I recently started doing some experimentation with alternate manufacturing techniques (commonly called "crafting") with a view to making small components for robotics. Not shown is the 3D printer that I have borrowed from a friend a few times, with which I made this 25-x scale model of a Stewart platform concept that I'm pursing.
The joints on this hexapod manipulator are an interesting form of universal joint called a revolute joint. It's mostly held together with M3 bolts. If you look at the bottom right corner of my messy workbench you'll see an attempt at a much smaller wire form. It's supposed to look at bit like this:
Drilling a 1 mm hole through 1.57 mm wire by hand was a pretty fruitless experiment, but I thought I'd give it a go. As this microscope shot shows, I have a long way to go.
This is, essentially, jewellery making, and I am no jeweller. My second attempt was better:
It looks good, but it's very off-center - in this photo the hole should be further to the bottom-right. Hopefully my mini-lathe will show up this month. It should make this work a lot more precise.
