As a kid, [Wes] always dreamed of building a full-size, functional R2-D2 droid from Star Wars. While most youthful aspirations such as this fall to the wayside amid adult responsibilities and commitments, he did not allow his dreams to disappear along with his childhood.
He began his droid-building journey armed only with his dreams and some assistance from the friendly folks over at R2Builders. The entire replica was built using MDF, wood, and styrene sheeting, along with just one tool: a CNC machine. He walks you through the every step of the construction, stopping to give recommendations on CNC hardware, software, etc. along the way. He also provides Gcode files for each of the pieces he has constructed, which should be a huge help to anyone looking to build a R2-D2 clone of their own.
It looks like he is just getting around to fitting motors into the leg housings of his R2-D2 replica, but we can’t wait to see what it looks like once he has all of the electronics and other details finished.
If you are interested in more R2-D2 coverage, look no further than right here.
Looking at the video, it certainly looks like he is using more than just one tool.
Rocket motors in the legs you meant. ;)
Beautiful droid dude, seriously.
I want a GNK Power Droid too.
So how does a table saw, drill press, cordless drill, router and the other stuff equal only a cnc router?
Anyways, looks like a very nice and fun build!!
Really want to make it out of aluminum.
Very very cool.
“Just” a CNC machine huh? hehe
Very nice build, but I’m with the others being skeptical that he “only used a CNC”. And CNC ____? There are many types of CNC tool.
Nice paint job too!
It kind of looks like you *could* make an R2D2 with only a 3 axis CNC router and a socket set. All of those other tools are just faster to use than his CNC.
It seems that the droid is assembled mostly with glue. The only fasteners I have seen used are for the axles for the wheels, and you don’t actually need those to make a stationary R2D2 model.