I believe it's intended purpose is for optics experiments. Like lasers and mirrors. The table is made out of a honeycomb structure that is supposed to be ultra rigid.
The pads between the legs and base appear to be for vibration suppression. They don't serve much purpose at this time...
I'm sure you're all sick of looking at all the various attempts at making a workbench mobile,...but here's one more. My "optical breadboard" table is quite heavy and the bins only make it worse. I liked the stability of having it on solid feet but occasionally it would be nice to roll it out...
Well, the keys have been turned over to my son for a few weeks now and it appears to be a hit. He wants to drive it daily. Even got him to fill the back with sticks found around the yard and haul them off. Tonight he came in the house covered in mud and the gator looks about the same as he...
Got the frame painted, did a little housekeeping with the wiring (more to do), and switched the Arduino from an Uno to a Pro Micro. I clocked a trip down the driveway at 15 mph with 220 lbs of ballast weight. Definitely going to be too fast for a 50 lb kid.
No speed data yet, too much snow still. It is on my list of tests once we have some room to ride.
Sorry, no thread on the plasma table. It was built before I found the Garage Journal. The cut area is 30"x30" because it had to fit in a small location at my prior residence. I have more room...
Here is a pic of the front end. The steering spindles are homemade from some pipe and a few 5/8" bolts. The bearing hubs are off ebay, advertised as bar stool racer parts. I am using a slightly modified version of the original steering post. It could use power steering but that will be a...
The speed controller allows limiting the power available to each motor. When the keys get handed to the kids there will be an output limit that can be raised as they gain experience. But for "dad mode" it's wide open.
Thanks. Top speed is currently unknown, too much snow here now. It won't be crazy fast but should be more than enough to keep a kid entertained.
You are correct. Garage duty was definitely not that table's intended usage.
I recently became the proud owner of a free kids ride-on Gator that was in non operating condition. My 5 year old son wanted it to be a "Monster Truck Gator" so in to the shop it went. It's still in prototype stage but so far is working pretty well.
Thanks for checking it out!
Some specs...
I'm with Cue, I'd never heard of a kite shaped beam before the original post but the info and pics provided by kkroger made it clear what he was making.
At first I thought you were suggesting the Russians would have access to my wife, and that seemed a little far fetched. :)
Security is definitely a concern. I'm not too worried about hackers reading my garage temperature and electricity usage but when you start controlling things remotely you...