I was very clear about what I wanted as I built the desk and robotic arm lamps. How we would get there was a little fuzzier. The electrical cable had to feed through the assembly and it had to fit around the structure I would weld. First came the structure of 1.5" square tubing. The angles were cut by eye and I tacked it up as I went. The arms had to be removable so we could get it all in the door. This job would use up plenty of scraps for there were lots of small pieces.
I decided to laminate it up using 1" 30 lb Precision Board. I had plenty on hand and it would minimize the labor in removing the material for the structure. Each arm assembly would be made up of 32 pieces which were still cutting as I started in on the project.
I started on the bottom, tracing the structural steel and then cutting out the material necessary. Then I glued and screwed the pieces around the tubing. The center (squarish) portions of the arms are four layers thick. The round medallions with the 'M's are six layers deep. I still have to fabricate the hydraulic cylinders and add all the piping and wiring along with a bunch of rivets on the bottom portion of the desk. Then I'll get to the front and sides as well.
The desk is coming along nicely and should be a show stopper when we are done.
Stay tuned...
-dan
