NITH PenBot

For my microcontroller class we could only afford 4 robot kits for the 30 students... To remedy this, I came up with this simple robot based on two steppers and a servo that can draw pretty much anything given the right code.

Maker/DIY

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Description

The robot uses a pen to draw as it moves. The wheels control the position and the servo can lift the pen up/down when no drawing should occur.

This is my fist take on this robot. I'll let the students have a stab at the code and put that on GitHub once we have something sensible to move it around with. The hardware was dictated by what the students already have in their kits, but this is probably one of the cheapest robot platforms out there.

Regarding precision - it's not crazy good, but more than good enough for my purposes. See this video for an idea of what to expect  better the pen fits, the more repeatable the drawings will be.

Materials and methods

1 x Filament for platform & wheels $3

2 x Steppers( 28byj-48) $4

1 x Servo (SG90) $1.5

3 x rubber bands $0.2

10 x M3 10mm screws $0.3

1 x 9V battery $1

Total cost $10 (excluding the Arduino controller and a pen)

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Comments

533a800af1a830725b85b12b20e0e1a2?default=blank&size=40TreehillGamer added this to the interessant collection ago
899c82fbfa8c7cc9ff0ea1db715ae952?default=blank&size=40Reginaldo Roberto dos Santos added this to the Future maker collection ago
Ad30bd4fc7cfee699ef731976d949c4d?default=blank&size=40IBuild added this to the Toys collection ago
A2ad4e358d33dbb9be26b1fbcb31fd11?default=blank&size=40Fernando Miras Sosa added this to the Robotica collection ago
Mini jensa by john3jensa published this design ago