Simple Driving Robot

This project was designed to be a basic robot fit with a shell that could be easily accessible.

Supplies

Chasis components

3mm thick wood

Screws

Bolts

Wood glue

3D-printed components

1x Right motor bracket

1x Left motor bracket

4x Circuit board pins

Circuit components

2x Motors

1x Bluetooth module

2x Plastic wheels

Wires

Screws

1x Battery pack

2x Batteries

1x Daughterboard/Sensor shield

1x Aurdino board

1x Motor controller

Tools

Screwdriver

Drill

Wires strippers

Wire cutters

Smartphone

Laser cutter

3D-printer

File/Sandpaper

Step 1: Design Your Robot's Chasis

Start by sketching a concept drawing on paper to brainstorm ideas for what you want your robot to look like and create references later.

Once you have decided you can begin designing your robot's chassis on Adobe Illustrator. You want to make sure that your document is set to millimetres to make your measurement easier. The chassis must be large enough to store all of your circuitry inside and should be accessible so you can address any errors. Your cutting lines should be in RGB red (R,255,G,0,B,0)on 0.1 point size and your engraving lines should be in RGB black (R,0,G,0,B,0) in case you want to engrave a logo onto your robot or any cool designs.

Ensure that your pieces fit with one another and match your material thickness, you can check by exporting the document into Fusion 360 as a sketch, scaling it to match your component's measurements, extruding the sketch to your materials fitness, and then combining the components and see if they fit together.

From there you can laser cut your chassis or 3d print the components (laser cutting tends to work better and more quickly )

Step 2: Assemble Your Curcuit Board

To begin the construction of your robot's inner workings you must design a circuit board to attach all of your components. You can either 3D print this or laser cut it.

Once you have completed your circuit board you can begin screwing in your components using this wiring diagram as a basis.

It's important to remember when attaching your Aurdino and daughter board that you first screw in your Aurdino and then attach your daughter board on top of it

If you are securing your battery pack make sure you use flat-head screws to avoid obstructing the batteries. Keep in mind that the length of the screw can affect how your circuit board fits inside your robot.

Step 3: Wiring

Before you start the wiring process you should strip the ends of your wires to allow for contact between the conductive insides and the circuitry. You may also want to cut long wires or join short ones together by soldering. The colours or your wires don't have to match the ones on the diagram but they should still be positioned the same.

Use the following diagram as a reference.

Step A:

Connect your power supply to your motor controller, VCC to 12-volt terminal (Red) and GND to GND(Black)

Using the same ports connect the motor controller to the Arduino, VCC to Vin pin on the sensor shield (Red) and GNG to GND pin on the sensor shield (Black)

Step B:

Connect the motor controller to the Aurdino using pins 11, 6, 5, and 3 in that order

Step C:

Connect the Bluetooth module to the Arduino, VCC to VCC, GND to GND, TXD to RXD, and RXD to TXD

Step D:

Connect motors to motor controllers using the side ports on the motor controller

If a motor spins the wrong way switch the wires around

Step 4: Program the Robot

Program your robot's movement into the Aurdino.

To have your robot turn rotate your motors in opposite directions (to turn right the right motor should move forwards/clockwise and the left should move backwards/counterclockwise. A left turn is the opposite)

Once finished unplug the Bluetooth module, connect your Aurdino to your computer, and upload the code. UNpluging the Bluetooth module will give a clear reception for your upload.

Step 5: Assemble the Chassis

With all of your circuitry complete begin assembling your chassis. Using wood glue attach each component to one another, hold it in place, and wait until dry. Don't glue the top of your chassis to allow for access to the circuitry in case of emergency.

Screw in each motor to your chassis. if your chassis does not have holes you can always drill some in. Disconnecting the wires from the motor makes this process a lot easier.

place your circuit inside your chassis and secure it by hot-gluing your board into place. glue the pins to the holes in your board then glue the board to the chassis. Even if dislodged the pins have enough friction to keep your board from flying across the room.

Step 6: Connect Your Robot to Your Phone

First, download the Dabble app on your phone.

Plug in your Bluetooth module and connect your robot to your phone using Bluetooth. when the light on your Bluetooth module is solid and not flashing that means it's connected.

Now you can start to drive your robot around using the onscreen controller's D-pad