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The SparkFun RedBot is a platform for teaching basic robotics and sensor

integration! It is based on the SparkFun RedBoard and fully programmable

using Arduino. This guide describes the assembly of the new Shadow

Chassis for the RedBot. If you want to learn how to program your robot, see

the Experiment Guide for RedBot.

NOTE:

We recommend that you read

all

of the directions first, before

building your RedBot.

This tutorial will cover how to install all the parts in the SparkFun RedBot

Basic Kit and the SparkFun Inventor’s Kit for RedBot (SIK for RedBot).

The SIK for RedBot contains additional parts to the RedBot Basic Kit.

If you have the RedBot Basic Kit, please ignore sections pertaining to

these extra parts. These sections are marked with the label

(SIK)

.

Summary of Contents for RedBot

Page 1: ...obot see the Experiment Guide for RedBot NOTE We recommend that you read all of the directions first before building your RedBot This tutorial will cover how to install all the parts in the SparkFun R...

Page 2: ...Mini B 5 pin cable You know the mini B c 2 Jumper Wire 0 1 3 pin 6 Black Red White PRT 13164 This is a simple three wire cable Each cable is 6 long and is great fo SparkFun RedBot Buzzer ROB 12567 Thi...

Page 3: ...t several of the parts need to be snapped out of the main chassis boards Part Qty A Bottom Chassis Plate 1 B Top Chassis Plate 1 C Front Motor Mount 2 D Rear Motor Mount 2 E Side Strut 4 F Encoder Mou...

Page 4: ...eries SIK 4 AB Screwdriver SIK Not Shown 1 AC USB Mini B Cable SIK Not Shown 1 Indicates parts included in the SIK for RedBot IMPORTANT If you have the RedBot Basic Kit you will need 4x AA batteries N...

Page 5: ...how far each wheel rotates The wheel encoders will allow you to monitor and control the distance the robot travels The Wheel Encoder Kit uses a multi pole diametric ring magnet attached to the motor s...

Page 6: ...N 2x Encoder Hall Effect Sensor O Slide the Encoder Magnet Plates N onto the metal shaft on the back of the Motors K Note that magnet side silver should face away from the motor Slide the magnet down...

Page 7: ...and hold it so that the protruding slot is on the left Push one of the encoder sensors through the first slot on the right Note The direction of the sensor does not matter Loop the sensor and push it...

Page 8: ...ly pull the wires so there is no more slack in the mount Make sure the whole sensor can be seen coming out of the final slot the sensor should protrude between and 3 8 past the mount Snap the assemble...

Page 9: ...ncoder sensor through the first slot on the left Loop the sensor and push it through the second middle slot Once more push the sensor through the protruding slot on the right Carefully pull the wires...

Page 10: ...ome motion to the RedBot by turning the nice rubbery wheels NOTE If you completed the previous Wheel Encoder SIK step your motors will each have an encoder magnet plate attached to their rear shaft Ho...

Page 11: ...the two motor wires Be careful not to snag the wires the cable tie or the clear plastic strap Holding the motor wires gently twist the Rear Motor Mount counter clockwise so that it snaps in place on t...

Page 12: ...ess for the second motor Slide a Front Motor Mount C onto the protruding eyelet on the front of a Motor K Ensure the rounded sides of the motor mounts are facing the same way Repeat the process for th...

Page 13: ...sis Snap the other motor assembly into the right 2 horizontal slots of the Bottom Chassis Plate A Again make sure that the rounded edges of the motor mounts and the wires are facing the center of the...

Page 14: ...this section you will be putting standoffs on the RedBot Sensor Line Followers Then you will add the sensors to your chassis 1x Line Follower Mount I 1x Line Follower Mount Plate J 3x Line Follower Bo...

Page 15: ...ne Follower Mount poke through the mounting holes in the Line Follower Boards Make sure the sensors are facing away down from the clip of the mount Place the Line Follower Mount Plate J on top of the...

Page 16: ...r Boards Notice that the white wire should be on the right and the black wire should be on the left Locate the wide rectangular slot near the front of the chassis and snap the line follower assembly i...

Page 17: ...mper board You will need to prepare the music wire by bending the wire itself Then you will add standoffs and screws to your mechanical bumpers followed by adding the mechanical bumpers to the RedBot...

Page 18: ...t back into the plastic handle Screw a 4 40 x 3 8 screw V and 4 40 hex nut X to one of the two large mechanical bumper holes You can get it pretty tight with just your fingers but we ve included a scr...

Page 19: ...ose pliers However there is a trick to bend the whisker using the Mechanical Bumper Board itself First stick one of the whiskers U through one of the smaller side holes It only needs to stick out a li...

Page 20: ...rew Hold this tight and secure it with a the 4 40 nylon standoff Note It is very important that you do not let the whisker touch the hex nut or screw on the other side This is what triggers the sensor...

Page 21: ...ide your 4 40 x standoff is on for the first mechanical bumper Do the opposite for the other bumper Double check that there is one mechanical bumper that has a 4 40 x standoff on the right side of the...

Page 22: ...e The mechanical bumpers header pins should be pointing toward the center of the chassis piece You will need to connect a 3 Wire Jumper Cable Y to each of the Bumper Boards T Note the color of the wir...

Page 23: ...ttached we can assemble the main body of the robot 4x Side Strut E 1x Nub Caster M You will also need the Top Chassis Plate and Bottom Chassis Plate assemblies which have any additional parts and sens...

Page 24: ...sides of each plate line up Route the wires and cables through the left and right oval slots in the Top Chassis Plate assembly as shown For the center line follower sensor route this cable through th...

Page 25: ...e on top of all the struts and carefully snap the Top Chassis Plate assembly onto the side struts and motor mounts Press gently above each side strut individually until they each snap into place If yo...

Page 26: ...itional parts and sensors you attached in previous steps Snap the two Mainboard Mounts G into the vertical slots in the back of the top chassis plate near the large rectangular opening The RedBot Main...

Page 27: ...what it is connected to If you have the RedBot Basic Kit disregard any extra sensors that are missing in your kit These sensors will be marked with the label SIK Please note When you have the RedBot...

Page 28: ...3 Wire Jumper Cable Red VCC GND 3 Wire Jumper Cable Black GND Right Line Follower RedBot Mainboard Pins Jumper Wires Right Line Follower Board A7 3 Wire Jumper Cable White OUT 5V 3 Wire Jumper Cable R...

Page 29: ...MOTOR RED Soldered on Motor Jumper Wire RED LEFT MOTOR BLACK Soldered on Motor Jumper Wire BLACK Right Motor RedBot Mainboard Pins Right Motor Jumper Wires RIGHT MOTOR RED Soldered on Motor Jumper Wir...

Page 30: ...ble Red 5V GND 3 Wire Jumper Cable Black GND Right Wheel Encoder SIK RedBot Mainboard Pins Jumper Wires Right Wheel Encoder 10 3 Wire Jumper Cable White OUT POW 3 Wire Jumper Cable Red 5V GND 3 Wire J...

Page 31: ...ring on female headers to your accelerometer to fit on top of the RedBot Mainboard s headers 1x Accelerometer Board R Locate the SENSOR port with A4 and A5 marked near the upper right corner of the Re...

Page 32: ...the SERVO port with 9 marked on the RedBot Mainboard With the buzzer and female header side of the Buzzer Board S facing to the left place the Buzzer Board on top of the 9 POW and GND male header pin...

Page 33: ...ies into the Battery Holder Z Makes sure the batteries are facing the correct direction as per the markings inside of the Battery Holder Insert the Battery Holder Z with batteries into the back cavity...

Page 34: ...down into the vertical slots in the Bottom Chassis Plate so it snaps in place Route the barrel jack cable out of the left side of the RedBot and up to the Mainboard If you have a motor encoder SIK ma...

Page 35: ...n the RedBot the process is simple Unplug the battery pack from the Mainboard Turn the RedBot over and push on the Battery Holder through the hole in the Bottom Chassis Plate This will cause the Batte...

Page 36: ...dBot with Shadow Chassis This will work with the RedBot Basic Kit as well as the RedBot SIK To program your robot right from your browser you will first need to install some FTDI drivers Follow the st...

Page 37: ...gram the RedBot from your browser make sure you have the FTDI drivers and Codebender plugin installed Plug in the RedBot using a USB mini cable Turn the RedBot POWER switch to ON and the MOTOR switch...

Page 38: ...is set to RUN the RedBot will move forward quite rapidly for 2 seconds You might want to pick the RedBot up so that it doesn t run away from you The RedBot will drive forward for only 2 seconds and t...

Page 39: ...might have noticed some odd looking hole patterns in the top plate and side struts The RedBot s chassis is manufactured to accept Actobotics parts Feel free to add other mounts gimbals servos and cla...

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