The Bent Up Battery Box Assembly

First step is to separate all of the parts from the sheets they were machined from, remove the tabs and flash, if any (except for door frame).

These are the parts, separated from the panel they were cut from

For the moment, leave the door frame attached to the inside piece.
It will reinforce the frame wile it's being glued in place.

There are allways revisions during the prototype process

I added the lip on the edge that holds the plug part in place and changed the hole sizes to .5 inch


Next steps will be to dry fit the parts together.

A few spring clips, and a rubber band will hold the parts together

Make sure the bottom edges are lined up

The bottom and top pieces are oversize (by .0625) to accomodate slight mis-alignment in the curved ends. Translation: While I'm bending it to a form, the results are not necessarily perfect. They are, however, at least as good as any other method of construction in plastic.

You can see here where the curved end is off just a little.

The offset cut into the curved end piece is slightly off and will and to be fit by hand.

Let's continue with the parts fitting process for the parts that need to be filed to fit.

A file with a 'dead' edge is handy since it only cuts on the 'live' edge you don't have to watch 2 edges at once.

Before and after on the tab of the end plugs.

If you place the end plug on top of the top curved end piece you can see how much material needs to be removed

Leave a little for final fitting

Sharpen up the corners of the slot in the top center piece

Remove some of the edge on the curved ends.

Just a little, leave some for final fitting.

Next we'll glue the parts together.


start with the side panels and the curved ends

File the bottom edge smooth and remove any excess glue.

glue the bottom piece in place

Make sure the top center piece fits tightly, but lays flush.

Glue in place. Note the extra rubber bands to make sure the ends fit ok.

Do any final fitting on the end plugs.

Glue the end plugs in place (just the end plugs). We are using the end pieces to insure alignment not gluing them in (yet)

Remove any excess glue that would keep the remaining end pieces from sitting flush and glue the end pieces in place.
Remember that there's a Left and a Right Battery box. So when you assemble your 'other' one, reverse the position of the end pieces!

Now that the Battery Box is assembled it's time to file the edges of the top and bottom pieces so that they are flush with the surface.

Left: I found a woodworking vise convenient.

Left : Once the flat surfaces are done move on to the curved ends.

there may be a slight step where the curved and flat sections join.

File that till it's flush.

Final step in the assembly process will be to fit the door.

First, remove the scrap piece from the center
Right: trim off the tabs

There are 4 corner stops that are used to hold the door panel in place.
Right: put a drop of glue on each one and clamp in place.
Note the glue oozing out.

Left: remove the excess glue or the door panel won't sit flush!
Not Shown: Drill thru the 4 pilot holes with the correct drill size for the screws you want to use to hold the door in place.
Then tap the corner stops for the screws and countersink the holes in the door so the screws are flush. The door panel fits tightly in the frame. You might want to put an adhesive tape 'handle' onto it to make it easier to remove.

Now All that's left is to mount it onto your R2 Foot!


A Foot, A Foot, My Kingdom for some Feet!!
Coming Soon (I know you've heard that before!)
Center and Side Feet


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