Here are the few specimen entries for the Android Makers
Encyclopedia "M" topics:
Mahogany is a very hard wood that can take a fine polish. Its
reddish tint and hardness may put it in certain frame
elements.
MAIN CRADLE (JIG)
There is a main cradle specific to androtic doll and mannequin and Hatfield Type Android making. Attributes of this jig
are:
. A cradle assembly to hold bones for applying the ligature
fibrous material for skeletal articulation and application
of the innermost layer of muscles and fascia. This will
likely have many props to bones that have areas still not
covered by the base layer of tissue equivalents.
. These bones directly supported by this cradle are likely
long bones; the humerus, femurs, etc.
. The joints will be supported at an angle that is either the
halfway through their range of motion or the weighted value
within this range of motion. This weighing, using the knee
for example, could be at a point less than half of the
knee's range of motion because the knee is mostly standing,
walking, running or even sitting; rarely is it flexed to
where one sits on their ankles.
. The spine should be cradled in its best posture position.
Only a few vertebrae need connections. In fact, an "armature;" in doll making parlance, could brace the frame to
minimize stress on the unarticulated spine. The spine has
its own jig.
. The android's head should be cradled in a looking straight
ahead position with good posture.
. The thighs should be about 30° off the human vertical axis
to reflect the weighted middle of the range of motion. A
slight spread for a female, less than "in the stirrups"
position, may be acceptable. Male androids may need a wider
spread for a more masculine base.
. The feet should be at the at-rest position; approximately
90° forward with the Tibia.
. The aforementioned features should be supported in a recumbent and a face-down positions, at least, so work and fabrication can be accomplished in all areas of the body. A
rolling cage, or a triangular frame, may be necessary to
support the android so that the best working position can be
achieved with a minimum of interference.
This frame may be free standing like a box or cylinder
or it may be attached to a gimbal frame so it can be easily
positioned and yet stable and safe. This may make the
larger, final assembly table redundant, but there seems to
always be use for a free table.
A free standing jig should also support the android in
a standing position, if needed. A load bearing or appendicular test and fit position may be useful.
. This jig will likely require supporting several different
configurations: The first configuration is to articulate
the skeleton and apply the innermost muscle and fascia as
previously alluded.
The second configuration obviously must support the
android with more layers of muscle and fascia overlain the
innermost layer. There may still be some of the original
attach points to the bones. Hopefully, this will require a
minimum of changeover parts.
A th ird configuration must support a nearly complete
android. However, there will be a point where your nearly
completed android could be rolled about on a clean sheet on
a pad or bolster much like a hospital patient. No doubt
that the re-rig will be much more extensive.
. The bone or body attach points should be minimally affected
by adding the successive layers of tissue equivalents.
These are:
* Tibia: The shin surface is available until the application of the Tibialis anterior and Tibialis anticus
muscles of the final layer. The approximate center
point of the shin is attached to the bracket that holds
this to the frame.
* Femur: Is a deep bone; therefore, it may be disconnected earlier in the assembly process than some other
points. The Tibia point with the existing structure
can hold your android into position with this point
disconnected after applying the intermediary layer's
muscles and fascia to the femur.
* Pelvic assembly: This is a stub for the pelvic assembly's attach point to reveal that this matter has not
been forgotten or overlooked. It merely has not been
properly developed yet. Since the Crest of the Ilium
is shallow under the skin, there may be some point on
that bone.
* Spinal column: (This is another stub to reveal that
this matter of the spinal column attach point has not
been forgotten or overlooked. It merely has not been
properly developed yet.)
* Humerus: Is another deep bone; therefore, the attach
point may also be disconnected earlier in the assembly
process than some other points. The facts associated
with the Femur point applies or has the equivalence.
* Radius/Ulna: (Which one of these bones has not been
determined yet as of October 26, 1995.) The facts
associated with the Humerus point does not apply as
well as the Femur-to-Tibia relation. Again, this stub
structure illustrates that this point has not been
forgotten. It merely has not been fully developed yet.
* Skull assembly: Flange to the top of the skull (point
known of as "v" less the respective tissue thickness)
with a spindle along the humans vertical axis. This
point can easily suffice until the final layer.and even
then it may be available until application of the wig
or hairpiece.
This section seemed to have some natural breaks, but they
did not justify sub-headers. However, it described the attributes of the cradle that holds your android during creation. It
is planned that a drawing of this complex jig can be produced.
Malar (L&R, "cheek") bones are very important in the likeness of
your android. Gray classified these within the "short,
long, and [or] flat" bones. Certain other notes of appearance apply here too. See Gray, page 89 for more details of
human anatomy. These surfaces are also incorporated into
other android skeletal elements and therefore, do not add to
the android frame part count.
Malleolus; one of the two projections of the leg bones at the
ankle. The external is longer and descends lower than the
internal.
1).. External (lateral) of the lower extremity of the Fibula:
According to [Gray], "pyramidal form, somewhat flattened
from without inward,..." Its subcutaneous (as much as it
can mean for a bone) external surface is convex and is
continuous with the subcutaneous surface of the outer
surface of the shaft. Of course, this is an android shape
defining surface, along with many of the facial bones.
The facet of the interior surface is triangular and pointing
down. It is also convex from above which articulates with the
Astragalus' outer side.
2).. Internal (medial) is of the lower extremity of the Tibia and
one of the five surfaces [Gray] identifies. This strong,
inner process is "prolonged" downward and contributes to the
Tibia's overall length. Its lower surface is "quadrilateral" and articulates with the top of the Astragalus. (See
[Gray] pg.195 for detailed description and Figs. 133 & 134
for illustration.)
Mandible: Lower jaw of a mammal. Also applies to HTAs.
Mandible height: (sto gn) An anthropometric measurement from
"gn" to between the lips on centerline of the face.
Mandible height.Lower Third Face Depth: An anthropometric ratio;
F-15: (sto-gn * 100) / gn-t: For 15 year old Female:
Mean; 34.0, SD; 2.6.
The following applies to the nearby entries also: See
Model3.WQ1's "Child File(s)" list for supporting worksheet files
that may have qualified values in tables.
Mandible Width.Face height: An anthropometric ratio; F-4:
(go-go * 100) / n-gn: For 15 year old Female: Mean; 84.6,
SD; 4.7.
Mandible Width.Lower Third Face Depth: An anthropometric ratio;
F-6: (go-go * 100) / gn-t: For 15 year old Female:
Mean; 73.2, SD; 3.5.
Mandible Width.Total Face Height: An anthropometric ratio; F-28:
(go-go * 100) / tr-gn: For 15 year old Female: Mean; 55.0,
SD; 3.2.
Mandible.Face Width: An anthropometric ratio; F-2:
(go-go * 100) / zy-zy: For 15 year old Female: Mean; 72.3,
SD; 2.8.
Mandibular: An anthropometric ratio; F-5:
(sto-gn * 100) / go-go: For 15 year old Female: Mean;
46.4, SD; 3.5. See Farkas TABLE XI-III for appearance
ratios.
Mandrel; by dictionary is any bar to support lathe turning or
welding of round objects. However, this is extended to cover the tool that supports flaring and bending to alignment
of long bone shafts. These operations are to support anatomically accurate geometries of the frame elements.
Mandroid 1)..Title to a science fiction/fantasy movie placed
into the future.
2)..(n) is the masculine, or male (gender/sex used interchangeably), android compliment to a "femdroid." Familiar personal pronouns; "he," "him," etc.; are applicable and should
be used instead of object pronouns such as "it." Masculine
androids need less of the fat emulation than feminine
androids. Only the minimum thickness for skin adhesion is
required.
A masculine android may or should have some token body hair
(an "other external") because it is expected on the arms, chest,
and legs. Stubble could be emulated using the tattoo or vermillion color techniques. A beard and/or mustache could be implanted like a natural scalp or emulated like any fake beard. His
appearance qualifiers are alike what a natural born male human
would have to elicit the common term "hunk."
Manicure of the finger and toe nails for an HTA is permanent by
their construction.
Mannequin: A study of mannequins may be revealing: Department
store window mannequins weigh typically 24 pounds. [Boyd,
20 June `91.] See a note about the American Mannequin Co.
[IB, Mar-Apr., 1990, pg. 70.].
New design mannequins reflect the societal desires sometimes
more than best marketing needs. The 1920's, 30's, and 50's; mannequins were "fleshy" where now they are "skinny sticks."
Unfortunately, a perusal of available information about department store versions produces little to aid HTA engineering and
design. HTAs are not assembled by attaching the torso to the
lower limbs, a pair of arms, and finally the head to be human
like in the undressed state. And yet, the materials fiberglass
and resin may make some frame components.
Some special purpose mannequins are as complex as robots,
e.g.; those used for autonomous cardiopulmonary resuscitation
training and yet may be under $15,000. These must have some
human likeness and sensors (how many of these "off the shelf"
would be suitable for HTAs?) for to be useful in the training
process. Laerdal Medical Corporation supplied a teaching mannequin for modification for the major source article for this
entry:
Hon, David, Interactive Training in Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation, in BYTE, June 1982, p.108, w/bib. Surely
there must be newer developments!
Maxilla: "... Marked dentoalveolar protrusions, although generally unaesthetic in a Caucasoid face, are normal in other
racial groups." [Farkas, p.95]
Farkas continues with "... About 2mm of incisor exposure
with the lips at rest is desirable (range 0 - 4 mm). ... The smiling lip line is generally located close to the gingival margin."
under the heading of "VERTICAL PROBLEMS" about his pages 91 - 93.
His conclusive point; "The vertical relationship between the lips
at rest generally ranges from just lightly touching to about 3 mm
apart. Distances greater than this can adversely alter lower
facial proportionality and signify lip incompetence;" is located
in the same area.
Metric Prefix List: There is a metric prefix list. Some prefixesSee footnote 1 are:
| Power of 10 | Prefix | Symbol |
| 24 | yotta | Y |
| 21 | zetta | Z |
| 18 | ||
| 15 | ||
| 12 | tera | T |
| 9 | giga | G |
| 6 | mega | M |
| 3 | kilo | K |
| 2 | hecto | h |
| 1 | deka | da |
| 0 | ||
| -1 | deci | d |
| -2 | centi | c |
| -3 | milli | m |
| -6 | micro | Á |
| -9 | nano | n |
| -12 | pico | p |
| -15 | ||
| -18 | atto | |
| -21 | zepto | z |
| -24 | yocto | y |
The Á (Greek letter "mu") symbol is generated with [Alt-2-3-0]
for the PC family systems.
Motorless Motion: This new DSME technology is perhaps the easiest to make an actuator. It is little more than a segment
of NITINOL (a Nickel Titanium Naval Ordinance Laboratory)
wire of the correct size, length, and insulation. The
insulation is not only an electrical dielectric, but a heat
sink.
Mondo-tronics at http://www.robotstore.com/catalog/ is a
source company;
should have no copyright objection ( with material as of January
3, 1994) to this use of their information from one of their
advertisements. The one referred to is on page 20 of the Sep-Oct, 1992, issue of Midnight Engineering.
A brochure received by this author on 23 May, 1994, updated
some of this information. Some of the following relate to these
citations:
What: Nickel Titanium alloy that is easily stretched 5% over their cut
length. (Eight percent is available, but abusive. Keep the wires
from overstraining or overheating.)
Current flow causes a forceful
contraction.
Available
Force: 35 To 330 grams based on size of
wire. (New range of "Recovery
weight" is from 20 to 930 grams.
Multiply by 0.0098 to convert to
Newtons.) Compounds with parallel
conductors.
Cycle
Time: One Thousandth of a second. Given
enough cooling (such as through a
heat sink), several cycles per second is possible. The cycle rate,
cycles per minute, range from 9 to
55 in still air at 20° Centigrade.
Operating
Temps: Be aware that there are two
operating temperature ranges. There is a Low Temperature (LT for
70°C) and a High Temperature (HT
new for 90°C) specification. The
HT type muscle wires have a higher
cycle rate.
There are wire samples of
other operating temperatures available also. Notice that these 70 to
90°C temperatures are in the uncomfortable (to the touch)-to-blister
range.
| Muscle Wire Specifications: | |||||
| Wire Diameter (Ám) | 37 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 250 |
| Linear Resistance (./m) | 860 | 510 | 150 | 50 | 20 |
| Contract Force or Recovery Weight (grams) | 20 | 35 | 150 | 330 | 930 |
| Deformation Weight (grams) | 4 | 8 | 28 | 62 | 172 |
| Typical Current (mA) | 30 | 50 | 180 | 400 | 1000 |
| Typical Cycle Rate (cyc/min) | 52 | 46 | 33 | 20 | 9 |
The shaded areas are new parameters from a previous
brochure. The 25Ám wire with 1770./m linear resistance, 20 mA
typical current, 2 gram deformation weight, 7 gram recovery
weight, 55 cycles per minute, has been replaced with a 37Ám wire
that has 860./m linear resistance, 30 mA typical current, 4 gram
deformation weight, 20 gram recovery weight, and a 52 or 68
cycles per minute for the LT or HT respectively.
The wire is still very pricey; approximately $17-20 per
meter as of 23 May 1994. There is a price of $79.00 for a 5
meter piece of "Flexinol 250" for both operating specification.
There are coil springs available in addition to the wire. An
example description:
"Tension . When cool, can be extended to
14 cm. Heated contracts to 29mm overall.
With 350 gram hanging mass shrinks from 60mm
long coil (cool) to 30 mm long (heated) with
2 Amps. 6 mm coil, 750 Ám wire, activates at
48°C."
This spring is approximately $7 as of January, 1994. Note the
spring is made from a heavier wire and demands greater current
than the wire in the previous "Muscle Wire Specifications" table.
The May 1994 brochure offered an "electric piston" among
other new and interesting products and supplies. However, the
current demands, 5 amps at 1 volt, and the 2 second contract time
suggest that this is not going to be a viable android muscle. It
is the long contract time that is likely the most insurmountable
obstacle.
Mondo-tronics advises that the current should be reduced
once the wire has shortened. This is to prevent overheating of
the wire and thus the actuator.
Making Non-Linear DMSE Muscles: Conversely, the main eyelid muscle, Orbicularis palpebrarum, is a sphincter. Admittedly, this
area and muscle type needs more engineering.
Be aware that these DMSE muscles will be small muscles for
light duty. Expect to see these use to blink the eyelids and
track the eyes. The aforementioned current draw will prevent
this technology from being used within major muscles and groups.
Although there are more than 600 named muscles in the body,
it is expected that there need not be so many muscle assemblies
to be made. Remember? There have been less than half of the
number of this type and shred of android skeletal elements where
a human has 200 bones.
Want to contribute, comment, etc.? Write me! ... Your
suggestions are welcome.
as of July 6, 2001 ... Back to the Android Making Encyclopedia
Page of/or to The Android Maker site's home page.