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[eric]

I was thinking lately on how my first pleo's wire broke in his neck.

It then came to me, the sleeping position would place tension on the neck wires wouldn't it?

[fancyfont]

What a darling photo. Looks like Diamond Lil. Or your pleo is dreaming of diamonds.
Were you able to fix your pleos neck, Eric? I do believe certain positions do add strain to the cables in their necks. I try not to have my pleos play with their leaves while on the carpet without me watching them. If their necks are down and they seam like they are really pushing or struggling to put their necks up I go to them immediately.
The newer pleos may have a stronger cable and be able to take the resistance, now.
It would be great to follow those pleos that are new and see how their necks have improved.

[eric]

Photo is from here,

I'm thinking the new pleos sleep position should be head down with front legs down and neck straight with eyes closed to prevent strain

[justbede]

Yeah i agree some positions probably do put the neck wires under strain the thing is they should build Pleo in a way that allows him to do everything his software says, safely.

[mweed]

Most head positions don't really put mush more stress on the neck wires.  The wire are always kept taut and use a pulley system.  Left straight, or right really don't make any difference.  Up and down have stress related to the weight of the head.   If the head is resting on something, that relieves the stress.  Again, up, straight, or down don't make that much difference as long as the head is supported so that the wire isn't holding all the weight.  Use a pillow (or a stack of books) to take the strain off the neck.  So sleeping position doesn't cause the wires any more problem than the packing position.

According to Innvo, the 2009 pleos did NOT use a heavier gauge wire, they fixed joint/servo/pulley problems that were causing friction/rubbing on the cables which led to cables breaking from excessive wear.  (You rub a shoe lace across a brick long enough, the shoe lace will break.  The problem is not the shoe lace, it's the brick...)

All that said, the sleep position IS BAD for storing pleo when turned off.   Not because of cable issues, but the SKIN!!  The sleep position stretches the skin in the neck and tail, that over time may lead to growing rips and tears in the thin spots of the skin.

The best position for storing pleo from the persective of the skin is the packing position.  This eliminates most (if not all) of the stretching of the skin.

[justbede]

Ahh poor old Pleo skin, so beautiful yet so problematic 

[InmemoryofRomeo]

My Pleo's have always been stored in the packing position, hold down the little black button underneath for ten seconds or so and they will assume the position for you to switch them off. Neither has any holes in the neck area, and very limited paint cracking, and Lilo is now well over 12 months old. I also support the necks by storing them in a foam box with holes cut to allow the heads to rest securely.

[Bumblebee]

YIKES! I store all four of mine in sleep position!
Gotta go fix that...

[Dino_Dave]

After just repairing Arnie, my newest and also oldist pleo's neck, i would say that all his damage was caused by wear and tear. Though the head does weigh quite a bit, so supporting it can't hurt. There is no additional tension on the neck wires due to the way its servo's work. Anyhow, there just as cute with their skin off, and Arnie my D700 has much improved run times compared to the rest off the family. Don't know whether this is due to the motors working against the resistance of the skin, or just due to better cooling. He seems happy now and just needs an "I'll be back" WAV now.