From: "Bruce D. Wedding" 

Roger said:

"I'm basically an application/utility writer, with no experience
working down to the metal like you do.  I would love to get into it though.
I'm a PA certified Tool & Die Maker, but I've given up the trade to
work in IT.  I have a pipe dream that involves turning my garage into a
machine shop and delving deep into robotics."

I encourage you to go for it Roger as it can be a lot of fun.  You should
start with a few stepper motors and some ball screws to build an x-y table.
There are now smart motors available with all the electronics built in that
are controlled serially with an ASCII protocol.  ie:
http://www.servosystems.com/animatics_features.htm  You can get good deals
on ebay sometimes too.

I have a some computerized woodworking projects in my mind like a computer
controlled router.  Once you get into automation stuff like this, it is
highly contagious.  I've put sensors and controls on my pool pump, home AC
unit, golf clubs, car, you name it.  The next step is PICs and
microcontrollers.  I just received the TI MSP430 development kit today.  It
is a beauty of a low power microcontroller with high channel count, high
resolution ADC and the first I've ever seen with op-amps built in.

If you need any help, gimme a holler.

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag-5