Our Story... |
 started with a project idea. I wanted a challenging robotic based kit that could serve as a platform for future expansion and development. A kit with a hard finish that could easily withstand the elements and carry a heavy load of additional batteries and electronics.
Walking robots where of particular interest to me as they are far more challenging to build and program than a wheeled based kit. The search for this kit began. I quickly became disappointed with the results of my findings. What I discovered were small, heavy, non-expandable and very expensive PVC, lexan or plastic based kits. If I wanted to upgrade a kit, I had to buy a completely new kit and spend even more money. I even found that some manufacturers don't provide construction documentation to go with their kits! The code that was available (if provided) was hard to read and had little supporting comments. This was too much of a risk for me and my hard earned money.
Frustrated and not wanting to "settle" for plastic and other related materials, I set out to develop my own. I wanted to develop a kit that could meet and exceed both my project requirements as well as those of other demanding robot enthusiast that I have met through the years. There had to be a better material for building robots with a low material to weight ratio that could be precision machined and bent to any design specification. Luckily, I live in Phoenix, which is at the heart of the aerospace and materials processing industry. After some extensive research, the material that met these tough project requirements was aluminum. Super strong, lightweight, 5052 aluminum to be exact. The first robot constructed and tested was a hexapod (know known as the HexCrawler).
The HexCrawler was introduced in July of 2003 with huge commercial success. Parallax Inc, the makers of the very successful Stamp microcontroller where impressed with the size, expansion potential and quality of our kits and is now an exclusive distributor of the HexCrawler kit. Demand for other kits with the same quality and exacting standards grew and in just 5 months time, our products where selling around the world. Our customers range from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to University's, research facilities and of course serious robotic enthusiasts like yourself.
Our research and product innovation will continue with more product releases to be announced in the coming months. When you purchase one of our kits, you can always be assured that you will receive: |
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A precision machined, professionally finished kit |
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Excellent supporting documentation which includes fully tested and commented code examples |
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Quick delivery |
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A solid design with future upgrade expansion slots built into the base kit. Need a 3-axis leg for your Hex or QuadCrawler? Just order the upgrade and bolt it onto your kit. Other manufacturers make you buy another robot! |
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The largest and strongest robotic kits on the market - no kit on the market can come close to our kits size and carrying capacity. The Hexcrawler kit can easily carry more than 7.5 pounds (mpeg) of additional payload! Compare our kits with anyone! |
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The best support in the business. We are just a phone call or an e-mail away! Professional, personalized service. Nobody knows your kit better than the developers. Mike Gebhard will be answering all software questions you may have and myself (Alex Dirks) will gladly answer all questions related to your kit including hardware, electronics, current and new product development. |
Still unsure? E-mail me or give me a call (480)-577-5557 as I will gladly take whatever time is required to answer your robotic questions.
Sincerely,
Alex Dirks
Owner
CrustCrawler Inc. |
