Building

My dad helped me with the actual building of the robot. This required power tools and materials that only he had. Here is the process of how we built the robot:
  • First, we bought a round plastic trash can and a large plastic bowl to put on top of it as a lid. This is the basic body of the robot
  • Next, we used a band saw to cut a circular piece of wood for the base of the robot. We later sanded it and coated it with varnish. Remember to measure the bottom of the trash can and have the diameter of the circular piece of wood slightly larger. This is to ensure that it fits snugly. 
  • The next thing we had to do was take apart some drills to use the motors in them. I actually found a very informative instructable on how to do this. It is quite similar to what I did and actually better in some ways than our method... Here's a link to it; or you could take a look at the file below: (click on it and scroll down using your mouse because it doesn't have a scrollbar for some reason)
  • After that, we took a block of wood about as long as the diameter of the circular piece and about 3.5 in. tall. It was around 3.5-4 in. wide as well. We drilled a hole down the middle of it and stuck a pole through it. Make sure that both sides of the pole have threads for washers and nuts. We bolted it towards the back of the circular piece of wood. Then, we took the wheels we made with the gear and slid them on to the pole (one on each side). We used a washer and nut on each side to secure the wheels. Remember that the gear goes on first and then the wheel.
  • Next, what you have to do is 

Supplies/Materials Necessary:

  • 1 Plastic trash can

  • Cheap Plastic bowl to go on top

  • 2 Rubber wheels

  • 1 Metal rod

    • Threaded at the ends

  • Large pieces of wood or scrap wood

  • 2 Cheap cordless drills

  • 4 Small plastic/rubber gears for robotics

    • (Make sure gears for wheels are

  • Robotics sprocket and chain kit

  • Round ball casters (ones with holes for screws)

  • A lot of screws


Tools Necessary:

  • Screwdriver

  • Cordless Drill (To use as a drill)

  • Band Saw

  • Some sort of saw that will cut pieces of wood (such as a circular saw)

  • Sand paper or sander

  • Drill Press

  • Milling Machine

(If you don't have access to any of these machines, you can try some of the other tutorials on this website)