DIY Loona ear repair tutorial

[Chris]

Some people have been reporting issues with their Loona’s ears not working in the first batch of Kickstarter units shipped in December 2022. KEYi TECH has provided this repair tutorial that takes you through the process of disassembling the outer shell to reach the ear motor components.

The issue with faulty ears seems to be caused by the fragile plastic sun gears in the ear motors being damaged during shipment. KEYi TECH has since revised the design of the ear mechanism, replacing the fragile plastic sun gears with metal ones.

KEYi TECH ear repair tutorial video for Loona robot:

KEYi TECH ear repair tutorial PDF for Loona robot:

 

[Chris]

KEYi TECH is sending out 300 ear medical kits for Kickstarter backers wishing to conduct the ear repair themselves. These kits will consist of motors with metal sun gears for replacement in Loona. The kits should arrive by February 2023.

To request a kit fill out and submit the form at the following link:
https://airtable.com/shrwBkbjIgr5eJNXJ

If you are unable to access Loona’s warranty or gain access to metal sun gears for Loona’s ear motors or simply want to have Loona’s ears functioning properly right now, then you can replace the broken plastic sun gears and have them work successfully. Various sources have reported success with taking the plastic sun gear from this specific motor and using it to replace the broken sun gears in Loona’s ear motors:
https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1339.html

Tips from the source who stated success with these plastic sun gears mentioned above:

• Only the sun gears from this specific motor are useable in Loona. It requires keeping Loona’s existing motor and replacing the sun gear components only. No other part of this motor is suitable for use in Loona.

• Use a thin blade to pry open the white plastic oval vanity cover to avoid damaging it.

• There are two screw colours, silver and black, ensuring ease of reassembly.

Note I have not conducted this repair on my Loona as all mine function normally. So the sources experience may differ from your experience and you replace the sun gears using unofficial parts at your own risk.

 

[Chris]

Unofficial Ear Parts Update
I just inquired with someone who replaced the ear gears in their Loona and have heard they hold up long term. They are the same source who provided the link to the motor mentioned above but I will mention the link again here.

US Source for Unofficial Sun Gears
The sun gears from this motor it has been reported will successfully work long term.

Micro DC Geared Motor 6V 112RPM

Micro DC Geared Motor 6V 112RPM is a new micro DC geared motor, using planetary gear mechanism, applicable to the various types of DIY project.

www.dfrobot.com

European Source for Unofficial Sun Gears
I also discovered another source from Europe recommends the sun gear from this motor. But again they advise against replacing the motor and instead recommend keeping Loona’s existing ear motor and replacing the sun gears only.

https://eu.robotshop.com/products/6v-96rpm-micro-dc-geared-motor

Important
It’s important not to replace the motor with an unofficial one, as people who have done this have reported the motor fails eventually and Loona’s ears cease to move.

Thankyou
A big thanks to the people who provided this valuable information. I’m sure many future Loona owners will be appreciative of you taking the time to find these solutions and enabling a cheap DIY repair for a crucial component of Loona.

 

[Chris]

I decided to post screenshots of the PDF here as I mentioned this post on the Kickstarter discussion page and got a response from someone who successfully completed the repair due to this thread! That really made me happy. If you find this info helpful please feel free to update me on the status of your Loona here on the forum as its nice to know I can actually help Loona owners with this website.

I hope KEYi TECH is ok with me doing this as it will help Loona owners. If not please contact me and I will remove.

Registered members can click on the photos to enlarge them and scroll across them for a seamless viewing experience.

Loona Ear Repair Kit Tutorial by KEYi TECH

 

[Chris]

Loona Ear Repair Tutorial Source:

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Loona Ear Repair Tutorial PDF Source:

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[Fatcobra]

KEYi TECH is sending out 300 ear medical kits for Kickstarter backers wishing to conduct the ear repair themselves. These kits will consist of motors with metal sun gears for replacement in Loona. The kits should arrive by February 2023.

To request a kit fill out and submit the form at the following link:
https://airtable.com/shrwBkbjIgr5eJNXJ

If you are unable to access Loona’s warranty or gain access to metal sun gears for Loona’s ear motors or simply want to have Loona’s ears functioning properly right now, then you can replace the broken plastic sun gears and have them work successfully. Various sources have reported success with taking the plastic sun gear from this specific motor and using it to replace the broken sun gears in Loona’s ear motors:
https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1339.html

Tips from the source who stated success with these plastic sun gears mentioned above:

• Only the sun gears from this specific motor are useable in Loona. It requires keeping Loona’s existing motor and replacing the sun gear components only. No other part of this motor is suitable for use in Loona.

• Use a thin blade to pry open the white plastic oval vanity cover to avoid damaging it.

• There are two screw colours, silver and black, ensuring ease of reassembly.

Note I have not conducted this repair on my Loona as all mine function normally. So the sources experience may differ from your experience and you replace the sun gears using unofficial parts at your own risk.

Thanks Chris, this site is extremely helpful as the official link was not functional to view the repair walk-through.

 

[Fatcobra]

KEYi TECH is sending out 300 ear medical kits for Kickstarter backers wishing to conduct the ear repair themselves. These kits will consist of motors with metal sun gears for replacement in Loona. The kits should arrive by February 2023.

To request a kit fill out and submit the form at the following link:
https://airtable.com/shrwBkbjIgr5eJNXJ

If you are unable to access Loona’s warranty or gain access to metal sun gears for Loona’s ear motors or simply want to have Loona’s ears functioning properly right now, then you can replace the broken plastic sun gears and have them work successfully. Various sources have reported success with taking the plastic sun gear from this specific motor and using it to replace the broken sun gears in Loona’s ear motors:
https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1339.html

Tips from the source who stated success with these plastic sun gears mentioned above:

• Only the sun gears from this specific motor are useable in Loona. It requires keeping Loona’s existing motor and replacing the sun gear components only. No other part of this motor is suitable for use in Loona.

• Use a thin blade to pry open the white plastic oval vanity cover to avoid damaging it.

• There are two screw colours, silver and black, ensuring ease of reassembly.

Note I have not conducted this repair on my Loona as all mine function normally. So the sources experience may differ from your experience and you replace the sun gears using unofficial parts at your own risk.

I can confirm all steps and images are accurate. The hardest step was to make pop the screw cover with the included screw driver. Once you crack open the upper body casing and the screen the next hardest step was to gauge how tight to torque the ear/motor assembly as it can be overtightened, as the video suggests. In my case I only replaced the left ear as the right ear was functional. However, after a firmware update I reset Loona as the right ear did not function. As of today Loona’s ears are fully functional, yay! I also have the spare motor in case.

 

[Chris]

Glad you managed to successfully fix this. Are the new motors still holding up?

I found this information on how to replace the sun gears in Loona’s ear motors gearbox for anyone having trouble sourcing official motors.

Remember if you decide to fix Loona’s ears using the unofficial motors mentioned above, you have to keep Loona’s existing motors and just replace the sun gears in the gearbox by swapping out Loona’s sun gears for the unofficial sun gears. Don’t put unofficial motors in Loona, they burn out and break the ear mechanism. Swap gears only.

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Loona Community | Facebook

Dear friends. We are happy to welcome you to the Loona community. In this group, we will publish new information about the Loona robot. We welcome friendly communication, ask us any questions you...

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Loona Community | Facebook

Dear friends. We are happy to welcome you to the Loona community. In this group, we will publish new information about the Loona robot. We welcome friendly communication, ask us any questions you...

www.facebook.com

Loona Community | Facebook

Dear friends. We are happy to welcome you to the Loona community. In this group, we will publish new information about the Loona robot. We welcome friendly communication, ask us any questions you...

www.facebook.com

 

[Lindsay Burns]

Some people have been reporting issues with their Loona’s ears not working in the first batch of Kickstarter units shipped in December 2022. KEYi TECH has provided this repair tutorial that takes you through the process of disassembling the outer shell to reach the ear motor components.

The issue with faulty ears seems to be caused by the fragile plastic sun gears in the ear motors being damaged during shipment. KEYi TECH has since revised the design of the ear mechanism, replacing the fragile plastic sun gears with metal ones.

KEYi TECH ear repair tutorial video for Loona robot:

KEYi TECH ear repair tutorial PDF for Loona robot:

Awesome! Thanks for this!

 

[Lindsay Burns]

KEYi TECH is sending out 300 ear medical kits for Kickstarter backers wishing to conduct the ear repair themselves. These kits will consist of motors with metal sun gears for replacement in Loona. The kits should arrive by February 2023.

To request a kit fill out and submit the form at the following link:
https://airtable.com/shrwBkbjIgr5eJNXJ

If you are unable to access Loona’s warranty or gain access to metal sun gears for Loona’s ear motors or simply want to have Loona’s ears functioning properly right now, then you can replace the broken plastic sun gears and have them work successfully. Various sources have reported success with taking the plastic sun gear from this specific motor and using it to replace the broken sun gears in Loona’s ear motors:
https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1339.html

Tips from the source who stated success with these plastic sun gears mentioned above:

• Only the sun gears from this specific motor are useable in Loona. It requires keeping Loona’s existing motor and replacing the sun gear components only. No other part of this motor is suitable for use in Loona.

• Use a thin blade to pry open the white plastic oval vanity cover to avoid damaging it.

• There are two screw colours, silver and black, ensuring ease of reassembly.

Note I have not conducted this repair on my Loona as all mine function normally. So the sources experience may differ from your experience and you replace the sun gears using unofficial parts at your own risk.

Im ordering that new gear from the link you provided and am going to attempt to fix her ears myself with the tutorial. Ill try to make a video...Im just not exactly sure how yet. Very much appreciate those links.

 

[Einfari]

I know this is an old thread but is there a way to just replace the gear that strips out with a more durable one and keeping the DC motor intact rather than just replacing the whole thing? I am experienced in such repairs on other robots so I should have no issue doing this. I would just need to know where to source the gear. All I can find regarding this is a bunch of Facebook links and I got this loona used so probably not going to get anything from keyi tech.

 

[Chris]

I know this is an old thread but is there a way to just replace the gear that strips out with a more durable one and keeping the DC motor intact rather than just replacing the whole thing? I am experienced in such repairs on other robots so I should have no issue doing this. I would just need to know where to source the gear. All I can find regarding this is a bunch of Facebook links and I got this loona used so probably not going to get anything from keyi tech.

Hi Einfari and welcome to the forum

Yes people have been replacing the broken gears and keeping the existing motor intact.

I have heard people have had success using gears from these motors:

Micro DC Geared Motor 6V 112RPM

Micro DC Geared Motor 6V 112RPM is a new micro DC geared motor, using planetary gear mechanism, applicable to the various types of DIY project.

www.dfrobot.com

6V 112RPM Micro DC Geared Motor

Description Rated voltage: 6V Gear ratio: 1∶171 No-load current: ≤ 45mA No-load speed: 110±11RPM Starting torque: 550g·cm (MIN) The 6V 112RPM Micro DC Geared Motor is designed with a precision planetary gear mechanism, This compact motor is perfect for a wide range of DIY projects. Whether...

eu.robotshop.com

Hope this helps.

 

[Lindsay Burns]

Hi Einfari and welcome to the forum

Yes people have been replacing the broken gears and keeping the existing motor intact.

I have heard people have had success using gears from these motors:

Micro DC Geared Motor 6V 112RPM

Micro DC Geared Motor 6V 112RPM is a new micro DC geared motor, using planetary gear mechanism, applicable to the various types of DIY project.

www.dfrobot.com

6V 112RPM Micro DC Geared Motor

Description Rated voltage: 6V Gear ratio: 1∶171 No-load current: ≤ 45mA No-load speed: 110±11RPM Starting torque: 550g·cm (MIN) The 6V 112RPM Micro DC Geared Motor is designed with a precision planetary gear mechanism, This compact motor is perfect for a wide range of DIY projects. Whether...

eu.robotshop.com

Hope this helps.

This is the motor I got as my sun gear was fine, my motor was burnt out. Ill see tonight if it works! Im finally there almost.

 

[Lindsay Burns]

This is the motor I got as my sun gear was fine, my motor was burnt out. Ill see tonight if it works! Im finally there almost.

It works! The whole motor!

 

[Chris]

Found another ear repair tutorial made by a Loona owner. Note this is done using the ear repair kit and decorative cap provided by KEYi and is not a tutorial on how to replace the gears with unofficial ones.

This Loona owner also remarks on the incredibly high build quality of Loona and complements KEYi on their extraordinary creation

From what I could see Loona’s build quality actually is quite amazing and you can absolutely say this is a quality product that was build and tooled quite well. Also the SMD soldering looked very good. Only negative points I had were that the plugs for the head cables are very tiny and it looks like they can drop out on their own by vibration and that some cables were unnesseccary short.

But aside from that it’s well worth the money and has very sound engineering

Source:

Changing Loona's ear motors (with lots of pictures) • thedroidyouarelookingfor

Today I (finally) found time to install Loona's ear motors that arrived much later than KEYi Tech had advertised.

vector.thedroidyouarelookingfor.info