Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #09296
To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: Dennison Bertram dibst11+@pitt.edu
Date: Tuesday, 18 January 2000 4:22
Subject: Pertaining to the Hextile things. You should really make them
>
>I know what I'm about to say is going to be really unpopular, but I really
>think that the project should stick to Hextiles and not the construction of
>DIP. Why?I'll agree, DIP would make it a little easier to Breadboard
>projects. Very true. But what about when you actually build your bot? DIP
>becomes a hassle. The wiring nessesary will become a rat's nest (much like
>current microcores!) and unlike the Hextiles, the DIPS provide no
structural
>support to speak of. Hextiles aren't just prototype boards, they are also
>structural elements. Their design lends themselves to quick construction of
>Robots, which is what we want. On breadboards, you may just have to stick
>with the inconvinience of doing it the old fashion way. However don't give
>up hope, die-hard-DIPer's. If you've checked the DigiKey catalog recently
>(although I haven't) look up something called SurfBoards. They are these
>tiny SIP devices, that plug into breadboards, etc, (look much a like a
basic
>Stamp) and enable you to solder Surface mount components directly to the
>surface of the SIP board, so that you can prototype with them easilly. This
>is exactly what you've been talking about. And they have a nice variaty. I
>don't think however, that hextiles can really be beat. I heard someone to
>refer to it as the "old model" as though it were outdated. I assure you
that
>even Mark T's earlier hextiles are still far superior to any idea's and
>designs's we have floating around here. Mark T has some seriously
>highquality work going on with his hextiles, and his designs can't be beat.
>Hextiles are really the best alternative here. They should be cheap, and
>basic. While this is a little more of a hassle for some BEAMERS, It's the
>only way to acheive what we are really after. I do admit I like the idea of
>BEAM 'leg-os' but for actually construction purposes, the hextile can't be
>beat!
>
>my two cents.
>
>dennison
>
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