What I am trying to do is instead of just pulling everything from one frame into a new, I am upgrading components I have been wanting to swap out. The dome drive was on the to do list since a better drive wheel had been developed.
On the JAG frame, there are pre-drilled holes for the dome drive to be installed to. You simply have to tap the hole to a 1/4 20 thread and bolt the drive in. The next step is to trim to drive shaft of the Pittman motor, so it will not interfere with the dome plate.
Easy, right?
Well...once I installed the dome drive, it was rather obvious that the electronics tray was going to have a problem...
The problem with the front idea was that there would be no place for the spring pin mount to attach. That space is taken up with the front door breadpans and then everything that mounts behind the large data port. (Translated = Bad spot)
So, I opted for moving the position over a few inches. The only issue with that would place it very close to where the shoulder mechanisms will be. To allow for maximum space, I drilled and counter sunk a hole for the bolt to go in from above where the piece is closest to the shoulder.
This looks like it will work out OK.
Next was to trim the Pittman drive shaft and bolt it into the mount. When that was completed, it was time to slide on the drive wheel and see how it fits with the rockler bearing and dome plate installed...
The good news is that the dome plate clears the drive nicely. The new silicone wheel material should be an excellent improvement over the older drive wheel that had a rubber band type material.
I like that the drive wheel has a nice engraving on it. The hex head screws may have to be replace with something more flush in the future. But, for now, it works.
Building this improved droid is teaching me something rather quickly....space is going fast. For this R2 to have the accessories it has now and additional one...is going to be quite the challenge!
