Continuing the Journey....

 Robotics continued…..

Before you start building your own robot, you should first figure out and list down all the parts needed to build that robot.

The main parts of a robot can be divided into:

• Chassis:  It is basically the body of the robot. It consists of the internal framework that supports the robot. Depending on the type of robot you intend to make, you can choose your chassis material.

Materials that can be used to make chassis:

1.       Wood:  Depending on the size of your robot, wood may be a good choice. It is inexpensive or free and easy to work with simple tools. It can be obtained in any hardware, craft or hobby store. It is light and readily available and is ideal for making small homemade robots.

2.       Plastic: Plastic bottles, jars, boxes, etc. can be easily found at home and can be used to make the body of the robot. When using plastic, we should never use high speed tools as there may be a chance that the plastic melts.

3.       Aluminium: It is light weight and moderately easy to work with. It can be found at any hardware, home improvement, craft or hobby store. You should always be very cautious when working with aluminum as the edges can be very sharp and should be sanded or filed to round the edges.

• Motors:  A motor is basically an electrical device which converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Electrical energy from the power source is supplied to the motors which use the energy to do work.  These motors can be used to do several tasks. They can be used to make the robot move by making the wheels of the robot move. They can also be used to make the robot move its head or sensors, etc. 
• Wheels:  You can use wheels from toys or you can buy wheels from a hobby shop. They have pneumatic or foam wheels for model aircraft that are very easy to use.
• Power source:   Batteries are usually used to power the robot. Sometimes solar panels are also used to power the robot when making the robot run on solar energy. When making robots , buying new batteries every time to replace the old ones  can become expensive, hence rechargeable batteries are the best.
• Microcontroller (“The brain “):  The microcontroller is the main part of the robot. It is the brain of the robot and is essential for making an autonomous robot.

Now that you know what all you need to make a robot, let’s start making them……….

In my next post, I will be showing you how to make a homemade robot car. It’s very easy and all the materials needed to make it (other than the motors and the soldering iron) can be found at home. For making the robot you do not need a microcontroller.

                   Things needed to make the robot car are:

1.       Wood (for chassis)

2.       Wheels and castor wheel

3.       2-4 200 rpm motors

4.       Batteries

5.       2 dpdt (double pole double throw) switches or 4 single click switches

6.       Wires and wire cutter

7.       Soldering iron and solder

8.       A plastic tiffin box (for the controller)

9.       Clamps

10.   Screws and screw driver

11.   Safety goggles (precautionary measure)

                                                            To be continued……..


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