I will be handing this drawing to my machinist next week. Stay tuned for updates and photos.

My spinner posts will be machined out of solid 2024 aluminum to match the 2024 aluminum radar. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I choose the more expensive 2024 aluminum alloy because it remains silver after it is anodized. 6061 aluminum turns a slight green. Using 2024 gives one more options.

The spinner posts are made in two pieces: (1) the horizontal cone and ball; and (2) the top cone. The top cone fits into a recessed opening. I suppose it could be threaded and screwed in, but I will probably just glue or press it in. These spinner posts are drilled out so that the Faulhaber micromotor (Part Number:  0816P008S+08/1256:1) can be inserted so that the electric wires can run out through the horizontal cone and into the radar, where they will find their electrical connection.

For detailed information on ordering the Faulhaber micromotor, see the radar section of the B9Helpers website.

Here is a photo of a prototype spinner post made by my machinist out of 6061 aluminum according to Dave Painter's Robot Blueprints. This is just the horizontal cone with the ball. You can see the hollowed out area of the ball where the micromotor will go. The top cone will be manufactured very soon.

Click on thumbnail to see larger image

All robot builders, incidentally, need a set of Dave Painter's blueprints. You can view these on the parts page of the members only section of the B9 Robot Builders Club website, or you can e-mail Mr. Painter directly at:  dpainter@banzai.net

These Dave Painter spinner posts are perfectly fine, but they are not quite in the first-season style. The taper of the cone is not quite sharp enough. These spinner posts, however, would be perfect for the builder making a second- or third-season robot.  Anyone who wants to buy them from me is invited to e-mail me at: frederick.hodges@cal.berkeley.edu. They are $340.00 for the pair. This includes threading of the insertion plug if desired.

Why are these spinner posts to expensive? The material is fairly cheap, but at $65.00 per hour for labor, it takes about 5.3 hours to machine each pair of spinner posts. These are turned on a lathe and then hand polished and finished.

Other than the dimensions, the  only material difference between the spinner post depicted above and the spinner posts that I am having made for myself is that mine will be manufactured out of 2024 aluminum (so that I can anodize them if I elect to do so). Mine will also have the horizontal plug at the end (the part that is inserted into the radar) threaded so that it can be attached with a nut from the inside.