Post #1967988

2026-05-04 09:23 UTC

I only found this photo in recent years and have since learned that he was actually instrumental to the construction of the entire droid, particularly with working out how to machine the complex shapes like the dome and legs out of single sheets of aluminium. He didn't just build one either, he ended up constructing a handful of the droids for various uses in the film. I still have no idea how he did it, especially without modern software and computer-controlled machining.

Replies (4)

@robhawkes@fosstodon.org 2026-05-04 09:23

Unfortunately I never got to know him as he died when I was a baby, though I have a feeling we share a lot in common. I also have his old Dragon 32 computer that he was using to learn programming in the 1980s, with reams of hand-written code that still works on the computer.

Open ##1967989
@swggrkllr3rd@mastodon.world 2026-05-04 10:34

@robhawkes Geometri. Math.

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@stefan@stefanbohacek.online 2026-05-04 12:13

@robhawkes Very cool! And a great picture, thank you for sharing with us!

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@khitomershamster@social.seattle.wa.us 2026-05-04 14:33

@robhawkes like my dad he probably started using slide rules. He had a thick book of math formulas. Then using calculators when they became available. Machinery was set up and run by hand. He worked with tolerances within 1/1000 of an inch. My dad bought a PCjr and taught himself CAD because he could see his work was going to be done that way in the future. He was right. Your grandfather would have been a highly skilled man.

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