Search

Resume and bio of the author, about this website Couple of articles related to my hobby - robotics
My impressions about immigration to Australia. In Russian only. Recipes for everyday problems solving
Linux-related posts Windows-related posts
Software-related posts A lot of info about hardware
Different tools you might find useful Posts about various web technologies
Everything that doesn't fit the rest of the menu RSS feed for this blog

Tag Cloud

Archives

Links

Andrey Mikhalchuk’s Blog

Technoblog about life

Feb 23, 2008 How to build an inexpensive yet powerful robot. get the parts and tools

For our robot we will need the following parts and tools:


(If you haven’t read the project outline you can do it here)

  1. Parts
    1. WRT54GL router or similar. Since our “routerbot” OS is nothing else then a bit modified OpenWRT Linux you can find the list of compatible models here: http://wiki.openwrt.org/TableOfHardware. I was using exactly WRT54GL that is available for $50 AR here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124190 . This would be the most expensive part, but hopefully you already have compartible model.
    2. 1 x SSC-32 servo controller $40 - http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=395&CategoryID=. This is the second most-expensive part
    3. 2x continuos rotation servos, $13 each - http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=429&CategoryID=38
    4. Self-locking nylon bands of different sizes. $1-2 in Target.
    5. Two-sided really good adhesive tape. I’m using the one made by 3M I bought in Target. $3-5
    6. Rubber bands – I got mine in Whole Foods on register. You’ll need approx 10 of those. FREE
    7. 2 x CD disks. I personally prefer Verbatim for burning backups, so for this project I used Memorex. AOL disks you can pick up in Best Buy would work great too. FREE
    8. 2 x continuos rotation servos $14 each
    9. 9.6 1600 mAh rechargeable battery pack – get one in Warmart or find it in one of your kids’ R/C toys. They typically power the engines in the toy itself.
    10. Coaster wheel – I had one at home, you can get one from Home Depot or Target for instance. See the pictures for approximate wheel size
    11. Data cable, $2 - http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=256&CategoryID=44
    12. 1x Battery Quick Connect cable, $2.50 - http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=65&CategoryID=. Actually this one may be better: http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=497&CategoryID=44
    13. 5mm jack connector exactly the same your router power supply is connected to the router with. I don’t remember where I got mine. If don’t have one just solder the wires from battery directly to the power connector of the router.
    14. Video system (optional)
      1. Video camera – get one on ebay for $20
      2. 2x servos, $13 each - http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=78&CategoryID=38
      3. 1x servo bracket, $8 for pair - http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=326&CategoryID=87
      4. 1x servo hinge, $6 for pair - http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=261&CategoryID=75
    15. Bunch of wires
    16. Optionally you may want to use 10-pin header and 10-pin connector (I made mine from IDE cable)
  2. Tools
    1. Soldering iron. If you plan to do more electronics later better get rework station. (I personally like Aoyue 968 for its great price/performance ratio)
    2. Glue gun. This tool is optional, but it will help you a lot, so I’d recommend getting one. It is just $2 in Michaels + $1 for clue sticks in a dollar store.

Order all the stuff you’re missing and proceed to the next part.

This post is published in Hardware, How To, Linux, Other, Robotics, Software.

4 Responses to “How to build an inexpensive yet powerful robot. get the parts and tools”

  1. How to build an inexpensive yet powerful robot (How to turn your router into a routerbot) | Andrey Mikhalchuk's Blog Says:

    [...] usps website payments pro wordpress ← Pizza.com domain and website are for sale How to build an inexpensive yet powerful robot - get the parts and tools [...]

  2. How to build an inexpensive yet powerful robot - modify the router so it can control servos | Andrey Mikhalchuk's Blog Says:

    [...] connector that provides two serial interfaces. Grab the 3-wire data cable marked as 1k in the list of parts and cut it into two equal 3-pin headers. Solder one of those to the 10-hole connector in the [...]

  3. Brad Says:

    Very good article! I plan to start building one of these very soon. It should be noted that people may not want to buy a new router for this because they are likely to get a newer version which will not accept an OS flash/change.

    I’ve got my router ready and about to order servos, can’t wait!

  4. Robot barato construido en base a un router Linksys WRT54GL | CyberHades Says:

    [...] Get parts and tools (obtener piezas y herramientas) [...]

Leave a Reply

Site Map (c) Andrey Mikhalchuk, 2005-2008