show the 'spring' threaded through the arm and how it attaches to the shoulders. In the 3rd image it looks as though there is a structure in the core of the spring, but in other images this does not seem to be the case.

The second image is to show the black tape around the join at the top of the body.

Mick

[DX-SFX]

Well, the core of the limbs are definitely wound like a spring. If we can work out a diameter...

[Captain Sci-Fi]

Hi Guys,

I have been puzzling over these images and a few others for a few months. I calculated the diameter of the spring to be 1/4" or 6.4 mm. I think there could be mileage in the musical instrument string suggested by Mike Mercury and Arteecee. Everything else I could find that uses this type of materials is to narrow. I was hooked up on the Bowden cable sleeve theory for ages too.

The spring itself must be very soft otherwise Robert turns into a windmill as his arms don't weigh enough to stay at his sides

Cap'n

[Mike Delamar]

are those toothpaste tube tops inside?

[Captain Sci-Fi]

Hi Mike,

They are actually parts of Roberts inertia/guidance and gyroscopic stabilisation system.

In other words, yeah probably.

Cap'n

[robertrobot]

god I wish I was a craftsman. I'm a writer. I just can't do this stuff. But I sure want that Robot - he's wonderful. As transparent as he was, no kid knew for sure what Robert was thinking from one week to the next.
See? I'm a writer.
Not the practical contribution you're looking for, I know, but there it is.

[Captain Sci-Fi]

Hi Guys,

Robert is an ongoing project and I am still researching the spring material. George sent me an email yesterday with small amendments to the drawing - thank you George -

Work continues....

Cap'n

[robertrobot]

Roger. Great news. And three cheers for George...three cheers for George...three cheers for George.

[Starman]

Thanks for the support robertrobot, it's good to see that there are Robert followers out there. Starman

[Slate Mcleod]

just stumbled across this interesting thread so will throw in a few suggestions. This picture is indeed very useful...



For the spring like tubing (that's if it doesn't turn out to be curtain wire) I would suggest looking in the plumbing section of a DIY store. I have seen plumbers snake for rodding drains with this kind of diameter and appearance. I'm pretty sure I've also seen electrical "fish" wire that may also work. This is a the same kind of stuff as the curtain rod or break cable but it may come in different sizes and its used for "fishing" electrical wiring through conduits. The modern stuff is almost always made from nylon but in the old days was like a thin coiled spring very similar to the look of a bicycle brake cable.



As for main part of the torso...the part with the slanted top. That looks to me not like a perspex drum at all but a pre-made off the shelf thinner acryllic part. Where it bends around the collar it looks like one piece...not a seperate top piece that makes the collar part. Of course it may have been heat formed and still be a perspex drum it just "doesn't look like one" to me. The black "tape" I don't believe is tape at all but that thin plastic vinyl edging strip you used to see on all kinds of products in the sixties and seventies. It's actually got a slight curve to it and is not flat. It may be possible to make something similar by stripping the insulation from some suitably sized black electrical wire and then cutting it in half (the insulation not the wire).

Hope this helps...just my thoughts based on the pictures.