Servo - December 2014

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.