This is my first instructable so its not the greatest thing.Leave a comment so I can improve.

The Robot in this instructable was a participant in the Ontario Technological Skills Competition Robotics Team of Four built by a bunch of grade 12 high school students with no previous experience in robotics. As the title suggest the robot is based on the design of a forklift. The purpose was to create an engineering project to encourage individuals with different skill sets to form cooperative teams to design, fabricate and operate a robot. It was expected of us to use some newly purchased and recycled parts or components (motors, gears, etc.) to fabricate a robot consisting of mechanisms which would allow it to complete the simple task of picking up wooden cubes with dimensions 3.5 by 3.5 by 3.5 inches and dropping the cubes in a bin with diameter of 36 inches and height of 18 inches.Apart from the motors and the electrical system everything else was designed and built from scratch.

Step 1: Task

Our assigned task was to pick up wooden cubes with dimensions 3.5 by 3.5 by 3.5 inches and to drop them in a bin with diameter of 36 inches and height of 18 inches.

Step 2: Parts Needed

One of : 2.4 GHZ Spektrum AR6000 DSM DuaLink 6-Channel Park Flyer Receiver
http://www.spektrumrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=SPM6000

One of : Spektrum DX6 DSM 6CH Park Flyer System
http://www.spektrumrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=SPM2460

One of : Sabertooth Dual 25A Motor Driver
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/products/sabertooth2x25

Two of : HM-50 Waterproof Marine ESC Electric Speed Controller for R/C Model Boats (50A)
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/waterproof-marine-esc-electric-speed-controller-for-r-c-model-boats-50a-15759

Two of : Scooter Motor 12Volts120W, DC Motor.

One of : 12V Brushless Motor
http://sgmadamotor.en.made-in-china.com/offer/JMTxedmuVUcL/Sell-Brushless-Motor.html

One of : 12volts 50watts Windshield Wiper Motor to be used as a winch

Two of : 15 amp 32 volts fuse

Aircraft wire rope

Small Pulley

Drawer Rails

Sheet Metal

Scrap pieces of wood

Two of : Small Tires.

Two of : Trolley wheels(shopping cart wheels)

Step 3: Design and Measurements : Sides

Cut out two pieces of wood with the following measurements for the sides.

Step 4: Design and Measurements : Top

The measurements for the top piece of wood.

Step 5: Mounting the Wheels

Gears were welded on to the Wheels.

Step 6: Mounting the Body

For the Body of the robot we decided to use the concept of a 3 dimensional jigsaw puzzle where we created slots and perfectly fitting parts cut out of wood.

Step 7: The Rails and Lift System

For a demonstration of the lift system while in the building process :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLoz1h84vnI&feature=youtu.be

Drawer slides were used as rails for the lift.

As for the DIY Winch, a 12volts 50watts Windshield Wiper Motor was used with 2 metal disks welded on the shaft of the motor so that the aircraft wire rope could warp around.

Step 8: The Arm

Step 9: The Gripper Unit

The threaded rod was drilled and the Motor shaft was inserted in the hole which was secured by cold weld.

The threaded rod passes through a nut which is secured inside the piece of wood.

When the motor is turned on, the threaded rod spins making the piece of wood move.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGrkOTbv7AM&feature=youtu.be

Step 10: Wiring Schematic

All the Positive Wires were connected to the Battery in Parallel.
All the Negative Wires were connected to the Battery in Parallel.

Here is a link to help with the wiring of the Sabertooth dual 25A motor driver :
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/datasheets/Sabertooth2X25QuickStart.pdf

Extra :
We soldered a 1N4004 Diode to a push switch which connected to the gripper motor. Whenever the piece of wood would move back to drop the cube, it would make contact with the switch shutting the motor off.This was only done to facilitate our completion of the task.

Step 11: Wiring

Wiring for the Sabertooth :

- Wire with the Blue tip connects to the Positive Terminal of the 12V Battery.

- The Wire on the Right side of the Blue tip connects to the Negative Terminal of the 12V Battery.

- Here is a link to better understand the wiring :
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/datasheets/Sabertooth2X25QuickStart.pdf