designed and constructed by
amateurs.
A very nice and capable robot can
be built from scratch with just a few
hand tools. Besides a small
complement of screwdrivers, diagonal
cutters, needle-nose pliers, a wrench
set, and maybe some nut drivers,
adding a cordless drill motor and drill
bit set will get you going.
A person might start with a
solderless breadboard for initial
electronic circuit design, but a
soldering iron or station will soon be a
needed purchase. Adding a hacksaw,
some files, and a bench vise will get
you into some metalwork.
I had a basic imported milling
machine that weighed about 800
pounds, as did my 12” x 36” Atlas
metal lathe. I inherited it from my
father-in-law but most of my robot
construction was done with hand
tools and a drill press.
I also had a large 12” swing drill
press and a small metal shear, but I
sold all four in my last move and
bought a small $50 import 6” drill
press that works just fine for my
projects. A small 5”- 6” drill press may
be the only ‘larger’ power tool you
might need as they are great for
drilling precision holes. It can drill a
hole in the center of a 10”- 12” square
or circle — enough for my needs.
To get to the middle of anything
larger, I just use a handheld
drill motor. Harbor Freight
Tools offers the 8” drill press
in Figure 9 for about $70.
The Robot's
Base
I have always said in my articles
that a prospective robot builder
should first determine what they want
their robot to do before any
construction begins. Will it be
designed as an educational platform,
a combat robot, a telepresence
platform, or possibly a disaster
recovery design? It is always easier to
begin with a ready-made base —
especially if you just want to
experiment with different sensors
and/or learn more about robotics.
Software engineer, Steve Norris is
shown in Figure 10 with one of his
robots described on the Popular
Mechanics.com site in a September
2008 article entitled ‘ 5 Homemade
Robots that Offer Hope for DIY
Geeks.’ The base of his robot named
Huey has a color-sensing CMU camera
and other obstacle sensors, and runs
on off-road tires. It is decades more
advanced than the robots in my PM
article of April 1984, entitled ‘ 5
The Popular Mechanics cover of
that article featured Jim Hill’s Charlie
mentioned previously. Technology for
homemade robots has really advanced
in the past three decades.
If you’re cutting your own metal,
plastic, or wood for your robot’s base
and you’ve located the type,
thickness, and size that you’ll require,
this is the time to thoroughly plan out
the design. You don’t need a CAD
program — just start with some
sketches.
Lay out where you want the
wheels, drive motors, battery pack,
SERVO 12.2014 79
Figure 8. Ken Maxon's home machine shop.
Figure 9.
Harbor
Figure 10. Steve Norris and his robot
in Popular Mechanics.