justins blog

The Kraken death 2002 By Justin Gray

2011-02-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

It was a night to remember, it was a night to forget, a night I only look upon with pure passion, an intensity only fire can light.

A haze of memory, blurred by fire and dust.

It was a cold and windy Friday night om the Black Rock desert, the Burning Man event had come and just about gone in its usual fiery way, burning itself intentionally, lit buy the crew who built it. I had spent the entire night high on some assortment of fancy Burning Man related drugs with my sweetheart , running around in our rocket car seeing all that there was to be seen. Saving only the best drug for last: the Kraken. I arrived just in time to see Dave's dusty boots departing the scene, elated by fire, soothed by the glow of her heart, he sped off into the night with a “ see ya later Justin!” Skeeter, Davis and I began the start up sequence that would change our lives forever, impress our souls with a melt down only believable by those who were actually there.

The ThermoKraken usually takes four people to run her, but for the week we were at burning man we had all enjoyed solo running our behemoth fire sculpture. I had decided that I needed some solo time with her and began the start up sequence, turning valves, opening regulators, charging methanol tanks… She popped to life beautifully, emitting colors only god could have come up with, she gargled and grumbled as she always did, turbine happily running along as we had instructed and constructed it to do. A whine so sharp and deep, it could be felt and heard for miles across the open playa. We loved every minute of it. We felt every vibration. Hot and throaty, she whined in fiery lust for life.

Then, as if to break her fragile state, shatter a state of mind taken for granted, she gave up inside.... No, not literally… not a sudden shut down, but a sort of new fire emanating from her insides, from places she should NOT burn, (the salts in her fuel doing its job) the fire was green and intense, but worse coming from the wrong place. From Inside her breast: inside her protective shell !!! The fire bounced first off the interior panels then gushed like a burning waterfall into her most sensitive core. A critical fuel line had been damaged by the 2000 degree blast furnace adjacent to it. A thermodynamic oversight gone very wrong. My heart stopped, Skeeter standing next to me couldn't comprehend what exactly was going on. Neither could I, for half a second I was paralyzed, heart, breathing, stopped....

Blow off valves, quarter turn ball valves, regulators, fail safe electric solenoid valves....to many for one guy, to many for two guys, we moved as fast as we could turning stuff off, but like Apollo 13, a series of unfortunate events led to one final conclusion: fire! … green fire at that.

Shut down and still bleeding fire, lines purged, valves and tanks shut down, I ran to her, fire extinguisher in one hand, my heart bleeding in another. I dumped the contents into her core, the fire seemed to be out at first but it kept coming. Another extinguisher…. down then another, and another, then an argon tank, a nitrogen tank then we got desperate: playa dirt! … all in an effort to keep her alive, no one's personal safety was threatened, just the life our largest group endeavor, our passion's lined up all burning in front of me.

Then it stopped, minutes after her initial failure, a life time of emotions on fire were out, smothered by my will and the will of those around me. She smoldered for a bit. I smoldered for a bit. From the outside you could see charred internals. I could not believe what had just happened, I had been making fire art for about 3 years by then, and had never imagined anything like could happen.

I have no memory of the following 12 hours, I made it back to camp,.. somehow… i found my bed…somehow…and slept,…somehow. The following morning, sitting in front of Camp Carp, i broke the news to Vance. An emotional break down ensued for a few minutes. Until Dave arrived, Orion in tow, all smiles. I broke the news to him. Dave, took it like a true leader with positivity, optimism and strangely enough Orion followed suit. I had a hard time believing that the two of them were so easy about it. Then off they went, tools in hand to fix our dear Lady.

Later that night those boys had her running. They cobbled her back together with what few systems still left and made her core howl again. That very night, the night right after her seeming death, she howled and gurgled for one night. Our friends, our camp, our Burning man cried that night, not with sorrow, but with triumph: our passion had lit her fire once again!

She is our phoenix. It was one of the most pivotal points in my life forever changed, forever scared with a passion for the art form we had created. To be able to create a sculpture so magnificent, so overpoweringly beautiful, created a bond of honor amongst her builders, a permanent respect among peers…. a brotherhood.

I believe it was our resolve that night that impressed the Burning Man event producers enough to invite us back for a second year grant. We were truly honored, and in turn, completely re-built the Kraken. So in 2003 we brought her back and ran for a full 7 nights plus a couple nights before and after the event. Since then Therm has shown Kraken at least once a year, sometimes twice at events all over the country until recently when we decided to permanently install her in the woods of Occidental California.

New gate for our house:

2009-09-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Yep, bronze,steel,stainless steel, and of course aged redwood.
More pictures on Flikr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinsroboticfiresculptures/sets/72157622365472019/

Charlie the Turbine robot.

2008-12-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

Charlie the Turbine robot.
Built in july of 2008 by Justin Gray

As an extension of humans arm and hand, robots have peaked humanity’s imagination since Tesla first radio controlled a small boat in the late 1800s’. It has possessed me to attempt at following the lead of my elders and create works unrestricted by technology or creativity and once again set forth to create my latest work: “Charlie the turbine robot”.
The goal with this fire sculpture robot was to bring a new level of fine art sculpture in a robotic performance, elevating the audience to a level of discomfort and awe in the form of moving fire sculpture. I attempt as others have before to keep the viewers of my work on edge at all times yet fascinated. When I walk through a gallery, it takes a constant effort to be interested in the work hung on the walls or placed carefully on the ground, when I see this I want a reaction. But I don’t get it from sources like galleries and art shows. Art to me is self evident. Art to me is alive and breathing down your neck, weeping from your pores like sweat on your brow……………………………….. There is no boredom in fear, there is no room for languishing or apathy, you MUST keep on your toes or the machines will get you. The sleek curves in stainless, the simple forms technology forced into a junction of fire, color and heat.

The technology behind this robot holds a deep fascination for me, my work has attempted to merge fine art and metal sculpture with the absolute latest technology available to me. My work as a EV/robot designer and builder gives me first hand access to this cutting edge technology such as advanced motor controllers and the latest RC technology. As usual, this robot is totally wireless and even self charging via the jet engines drive motor. Utilizing www.Electricmotorsport.com as a resource I was able to implement a turbine engine starter system that allows the operator to electrically throttle the jet engine through its full rpm range and once a 15% rpm is established the operator can then activate the jet engine and charge the battery’s using the drive motor and the sevcon milipac 4qd regenerative speed control. This gives the robot operator the ability to charge the drive battery’s at any given point with out any off board charging and of course should it be required, a 20 amp Zivan Ng1 charger is built in for off board charging if needed.
Drive Control systems and Fire controls:
Futaba T12za 12 channel transmitter using PCM G3 technology.
Running of the shelf RC relays switching solid state AC relays that trigger 150 psi 120VAC solenoid valves. System includes custom servo valves.

Turbine drive/gen. systems:Jet engine: Solar T62, 1: Etek Rt 7/8” shaft coupled via chain coupler to the out put shaft of the jet engines 7:1 transmission, Controller: currently AX72450 running 36vdc, soon to be a Sevcon Millipak 4QD regenerative speed controller.
Track drive systems: Two Roboteq ax2550HE’s running two Etek Rt motors (one per track) driving a 2:1 into a 7:1 gear train.
Track base: 1960s’ Agracat crawler base.
Video!!!!:

LOTS MORE PICTURES:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinsroboticfiresculptures/

Thanks:
www.thecrucible.org
www.electricmotorsport.com
www.roboteq.com
www.botmag.com
Suppliers:
www.electricmotorsport.com >>>>Etek-rt motors,Sevcon Milipack 4QD,heavy wire,lugs and other misc. drive equipment.
www.roboteq.com >>>>>>>>>>>> ax2550HE 240amp speed control for the tracks
VIDEO!!

R84

2008-03-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

News: The R84 is officially NOT for sale any more and is being prepared for a re-configuration of the entire system. It is however a fine example of my shops capability's to build custom electric vehicles for all my clients needs. I will NOT however answer any advanced questions unless you have approved and made payment on a bid for a custom conversion from my shop. The battery range and speed capability's are NOT fully tested. What I can tell you is that the bike has decent zero to 60 acceleration and an approximate range of 40 miles on balancing controller coupled to the zivan charger. Here are some basic facts about the bike in the pictures:
R84:As pictured:
28cell lithium (LiFePo) 50ah 3.3v(nominal), AC induction drive, Curtis AC drive controller, Zivan charger and of course all aluminum battery frames. All this packed into a 2000 Yamaha R1. Custom built by me at my shop Graywrx Fabrication in West Oakland for Todd Kollin of Electric motor sport (also in West Oakland). For sales and custom vehicles email Justin Gray at: graywrx@gmail.com You can check out Todds web site at: www.electricmotorsport.com

R144 the DC super bike

2008-03-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

R144:
144vdc,48cell Lithium, with a Curtis 144vdc 550amp controller, running a 60kw series motor. This bike was custom built by myself for Todd Kollin of Electric Motorsport in Oakland, Ca. Unfortunately, this bike is not for sale. It is however, an example of the custom work that I produce out of my shop, Graywrx Fabrications. For more information please contact me at graywrx@gmail.com.

rob has a great job at CASS

2008-03-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Boyd Coddington 1944-2008

2008-02-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

In Memoriam: Boyd Coddington 1944-2008

Much Respect.

video of libby the robot.

2008-02-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

Finally some burning pictures of robot libby

2007-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

I had some time with my robot when i got home from Holland decided to get some shots, I was operating the robot while taking the pictures so you can expect me to post some better ones later.

"Robot Libby"

2007-07-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

My dog libby died last year from a un-known brain disorder. I was inspired by the sadness of here death to find the resolve and courage to build my next sculpture:"Robot Libby"
With some financial help from the Crucible and a hard dead line of July 12th 2007 i set out to build the ultimate fire sculpture robot, and in exactly 35 days she was completed and delivered to the 2007 Fire Arts Festival.
My largest solo sculpture, Libby represents a leap into electro-hydraulic animation control systems with multi fuel forced air fire sculpture driven around on top. She is currently using a Futaba T12za transmitter with a custom Nathan Mariels control board driving the switches and blower control. The batterys are 4 12volt 100ah batterys salvaged from UPS which have issues, and are to be replaced by the latest battery technology.
Future work is to include finishing the stainless and bronze skin and adding a high powered ignition system for her "eye ball". So stay tune,ill post new progress and better images soon.

Ralphs car

2007-05-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ralph's car, built by Orion Fredericks and Justin Gray (me) Orion did the fabrication and fuel system, and I did the manual and wireless control systems. Its 1991 Taylor Dunn Electric service car with two 10 gallon propane tanks running two remote controlled flame cannons.

ACR1 update (lithium)

2007-05-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

So we finished the prototype lithium polymer R1, it is now the "lighting Lithium E1"
we had our first real show at the "Legend of the Motorcycle: Concours d'Elegance":
www.legendofthemotorcycle.com with an amazing response!

ACR1

2007-04-14T03:56:00.000-07:00

ACR1: Justin Gray, Todd Kollin
Owner : Richard Hatfield of Alliance Renewable energy inc

Electric Motorsport of Oakland Ca debut of the AC inductance Yamaha R1. This revolutionary electric motorcycle is powered by a 550amp 84v AC inductance electric drive system providing 54HP and 81 ftlbs of toque allowing the vehicle to attain speeds of over 100mph. Builders Justin Gray, Todd Kollin, and sponsor Richard Hatfield of Alliance Renewable Energy created the Electric motorcycle to provide a Zero Emissions alternative to sport bike riders and commuters. The final build will have a 8.1 kW lithium iron phosphate battery pack that will power the vehicle for a 100 mile range.

46' chevy

2007-03-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

its going to be a fabulous art car/truck. ill be putting it on 7.3 liter diesel

Ghetto dogs

2007-02-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

Cupric oxide and Darwin. its just a neat picture.

Power wheels

2007-02-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

converted to four wheel drive and radio control off road power wheels truck.
what can i say, its fn' fun.

A tribute to Darwin:

2007-01-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

A tribute to Darwin:
Rarely do I go off one of my pets (robots) but Darwin really kicks some ass. Never mind the fact that his 4x4 drive systems have met and beat the toughest challenges (driving straight through a 1900 degree bon fire) but he also has 6 monumental scale tesla coil direct strikes and flame ignition (tesla coil ignites his fire) under his belt! He just gets soooo fired up when some one thinks they can kill him with a tesla coil. HAH! (knock on wood Darwin).
This past summer, he had his proud SRL debut, he ran , jumped, played, crashed and screamed , with the super big boys. A 40 minute show of blood , fire and sheer robotic terror was faced gallantly by my little Darwin. Thanks Christian Ristow for inviting me/us to be a part of his psycho off the hook robot shows In LA too. Its this experience that has allowed me and my robot to gain the confidence and agility smash through with SRL.

Newest robot

2007-01-29T01:37:00.000-08:00

This is yet unnamed, although some nasty agro names do pop into mind when i look at it.
its completely hacked up mauldin asphalt paving machine that i bought on ebay for $300 bucks. Once the hacking was finished i installed a Mitsubishi L3E diesel engine, with a vickers hydraulic pump for hydraulic power and a big ol’ hydraulic reservoir the rest is still on the drawing board. the plan is to get it driving under its own power by July. (head to the grind stone).

also , keep in mind, it will look nothing like this when I am done, accept for the tracks. but even the tracks will look slightly different. i like to think that i am a sculptor and a robot builder, i want to gracefully merge the two, but in some case accentuate the prevalent seem between the two worlds.
Fabricated materials: stainless steel, bronze, and copper.
I always say “ if you cant hide it accentuate it”
Names:
The cruncher
The screech (based off a sound generated by Darwin)
Cant think of any more. Its hard to name these things. but what is in a name.

metra kit finished

2007-01-29T01:20:00.000-08:00

I just finished building this little guy for Electric motorsports . its got a perm 132 running at 72v with an al-trax 72/450a controler, you twist the throttle 1/8th turn and the back tire starts to burn.
hot little bike.