Strider robot V8

We’re used to the creepy, cam-driven walking action of Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests. It seems like wherever there’s a 3D printer and a human with an interest in mechanical movement, a design will pop up that turns rotation movement into walking. In one sense this robot is no different; it uses two servos to turn a crank-shaft, which enables the robot to move around.

What grabbed us about this project is that, as well as 3D printing, there’s an older and more primitive technology at use here: a bit of bent metal. Rather than 3D printing the crank-shaft, maker Moononournation used a bit of 1 mm steel rod, bent so as to allow movement to transfer to the legs. In a triumph to progress, the maker recommends 3D-printing a crank-shaft for reference, to check that you’re bending the metal in the right plac