With the epoxy dry from the panel I worked on last night, I was able to proceed on to the center vent surround piece. This piece got pretty warbled from banging into an elevator door, dinging into the side of the van during a tight turn and so on.
I tried my best to gently bend it back into shape. Ideally, I would use a roller to just fix it once and for all but I do not have access to one. Once I had it as best as I could do, I taped it to the skin.
From the back side, you can see there really isn't much surface space for adhesive. In the past I have used JB Weld (epoxy) and silicone. Both worked but not for long.
I decided to try contact cement. I'd essentially just paint it on hope it does a better job holding. I opted to go thick, as you can see...
I let that dry for 3 hours and worked on a servo mount for the front panel.
I also had to tweak the COM-8 Charging port piece a bit...I removed the lower piece of it. It was easy enough to simply unscrew and remove. The horizontal piece had to go since it would strike the two micro servos near it.
James from COM-8 includes a strip of battery powered LED lights. I decided to toy with them and see how I liked the color/pattern.
I need to figure out a way to replace that battery pack with onboard power.
The LEDs simply slide into the metal framework.
I removed them and resumed work aligning the servo motor linkage to the new panel that opens.
I installed the servo mount and after adjusting a 2-56 sized pushrod to the right size, the only thing I need to do is swap out the servo horn. My local hobby store has longer, metal ones that will work better than the plastic ones that came with the servo.
Tomorrow's to do list isn't too terrible...align and mount the center vents, using set-screws to lock them into place. I have to route the servo wires and secure them in place, then I can work on programming the servos to the computer.
Fun stuff...its getting there!
