Programmable Knex Piano-Playing Robot
Intro: Programmable Knex Piano-Playing Robot
I've always been a big fan of K'nex, ever since I was a little kid. Then, when I discovered this website, I felt like I had hit the jackpot. This is a "robot" that I built out of knex, it's designed to play the piano. This version can play up to a 16 note sequence in a 12 note range. I call it "Zeeanobot", corny, I know, but I couldn't think of a better name. I spent a lot of time on this, and I'm very proud of it, so please be nice. Just to be clear, I have not tried it on a real piano, I built it to play my Yamaha DGX-230. You may need to modify the design slightly to get it to work on real pianos or other keyboards.
Please note that this is my first real instructable, so I'd appreciate any constructive criticism. Thanks. (So far the response has been mostly positive, so thanks everybody! I put a lot of work into designing and building this so I'm very proud of it. I'm glad you like it too.)
The first video is a mechanical view of Zeeanobot, showing how it works.
The second video is Zeeanobot playing a simple proof of concept song.
The third video is a duet of Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold". Ignore the errors on my part, they're not the point.
The final video is a duet of "Heart and Soul".
STEP 1: Materials
Rods:
6 x Black Rods
25 x White Rods
100 x Blue Rods
104 x Yellow Rods
23 x Gray Rods
Connectors:
20 x Gray 1-Prongs
60 x Gray 2-Prongs
4 x Brown 2-Prongs
41 x Red 3-Prongs
28 x Interlocking Gray 4-Prongs
1 x Green 4-Prongs
54 x Yellow 5-Prongs
20 x Interlocking Blue 7-Prongs
18 x White 8-Prongs
Miscellaneous:
63 x Blue Spacers
48 x Gray Spacers
2 x Small Blue Gears
8 x Medium Red Gears
2 x Big Black Gears
48 x Chain Links
37 x Tan Clips
1 x Motor
1 x Piano (Optional)
STEP 2: Build Right and Left Base Modules
NOTE: I didn't have enough yellow rods, so I used the gray rods that are the same length as the yellow ones. I needed to make several substitutions, so the colors may vary.
STEP 3: Build Fingers
STEP 4: Build Hands
Interlocking Gray Connectors --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Gray Spacer +++ Yellow 5-Prong Clipped On --- Yellow 5-Prong Threaded Through The Hole --- Blue Spacer --- Yellow 5-Prong Threaded Through The Hole --- Repeat From +++ 5 More Times --- Yellow 5-Prong Clipped On --- Interlocking Gray Connector
STEP 5: Build Programmable Armatures
Gray 1-Prong --- Tan Clip (n-) --- Medium Red Gear --- Medium Red Gear --- Tan Clip (-n) +++ Yellow 5-Prong --- Blue Spacer --- White 8-Prong --- Tan Clip (-n) --- Repeat from +++ 5 More Times --- Yellow 5-Prong --- Gray 1-Prong
NOTE: (n-) and (-n) indicate the direction of the peg on the tan clips.
STEP 6: Build Rear Supports
Gray 1-Prong --- Blue Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Gray 1-Prong (Threaded Through The Hole) +++ Blue Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Red 3-Prong --- Repeat From +++ 6 More Times --- Gray 1-Prong
STEP 7: Attach "Fingers" to "Hands"
STEP 8: Attach Hands to Base Modules
STEP 9: Attach Programmable Armatures to Base Modules
STEP 10: Attach Rear Supports to Programmable Armatures
Now hook the two Base Modules together using the two Yellow Rods on the Left Base Module.
STEP 11: Construct Left Drive Train
Tan Clip --- Red 3-Prong --- Gray Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Tan Clip (n-) --- Red Gear --- Red Gear --- Tan Clip (-n) --- Gray Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- White 8-Prong --- Gray Spacer --- Tan Clip (n-) --- Black Gear --- Tan Clip (-n) --- Gray Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- White 8-Prong --- Tan Clip (Snapped On, Peg Facing Out)
NOTE: I had to use Gray Gears in place of the Red Gears because I didn't have enough, but they're the same size and have the same number of teeth, so they're interchangeable.
STEP 12: Construct Right Drive Train
You can clearly see how the front Gray Rod is arranged so the configuration below is for the Gray Rod with the Black Gear on it.
Tan Clip (Clipped On, Peg Facing In) --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Red 3-Prong --- Gray Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Tan Clip (n-) --- Red Gear --- Red Gear --- Tan Clip (-n) --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- White 8-Prong --- Gray Spacer --- Gray Spacer --- Tan Clip (n-) --- Black Gear --- Tan Clip (-n) --- Gray Spacer --- White 8-Prong --- Gray Spacer --- Blue Spacer --- Tan Clip (Clipped On, Peg Facing in)
STEP 13: Construct Center Drive Train
NOTE: Depending on which motor you are using, you may need to make some slight modifications. The motor I used is big and gray, but I don't remember what set it came with.
You can clearly see how it is arranged in the picture, however, there is one correction that I've made since I took this picture. See the notes on the picture for more details.
STEP 14: Connect the Left, Center, and Right Drive Train
STEP 15: Attach the Drive Train to the Base Modules
STEP 16: Construct and Attach Support Structure
STEP 17: Programming and Fine Tuning
You may have some synchronization trouble at first (between the left and right modules). You can fix this by taking off the Chains and lining up the holes of the White 8-Prongs on the left and right modules.
STEP 18: Play Beautiful Duets
All that's left for you to do now, is to start learning some great duets.
88 Comments
milesperfect2010 3 years ago
milesperfect2010 3 years ago
s0200311 4 years ago
s0200311 4 years ago
ProtectTheAlphaWolf 7 years ago
you really should
ProtectTheAlphaWolf 7 years ago
GuppehsWorld 8 years ago
This is interesting!!!!
knexinventions 49 10 years ago
KGuy 11 years ago
Knex Lego Maniac 13 years ago
freakyqwerty 13 years ago
Atalung 12 years ago
freakyqwerty 12 years ago
Still pretty unrelated :^/
GASSYPOOTS 12 years ago
Superben51 12 years ago
~KnexBuild~ 12 years ago
TheFoofinator 13 years ago
27ace27 13 years ago
TheFoofinator 13 years ago
27ace27 13 years ago