9

LENS

design is a true masterpiece, considering
how cheaply it can be produced and how
well it goes together, and the fact that it
walks under wind power, just as Jansen
intended. While fun, replicating someone
else’s design verbatim as a kit doesn’t really
satisfy my creativity needs, so I set to work
modifying it, implementing a crude remote
control system, with a key fob remote. While
less interesting than the eventual Rocket
Launcher Strandbeest, it did teach me a few
valuable lessons on how to modify one for
remote control.

POWER TRANSMISSION
I found that the beest kits can easily be split
into two sections, and that they contain small
metal rods that keep them linked together
when separated. The driving camshaft is
in two pieces, so you can ‘simply’ attach
motors on each of the resulting six-legged
sides, allowing it to walk and turn as if it was
using a pair of tank treads for locomotion.
The challenge here, as well as with any of
my Strandbeest builds, is transmitting power
from the motor’s output shaft to the beest’s
crankshaft. In heavy equipment – and in my
more successful beests – this means a shaft
coupling of some sort, but the plastic design
of the kit didn’t lend itself well to this kind of
configuration. Instead, I used hot glue.
Yes, that’s right, in order to attach
the motor and camshaft together, I

used a copious amount of hot glue,

not traditionally known for its power-

transmission capabilities. But, since this

beest is light and moves smoothly with

little friction, this actually turned out to

work pretty well.

I cut a slot in the kit’s crankshaft just

large enough to insert the motor’s output

shaft and, after a generous dab of hot glue,

pressed it into that space. To further hold it,

I wrapped a zip tie around the crankshaft-

motor combo as quickly as I could and pulled

it tight. Importantly, the motor has a flat on

one side to help with power transmission,

and after slotting the camshaft, the motor

was indeed able to turn the kit-beest’s crank

and legs. While this was nowhere near the

last challenge this project would face, at

least I knew I could get it to move with the

proper electronics applied.

The real ‘wow’ factor for this little beest

would be the fact that it can actually launch

rockets, but I wanted it to look awesome too.

My idea was to have all of the electronics

stuffed into a compartment in the middle,

with a pair of rocket tubes straddling it, sort

of like a robot from MechWarrior. Form still

had to follow function, though, and I set

to work diligently measuring the distance

between the three connection points on

the body that normally plug into each other,

along with the location of the crankshaft that

powers the kit.

With these measurements in-hand, I then

designed a 3D-printed chassis in Autodesk

Fusion 360, with holes for the connector

plug, along with a rectangular opening to

constrain the driving motors. I also added

several openings in the body to save print

time, which turned out to be extremely

helpful later when I needed to assemble

the electronics. To my pleasant surprise,

everything fitted together properly after the

body was printed. I wouldn’t have to go back

to the drawing board, save for a few small

modifications with manual tools. Still, the

body was a rather uninteresting shade of

black, and needed something more to make

it complete.

I first covered the new body and kit legs in

a layer of black spray-paint. Taking inspiration

from the geometric patterns that you might

see on a WWII battleship, along with the

matte grey of AT-ST walkers from Star Wars,

I applied masking tape on the body and legs,

Right

A 3D-printed head holds the electronics, and gives

the beest a bit of personality

Left

Measure twice, cut once, and your beest

will fit together