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mer photos
scooterlord
post Sep 14 2006, 08:36 PM
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well, here i am again with a difficult update...





it was all i could make out of the photos, generally i am very happy with the results. many thing seem to be 'connecting right'. it's a way to verify the model is coming out nicely since i model this part by part and then 'combine' them into the scene. so seeing that from different angles they 'connect' it just verifies it's accuracy (ahem, as much as you can get out of crappy reference).

i am stuck now at the part begind the hgag, on its left side looking at it from the back, where the film (or small cables?) enter the hga. if anyone happens to come across clear pictures of what i want please send them over. what i need most is dimensions. ratios. angles. clear pictures from exact lefts, rights, tops, bottoms. to finish this i only need to model the part i just mentioned, the cables at the rear of the anntena, one small part that i guess is used to steady the antena at that position and then detailing, nuts, bolts, cables, and stuff. smile.gif i circle the main part that troubles me and would LOVE to have clearer reference of, especially how it connects to the mer.



did anyone happen to notice that the part that rotates the actual antenna and the one that rotates the whole system vertically are exactly the same part? I spent a lot of time staring at photos before i ended up to this conclusion. looks like nasa didn't pay enough to design different parts. smile.gif


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scooterlord
post Sep 20 2006, 08:45 PM
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new update guys...

decided to drop the hga for a while since i can't come up with new better reference and turned to the rocker-bogie system where I can work quite fast since many parts are yet to be modeled and are quite clear in the reference photos i have. most of the time (again) is spent to make stuff out of the references. the mer is very tricky, many differences between sides of the same part. i keep measuring from funny angles ratios and angles between parts and so on. ratios most of the times are straight numbers and angles are in differences of x multiplied by 5, so i guess i am doing it all right. here are the results so far after a couple of days modeling:





any comments are welcome, especially ones pointing out errors smile.gif

ps I accidenataly came across this strange thing in my references. notice in the above renders that the main axle that rotated the whole front part of the rocker-bogie has 2 bolts from the inside than the outside. the better you look the better the results! smile.gif


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Nix
post Sep 23 2006, 08:05 AM
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woaw, all I can say is, what a cool job you're doing!!

Looking forward to more..

Nico


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climber
post Sep 23 2006, 08:48 AM
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Soon, you'll be able to better describe the rovers than the one that actually built them. I love what you're doing. I'll try to hav a close look to hunt for errors. Thought job tho!


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scooterlord
post Sep 23 2006, 02:18 PM
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error hunt sounds great! smile.gif try this for the hga, rocker-bogie and the rat and apxs because everything else is incomplete.. smile.gif this would help a lot. even hand drawn sketches of difficult parts, like the one i circled above in the hga, or the rear part of the rocker-bogie..

thanks for the support guys! smile.gif


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scooterlord
post Oct 4 2006, 08:36 PM
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hello again. sorry it took me so long but i've been busy lately with a new job and trying to settle things up. this is a good update though. i progressed a lot with the rocker-bogie suspension which was damn difficult to make out, especially the rear part of it. some things are missing but thought it'd show you this just in case anyone has any clearer reference photos from the ones i have (parts not done are probably shown there). i leave most nuts and bolts and ALL wires for the end of the detailing procedure. here we go:









...and a wire



guys, notice the top view. wheels are not aligned on a straight line, this came out by itself and AFTERWARDS i verified this from references. this means i actually did a very good job measuring widths and heights and angles and ratios and comparing things from strange-angled reference material. i actually surprised myself smile.gif looks very accurate to me so far.

expecting your comments and as always... any good reference except the ones mentioned above (or in any case material that you KNOW is rare and diffuclt to come across) let me know...


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Nix
post Oct 4 2006, 08:55 PM
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Tremendously good work I'd say!

I look forward to the complete model, it should be awesome to say the least. ohmy.gif

Nico


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dilo
post Oct 4 2006, 09:47 PM
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Very impressive, scooterlord!
I'm not so expert of MER mechanics, but about these beautiful CG images, I suggest you to slightly expand the poor contrast/brightness because is more easy to see the incredible details you reproduced.
Look at this and compare with original, for example:
Attached Image


(EDIT: wow, 1500 posts!)


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scooterlord
post Oct 5 2006, 04:41 AM
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thanks!

as for dilo, I didn't play with contrast because these are just temporary renders, after model is finished will be textured, etc and then i'll take care of retouching. let alone i posted the renders late at night and was tired smile.gif i'll keep you guys updated as soon as i have something new!


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scooterlord
post Nov 3 2006, 01:51 PM
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hello with a new update... not that bigof an update, but very difficult though; really tough (once again) to make out from references. this time i realized that "in-vitro" photographs of the equipment are far more different that the ones actually used on the actual mers. let alone, opportunity and the spirit have waaay too many differences themselves.

anyway, this is the micro-imager. as always if someone comes across any differences from the actual micro-imager i'd like to know. no rear-view though for now, not modeled some details i want to in the back, i'll post as soon as i am done.





this last one is to show the bottom view, base seems to have this strange shape:



..next task is the moessbauer which is very difficult once more. i found a couple of nice photos of the actual piece of equipment but not very clear references of the base that holds in on the rat arm. i'd be grateful if someone can also help out with this one smile.gif

i've been VERY busy lately but expect an update REALLY soon (hopefully) smile.gif


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ustrax
post Nov 3 2006, 02:11 PM
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QUOTE (scooterlord @ Nov 3 2006, 01:51 PM) *
hello with a new update...


Incredible detailed work scooterlord! blink.gif
Following this way it won't be long untill UMSF has it own spacecraft... cool.gif


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Airbag
post Nov 3 2006, 02:17 PM
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I am just in awe at your efforts. I can't even imagine how much time it must take to generate these models.

Seeing the various components in such excruciating detail is just amazing; I find it even better like this than to look at the hi-res photos with their dark shadows, distracting textures and obstructions. It provides a real insight into the design of those components.

Airbag

PS If you use a Mars dust color instead of gray for the renderings, your final complete model will probably match the actual state of the MERs at that time unsure.gif
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scooterlord
post Nov 3 2006, 02:23 PM
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thanks ustrax smile.gif

airbag.. there's still a LOT of work to be done; many parts i haven't even started modeling, all parts so far need thorough detailing - there are no cables anywhere yet - and it will be a very difficult task, i try not to think about it because i'll just become nervous and it's still not time for that.

...after the modeling is done... exporting the model to import in 3ds. part by part. this needs to be done because the program i am using to model (rhino3d) doesn't help a lot in uv mapping for textures so i need to export in 3ds...

...and last but not least, texturing. VERY difficult, needs optimizing, needs masking, needs testing - renders takes a lot of time. I want to have all details on, the mer seems not to have that many different materials so I hope i don't encounter any problems.

so, hm.. that's a lot of work, huh? biggrin.gif


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Airbag
post Nov 3 2006, 04:02 PM
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I was looking for the mechanism on the MI rendering for flipping the dust cover/filter out of the way of the main lens. Is that small cylinder the stepper motor that drives that movement? I don't see any linkage though, or a clear sign of that cover?

Airbag
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scooterlord
post Nov 3 2006, 04:24 PM
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hm, i am not sure what you are talking about airbag. do be honest, i don't quite know what all these things i am modeling actually do, meaning, i don't know it's use. if I knew, maybe i could 'guess' some parts and the modeling would be easier but unfortunately i don't. if you have any photos to show me with what you mean, please put a simple circle around it and post. I haven't seen anything like the thing u mention, EXCEPT some other mechanism on top of the lens, which I only came across a couple of photos, but like i said "in vitro" and actual photos from the panoramic camera of the mer show different equipment.


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