Updates on RD-3D now that he's done a few shows

The one thing I've learned as I've really gotten into the Maker Movement is that rarely does anything work right the first time. You have to keep researching, learning, testing, and trying new things.

For example: the rubber bands that I use for tires on his tiny wheels. I had the hardest time gluing the rubber bands to the wheels. I tried all different kinds of glue, even rubber cement which is nearly perfect for gluing rubber. Nothing would work. But it turns out rubber bands are coated with a special powder that keeps them from sticking to anything, even glue and rubber cement. A quick rinse under the sink and presto, the rubber band tires can now be glued to the wheel!

Another problem I had was with the front forks. I designed them in TinkerCad using measurements of the button wheel I made with my calipers. I added a little "shelf" perpendicular to the forks that fit under the lower lip of the can to keep the forks steady.

Unfortunately I measured the width of the button in the CENTER and failed to account for the outer lip of the button which is a little bit fatter. No big deal. The button-wheel I measured was actually 2 buttons glued together, so I could still use a button, I just had to use a single button rather than the double I had wanted.

But then another problem arose. RD-3D started turning while he was moving. It was as if he were steering off-course. It seems that the little "shelf" I made didn't to as good a job as stabilizing the forks as I had wanted. So, I decided to go back and redesign the forks, making them wider (to hold a double-button wheel) AND to also improve the shelf so that it would stabilize with the can better. So I greatly increased the size of the shelf and also contoured it to the curve of the can which makes it nearly impossible for it to pivot around the screw like it had been doing. So far, so good.


But there is one more issue I've been dealing with. The 9 v. batteries I've been using seem to go dead after just 4 shows. There is NO REASON for them to die that quickly. I mean, they aren't DEAD-dead, just low enough that RD-3D can't move. His lights still turn on and blink quite brightly, and he has enough power to do his "shaking" thing (which turned out to be one of the funnier jokes in the show).

When he's supposed to move across the table, I can hear his motor struggling, but he doesn't actually move. I think I know what the problem is, and I'll report back on it whether I'm right or wrong.

Writing the new show: Take Me to Your Readers

Without a doubt, the hardest work I do is writing a new show. Marketing and scheduling and travelling and bookkeeping and graphic design are all parts of my job that are boring, difficult, or just not fun, but WRITING a show is, by FAR, the most difficult work.

The goal is that I come in and every joke is funny. The goal is that there's never a dull moment. The kids are laughing hysterically, the adults are laughing at how much the kids are laughing, and no one realizes how much they are actually learning. Until it's all over, and they think back about the jokes and the puppets and the magic and it dawns on them that it was all a "mini-play," a theatrical experience that conveys a story, and stories are one of the easiest ways to learn things.

But the best stories are the hardest ones to write.

For me it's even more difficult because I have these other goals I add in about using puppets, using magic tricks, comedy for kids, comedy for adults, which books I want to talk about, and this year I'm incorporating some Maker-space concepts so I'm having to really learn some new skills as I literally have to build a robot for this show.

Keep tuned for updates. Right now I have to practice writing code for the Arduino that will be the "brain" for this robotic character in my show. Still working on a name for him...or her? Hmm, so much to think about.