Rear Body Update

Luckily, the outer body shell is pretty straightforward. There weren't that many changes I needed to do for the final revision.

As you can see, the rear lower bumpers are incorrect but I'll decide later on whether or not to change it. I was going to 3D print the bumper but found out that instead of being $22 to print, it's actually around $82. When I uploaded the file, it assumed the dimensions were in CM instead of IN... oh well. At that price point, I'll probably split up the bumper into smaller pieces and use the CNC router instead.

The rear panel will be detachable so I can access the internal space of WALL-E.

I just need to work finish designing how all the parts will stay together as an assembly. Most of the pieces will be glued together but I'm thinking about fastening the two cylinders using socket cap screws.

The next thing I'll probably do right now is sketch on the BnL logo on the rear hatch. I'll re-render it after I'm done. The other thing to work on the rear hatch is WALL-E's lunchbox hanger/hook. I'm planning on hanging a real Igloo Playmate Elite Cooler on the back but I'm still thinking about what to put in there. At first, I wanted to put some electronics in there but being a cooler, I'm worried about heat getting trapped in there and overheating the components. If not electronics, what else is there to put in there besides more props? The two ideas I had were to either put the shoe with the plant or place weights in there to balance WALL-E. Hmm...

One more thing to note about the rear hatch is the upper cover. Currently, it's a single component.

I'm hoping the CNC router will be able to fabricate this piece. Using a combination of a regular end mill and a ball nose end mill, I should be able to but we'll see how the surface finish will turn out...

Update: So here's the BnL logo engraving on the rear hatch upper cover:

Next up is the lunchbox holder!

Update 2: And here's the final update for tonight probably:

The handle is slightly different from the actual WALL-E. It should be slightly thicker at the base and at the handle so I'll work on that a little bit tomorrow.

What I'll end up doing tonight is finish the rear hatch portion. I need to design the handle attachment pieces and some extra supporting pieces to keep the rear hatch together. Once that's done, I'll design how I'll be able to remove the hatch for inner access.

Update 3: I just noticed that the cylinders are incorrect. The bottom portion of the cylinder should be shorter than the upper portion. I'll get that fixed tomorrow.