Introduction: Arduino Nano Powered 3D Printed Robot Car.

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Arduino Nano powered Robot Car. This is an instructable on how to make a 3D printed electric car. The inspiration and supporting documentation and files were found on "Robot arduino 3D print" by the user xoxu on thingyverse.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1582398

https://github.com/drachezoil/Mindlab-robot

Supplies

The supplies list for the Robot Car is as follows:

Arduino Nano

Motor Controller

9v battery with clip

Ultrasonic sensor

2 DC motors with wheels

DuPont cables

Remote Control with IR receiver

LED lights

3D printed chassis (file on thingyverse)


Some other optional parts I used to complete the build were:

Hot Glue and lots of it

Button switch to control power

Patience

The pinout and scematic were part of the github files linked in the intro.

Step 1: Starting Build: Outer Chassis

First, I assembled the robot onto a breadboard to verify connections and power. Afterwards I shortened all the wires needed internally so that they would fit. I started with soldering and completed the wheel/motor assembly and power switch jig before switching to hot glue due to ease of use and speed. After connectors were at the proper length I started with internal assembly.

I hot glued the LED lights and Ultrasonic sensor on to top chassis, and the back wheel onto bottom chassis.

I assembled the batter and power jig. I changed this layout later on as I needed more room internally.

I assembled the drivetrain routing wires as needed.

Step 2: Installing the Nano and Motor Controller

Next, I fitted the Nano and Motor controller into their final positions. Space inside is my biggest concern so I decided to hollow out wire runs in the bottom chassis to facilitate space management. I used a torch and small flat head screw driver and it worked very well!

Step 3: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Soooooo, after I got the car fully assembled I noticed that the fit was still very, very tight and I was not happy with the amount of friction and lack of any airflow. Also, after just assembling it once the button broke at the wire connectors because of the lack of room so no more working button for me. It was more than just a little dissappointing because my other robot built in the previous class had a button top hat as well and I wanted to continue the tradition. I kept the button pieces and glued them back in honor of the top hat button, I did leave the button askew as to give the illusion of speed and movement to the static sculpture.

So I decided that If I had reached the limit of space inside, the only way to go was up. I drilled the top of the chassis and used a file to smooth the edges until I got the perfect friction fit for the battery. Absolute perfection. Sometimes having to fix something leads to a better outcome and this is one of those times.

Step 4: Do You Know the Ro-Code?

Time to code the Car. Fire up arduino IDE and feed your robot. The files used for this project can be found in their entirety through the Thingyverse link I have posted in the introduction of this project. The actual link to the github page for files can be found here. https://github.com/drachezoil/Mindlab-robot. The code will need some tweeking depending on the actual pinouts on your nano and motor controller. Also, there are a variety of code you can experiement with that would work for this robot!