NXT designers deserve a break

Remember the recent discussion on this blog about whether or not it's legitimate to sell building instructions?

A well-designed model can take days (and weeks) to design, build and rebuild.

Creating CAD models with MLCAD, POV-Ray and LPub (2.2.0.2) is tedious, hard to do right and SLOW, SLOW, SLOW! I'm not sure people understand how much time it takes to create accurate and understandable CAD building instructions. Yesterday, I set LPub running on a rather simple robot and it took over two hours! (I have a 1.66 GHz processor) If I only had to run the program once, it might not be so bad, but every modification requires running the entire file again. It's not uncommon to run the instructions 10-12 times before they come out right. Perhaps, if I could use the newer versions, it might be a bit faster, but I can't. After the instructions are "done", Rick tries them out and then I have to address every problem he finds---some of which require significant changes in my MLCAD files.

After the building instructions are ready, then there are programs to write and test, screen shots to take (and retake). Then you need to explain the program. Don't forget, all the building instructions and programming screen shots then need to cropped and assembled in some kind of desktop publishing format. (I use Photoshop and InDesign.)

It's no wonder we don't find many accurate NXT model directions on the Web. They require a LOT of long tedious hours of work. Anyone who takes the time to create good models with accurate and clear building and programming instructions deserves to be paid well for his or her efforts.

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 3

The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these Fall and Winter remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Braill3 by Jerry Nicholls Braill3 is an EV3-based LEGO Braille bricks reader. This robot uses its fingertip, made from three touch switches, to read messages written using the LEGO Braille bricks and will speak out what it detected. If it sees a simple maths problem it will attempt to solve it and give the answer as well. To learn more about the process of creating this machine, read Jerry's blog . Braill3 can be viewed here . Set Review: The Braille Bricks set is well thought out. The ratios of the letters is suitable for general use and the addition of some punctuation and arithmetic operators is excellent. There is a card showing what bricks there are and their quantities, but no form of sort...

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 2

The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these summer and fall remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Remote controlled material handle r by Jozua van Ravenhorst (aka Mr Jo) This remix combines the LEGO Technic Material Handler (42144) with MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313) It uses the power of pneumatic cylinders to move objects around. By using a bluetooth remote control, very precise movements can be made with this model. Touch sensors in the base chassis prevent the turret twisting the cables that go through the turntable to much. The program has several protections to prevent over pressurizing the system for each of the 3 individual pumps and valves that control the 2 booms and claws. The real version of this machine is mostly used in waste material sites to bring the material to machines that sort and...

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by Coder Shah in our MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity. 1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT...

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