Description
The Droid
Given the necessity for new warships and the rising need for vessel repairs , Kuat-Entralla Engineering initiated the IV-S line of construction droids. The intent for these simple machines was to supplement the fledgling Empire’s building capacity of starships in a zero-g environment. The droid was given a compact frame which could deploy two arms to move large assemblies or plate armor. In tandem with TIE fighter development, the droid was equipped with four micro-ion engines. This allowed the unit to move objects hundreds of times its size and mass. Four wide-spectrum stellar panels were attached to the forearms to power the ion engines. However, their size proved insufficient to properly feed the droids energy demand. The S2 versions supplemented the panels with a ring of power cells wrapped around the body of the droid. This allowed the device to operate at full capacity but required a recharge time, decreasing shipyard efficiency. S3 units were fitted with an auxiliary sensor port when it was realized the droids lacked any sense of depth perception. Paired with cost saving measures of downgrading the droid’s processing capabilities, the S2 series were known to simply crash into objects. The S3’s vision improvement allowed them to perform marginally better than their predecessors.
While allocated primarily for shipyard construction, the Imperial Fleet began to assign the S3’s to maintenance duties. Due to the increasing casualties and warship damage incurred by Rebel fighting, the S3’s quickly filled the role of a standard astromech. They lacked the intelligence and resourcefulness of their more conventional counterparts but their numbers and ease of maneuverability proved useful. S3’s were assigned first to command ship postings. These units can be identified by their ornate brass trimming. Further funding was allocated to detail all Imperial warships with S3 units. However, after the Battle of Endor and the subsequent fall of the Empire, all plans were terminated. The majority of the IV-S line of droids were promptly scrapped. The Corellian Engineering Corporation salvaged some but shortly deemed the droids as too hazardous to employ.
The Process
What a marathon! I’ve been a Star Wars fan most of my life like most here. The opportunity to design my own droid was impossible to pass up. I have 10 years experience designing in Solidworks for additive manufacturing. I haven’t used many other parametric design softwares. I was very surprised at how intuitive Fusion 360 was at the onset. It can be difficult bringing your vision into reality if you’re not comfortable with the tools you need to make it. I quickly became comfortable with Fusion. The result is this cool little droid that I probably would’ve left rolling around in my head otherwise. I’m thankful for the opportunity to share my creation and as always I’m impressed with the strange and unique ideas others have brought to the table. This was a fun celebration of creativity and community.