BranBot Assembly Tutorial

Introduction

This is a tutorial on how to assemble the BranBot from the BranBot List of Parts.

'MakerLab' and 'Automation Lab' below refer to the organizations located in the Brandeis Library.

WARNING: Always be careful with tools. Safety comes first!

Overview of Instructions

Prepare Acrylic Frames
Attach the LIDAR to the LAF
Attach the LIDAR Board to the LAF
Attach the Charlie Board to the LAF
Attach the Raspberry Pi to the LAF
Attach the IMU to the LAF
Attach the LED Driver to the LAF
Attach the Motor Brackets to the LAF
Attach the Motor Assemblies to the Brackets
Attach the Wheel Adapters to the Motor Assemblies
Attach the Fixed Wheels to the Wheel Adapters
Attach the Caster Wheels to the LAF
Attach the Camera to the Camera Mount
Attach the Camera Mount to the LAF
Attach the Battery Brackets to the LAF
Attach the LED Holders to the LAF
Wiring
Attach the Standoffs to the LAF
Attach the Upper Acrylic Frame to the Standoffs

Prepare Acrylic Frames

Parts: Lower Acrylic Frame, Upper Acrylic Frame
Tools: Curved Nose Plier
Steps:
1. It's best to do this step in the Automation Lab, where a curved nose plier is readily available.
2. Take a curved nose plier and punch through any incompletely drilled holes in the Lower and Upper Acrylic Frames.

Attach the LIDAR to the LAF

Note: 'LAF' stands for 'Lower Acrylic Frame'
Parts: LIDAR, 4 M2.5x6 screws
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Align the LIDAR to the correct holes on the LAF.
2. Attach the LIDAR to the LAF with the 4 M2.5x6 bolts

Branbot

Attach the LIDAR Board to the LAF

Parts: LIDAR Board, 4 nylon M2 screws, 4 nylon M2 standoffs, 4 nylon M2 nuts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Fix the 4 nylon standoffs to the appropriate holes in the LAF with the 4 nylon M2 screws.
2. Insert the LIDAR Board onto the nylon standoffs via its 4 holes.
3. Fix the LIDAR Board onto the nylon standoffs via the 4 nylon M2 nuts.

Branbot

Attach the Charlie Board to the LAF

Parts: Charlie Board, 4 nylon M2 screws, 4 nylon M2 standoffs, 4 nylon M2 nuts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Observe that the Charlie Board should be attached to the underside of the LAF as in the picture below.
2. Attach the Charlie Board to the LAF using the nylon screws, standoffs, and nuts (cf. the LIDAR board to LAF attachment instructions).
Notes:
1. The Charlie Board should already have the Motor Driver, the Teensy, the Screw terminal, and the I2C right-angle connector soldered onto it. The terminal and the connector should have been directly soldered on. On the other hand, the Motor Driver and the Teensy should have male pins soldered onto them, which should have been inserted into female plugs that have themselves been soldered to the Charlie Board.
2. If the above is not the case, ask the Automation Lab for assistance.

Branbot

Attach the Raspberry Pi to the LAF

Parts: Raspberry Pi, 4 nylon M2 screws, 4 nylon M2 standoffs, 4 nylon M2 nuts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Find the appropriate holes in the LAF for the Raspberry Pi.
2. Attach the Pi to the LAF using the nylon screws, standoffs, and nuts (cf. the LIDAR board to LAF attachment instructions).

Branbot

Attach the IMU to the LAF

Parts: IMU, 4 nylon M2 screws, 4 nylon M2 standoffs, 4 nylon M2 nuts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Find the appropriate holes in the LAF for the IMU.
2. Attach the IMU to the LAF using the nylon screws, standoffs, and nuts (cf. the LIDAR board to LAF attachment instructions).

Branbot

Attach the LED Driver to the LAF

Parts: LED Driver, 4 nylon M2 screws, 4 nylon M2 standoffs, 4 nylon M2 nuts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Find the appropriate holes in the LAF for the LED Driver.
2. Attach the LED Driver to the LAF using the nylon screws, standoffs, and nuts (cf. the LIDAR board to LAF attachment instructions).
Notes:
1. The LED Driver is the wrong side up in the picture below. So are the male pins that have been attached to it. This does not affect the functionality of the Driver, but attaching it the right side up is preferable.
2. The LED driver should already have male pins soldered onto it. If it doesn't, ask the Automation Lab for assistance.

Branbot

Attach the Motor Brackets to the LAF

Parts: 2 Motor Brackets, 8 M3x10 bolts, 8 M3 nuts
Tools: Screwdriver, Plier
Steps:
1. Align a bracket's four holes that form a square with appropriate holes in the LAF.
2. Fix the bracket to the Frame with bolts and nuts. It helps to hold a nut in place with a plier while screwing a bolt into it.
3. Repeat for the other side.

Branbot

Attach the Motor Assemblies to the Brackets

Parts: Motor Brackets, 2 Motor Assemblies, 12 M3x6 bolts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Ensure that the shaft of a Motor Assembly is positioned such that it occupies the lower portion of the large hole in a Motor Bracket.
2. Align the holes in the Motor Assembly with those in the Motor Bracket.
3. Fix the Motor Assembly with the Motor Bracket using 6 M3x6 bolts.
4. Repeat for the other side.
Note: The length of the bolts should be no longer than 6mm. Otherwise, they might interfere with the functioning of the gear box in the Motor Assembly.

Branbot

Attach the Wheel Adapters to the Motor Assemblies

Parts: 2 Wheel Adapters (thick parts, see picture below), 4 Stud bolts (these come with the Pololu wheel adapters, and are small headless bolts)
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Find the flat edge of the shaft of a Motor Assembly.
2. Insert a wheel adapter onto the shaft and rotate it such that the two holes on the adapter's side align with the mentioned flat edge. Ensure that:
3. the shaft does not stick out through the adapter, but that the end of the shaft is flush with the adapter (cf. the picture below).
4. The thinner end of the thick wheel adapter faces outward (cf. the picture below).
5. Insert two stud bolts into the two holes to fix the adapter to the shaft.
6. Repeat for the other side.

Branbot

Attach the Fixed Wheels to the Wheel Adapters

Parts: 2 Wheel Adapters (thin parts, see picture below), 6 M3x20 bolts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Insert a Fixed Wheel into the part of the Wheel Adapter that is attached to the Motor Assembly.
2. Insert the thin part of the Wheel Adapter into the central hole of the wheel, ensuring that its three holes align with that in the thick part of the wheel adpater.
3. Fix the thin part of the Wheel Adapter to its thick counterpart by inserting three M3x20 bolts into the three holes.
4. Repeat for the other side.
Note: The length of the bolts should be no longer than 20mm. Otherwise, they might interfere with the rotation of the Motor Assembly's shaft.

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Attach the Caster Wheels to the LAF

Parts: Caster Wheel Offsets, Caster Wheels, 8 M6x20 bolts, 8 M6 nuts
Tools: Screwdriver, Pliers
Steps:
1. Use the pliers to remove the breaks from a Caster Wheel.
2. Align the holes of a Caster Wheel Offset and those of a Caster Wheel to an appropriate set of holes in the LAF.
3. Use hands to loosely fix the Caster Wheel Offset, the Caster Wheel, and the LAF via the M6 nuts and bolts.
4. Use the plier to hold the nuts in place and the screwdriver to fasten the bolts into the nuts.
5. Repeat for the other side.
Notes:
1. The Caster Wheel Offsets are manufactured by MakerLab.

Branbot

Attach the Camera to the Camera Mount

Parts: 2 M2x4 screws, Camera, Camera Mount
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Fasten the Camera to the Camera Mount with the screws.
Note: Camera Mounts are printed by the MakerLab.

Branbot

Attach the Camera Mount to the LAF

Parts: 2 M3x16 bolts, 2 M3 nylon lock nuts, Camera Mount
Tools: Pliers Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Fasten the Camera Mount to the LAF using the bolts and nylon nuts. Hold the nylon nut in place with a plier when fastening the bolt.

Branbot

Attach the Battery Brackets to the LAF

Parts: 2 Battery Brackets with heat-set nuts, 2 foam inserts, 4 M3x10 bolts
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Observe the orientation of the battery relative to the brackets in the pictures below.
2. Insert the battery into the brackets, using the foam inserts to secure it in place.
3. Attach the battery to the LAF using the 4 M3x10 bolts
Notes:
1. The battery brackets should already have heat-set nuts set into them. If this isn't the case, ask for assistance from the MakerLab.
2. The MakerLab is also responsible for providing the foam inserts.

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Attach the LED Holders to the LAF

Parts: 4 M3x10 screws, 4 LED Holders
Tools: Screwdriver
Steps:
1. Insert the LED bulbs/wires into the LED holders.
2. Fix the LED holders to the appropriate holes in the LAF with the screws.
Notes:
1. The LED Holders should have heat-set nuts melted into them. If they do not, ask for assistance from the Automation Lab.
2. The LED wires should have bulbs on one end and female plugs on the other. If the female plugs are missing, ask for assistance from the Automation Lab.

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Wiring

Connect the Raspberry Pi and the Teensy

Part: USB 2.0 to Micro USB Right-Angle Connector.

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Connect the LED Board with the Raspberry Pi

Part: USB 2.0 to Micro USB Cable.

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Connect the Raspberry Pi and the LIDAR Board to the Battery

Part: USB 2.0 to Micro USB and USB-C Splitter Charging Cable

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Connect the Battery to the Charlie Board Screw Terminal

Part: Battery Power Cable

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Connect the LED Driver to the IMU

Part: I2C Cable
Note: The LED Driver is the wrong side up in the picture below. So are the male pins that have been attached to it. This does not affect the functionality of the Driver, but attaching it the right side up is preferable.

Branbot