Build a laser-cut robot Make your own robot using a laser cutter and some simple electronics. 28 September 2024 3 minute read By Kevin McAleer Share this article on Table of Contents WoodBot - a Laser-cut robotBill of MatarialsDesignConstructionWiringProgrammingDXF Files Tags: Lasercutting Difficulty: beginner Category: lasercutting arduino Home Blog Build a laser cut robot Build a laser-cut robot Make your own robot using a laser cutter and some simple electronics. 28 September 2024 | 3 minute read | By Kevin McAleer | Share this article on Video For every project I create, I often make a corresponding YouTube video. Sometimes, there might be more than one video for a single project. You can find these videos in this section. Explore more through this this dedicated video. WoodBot - a Laser-cut robot I recently built a new robot called WoodBot. It’s a small robot that I designed and built using my Creality Falcon 5W laser cutter. The robot is made from 2mm plywood and is powered by an Arduino Uno microcontroller. I designed this to learn more about how to use a laser cutter and to experiment with different materials. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and I’m looking forward to building more robots in the future. Bill of Matarials Item Description Item Cost Qty Total Arduino Uno R3 The original Arduino Uno microcontroller. £25 1 £20 2mm Plywood A 300x300 sheet of 2mm plywood. £1 1 £1 HC SR04 An ultrasonic distance sensor. £2 1 £2 Battery Box A 4xAA battery box. £1 1 £1 Hex Standoffs A pack of 10 hex standoffs. £1 1 £1 Wheels A pack of 2 wheels. £2 1 £2 TT Motors A pack of 2 TT motors. £2 1 £2 Motor Driver A L298N or DRV8833 motor driver. £2 1 £2 Jumper Wires A pack of 40 jumper wires. £1 1 £1 Total £31 Design The robot is designed to be simple and easy to build. The body is made from 2mm plywood, which is cut using the laser cutter. The wheels are attached to the motors, and the motors are controlled by an Arduino Uno microcontroller. The Arduino is lifted above the body using hex standoffs, which gives the robot a bit of height. The robot is powered by a 4xAA battery box, which is connected to the Arduino using jumper wires. The ultrasonic distance sensor is mounted on the front of the robot, and is used to detect obstacles in front of the robot. Construction The robot is simple to put together, you may need some wood glue to secure the tabs and range finder parts in place, and some hot glue to secure the motors driver and battery box. Wiring The diagram below shows how the robot is wired up. The motors are connected to the motor driver, which is connected to the Arduino. The DRV8833 motor driver is connected to the Arduino using 4 GPIO Pins. The TT motors are connected to the motor driver outputs. Test the motor directions are correct, if they move in the wrong direction, swap the motor output wires around. The ultrasonic distance sensor is connected to the Arduino, and the battery box is connected to the Arduino and motor driver using jumper wires. The Range finder has 4 pins, VCC, GND, TRIG, and ECHO. The VCC and GND are connected to the Arduino 5V and GND pins. The TRIG and ECHO are connected to the Arduino GPIO pins. The code is a work in progress, the GPIO pins will be confirmed once the code is complete. Programming The robot is programmed using the Arduino IDE and the C++ programming language. Code will be added soon! Check back later. DXF Files DXF Files for the robot can be found here. Liked this article? You might like these too. Robots and Lasers
Build a laser-cut robot Make your own robot using a laser cutter and some simple electronics. 28 September 2024 3 minute read By Kevin McAleer Share this article on Table of Contents WoodBot - a Laser-cut robotBill of MatarialsDesignConstructionWiringProgrammingDXF Files Tags: Lasercutting Difficulty: beginner Category: lasercutting arduino
WoodBot - a Laser-cut robot I recently built a new robot called WoodBot. It’s a small robot that I designed and built using my Creality Falcon 5W laser cutter. The robot is made from 2mm plywood and is powered by an Arduino Uno microcontroller. I designed this to learn more about how to use a laser cutter and to experiment with different materials. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and I’m looking forward to building more robots in the future. Bill of Matarials Item Description Item Cost Qty Total Arduino Uno R3 The original Arduino Uno microcontroller. £25 1 £20 2mm Plywood A 300x300 sheet of 2mm plywood. £1 1 £1 HC SR04 An ultrasonic distance sensor. £2 1 £2 Battery Box A 4xAA battery box. £1 1 £1 Hex Standoffs A pack of 10 hex standoffs. £1 1 £1 Wheels A pack of 2 wheels. £2 1 £2 TT Motors A pack of 2 TT motors. £2 1 £2 Motor Driver A L298N or DRV8833 motor driver. £2 1 £2 Jumper Wires A pack of 40 jumper wires. £1 1 £1 Total £31 Design The robot is designed to be simple and easy to build. The body is made from 2mm plywood, which is cut using the laser cutter. The wheels are attached to the motors, and the motors are controlled by an Arduino Uno microcontroller. The Arduino is lifted above the body using hex standoffs, which gives the robot a bit of height. The robot is powered by a 4xAA battery box, which is connected to the Arduino using jumper wires. The ultrasonic distance sensor is mounted on the front of the robot, and is used to detect obstacles in front of the robot. Construction The robot is simple to put together, you may need some wood glue to secure the tabs and range finder parts in place, and some hot glue to secure the motors driver and battery box. Wiring The diagram below shows how the robot is wired up. The motors are connected to the motor driver, which is connected to the Arduino. The DRV8833 motor driver is connected to the Arduino using 4 GPIO Pins. The TT motors are connected to the motor driver outputs. Test the motor directions are correct, if they move in the wrong direction, swap the motor output wires around. The ultrasonic distance sensor is connected to the Arduino, and the battery box is connected to the Arduino and motor driver using jumper wires. The Range finder has 4 pins, VCC, GND, TRIG, and ECHO. The VCC and GND are connected to the Arduino 5V and GND pins. The TRIG and ECHO are connected to the Arduino GPIO pins. The code is a work in progress, the GPIO pins will be confirmed once the code is complete. Programming The robot is programmed using the Arduino IDE and the C++ programming language. Code will be added soon! Check back later. DXF Files DXF Files for the robot can be found here.