Anchored Droid to Platform at Mike's, Aluminum Channel Work

Today I went over to Mike's to work on getting our droids anchored to their wooden platforms.

The plan for the droids' road trip is for them to be anchored to the platforms, and for the platforms to be anchored to the base of the trailer. Once secured tightly, the platforms should not move, even though they are on caster wheels. Once the trailer arrives in Orlando, we'll be able to roll the droids off the trailer and into the convention center. That's the idea, anyway.

Mike's plan was to use some 1/4" "laundry line" bolts to anchor the drivetrain to the wooden platform. We have the exact same platforms and drivetrains, so the process was the same for both of us.

First, he lightly marked where the bolt needs to pass through the wooden platform with the drill.



Next, we removed the droid from the platform, so Mike had enough room to drill a hole straight through the wood.



With the droid back on the platform, Mike picked the spot on the drivetrain to drill through, directly above the hole in the wood. Note that the chain is protected from metal shavings with masking tape.



Finally, the bolt is put in place. It curves into the drivetrain at the top, and then leads straight down, through the wooden platform.



The underside is backed with a fender washer, a lock washer, and a wingnut.



Two droids, ready for a road trip starting tomorrow. Mine is the more hygienic of the two, which is actually a stigma in the droid building community.



Finally, I was able to get the channel cut on my second drivetrain for droid #2. Mike did the long cut, and I did the miter cuts.



Tomorrow is droid load-up day, should be interesting.