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Published November 20, 2016 © GPL3+

Useless Robot

Just like the useless box, this useless robot does nothing productive except provide hours of mediocre fun, & it looks good on your desk!

BeginnerFull instructions provided8 hours1,632

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Particle Photon

4ft x 1/8in Diameter Metal Dowel Rod

EMax ES08All Servo Motor

Breadboard (generic)

3D Printed Parts

Total of 10 different 3D printed parts

Jumper wires (generic)

Battery Pack - Max 6 Volts

We used a 6 Volt - 4.5 Amp Hr Power Sonic sealed rehcargeable battery

Missile Switch

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Screw Driver

Flat Phillips with Nuts (#4-40 x 1/2 in)

Pack of 14

3D Printer (generic)

Hacksaw

File

250 Grit Sand Paper

Super Glue

Story

Description:

Make your own personalized useless robot. We've all seen the useless box but now you can create your own. This is an easy project and you can leave it on your desk at work and indulge in hours of procrastination. Please watch the video below to see how it works!

Instructions:

Step 1 - Construct Robot Circuit

This circuit will control all three of the motors and move the robot arm. See below for detailed circuit schematic and a copy of the code used to control the motors.

Step 2 - Construct Switch Circuit

The circuit shown below will send the data from the switch being flicked to the Photon you just connected. The data from this code will then be recorded and you can see the reaction time of the robot. See below for downloadable code and circuit schematics. This photon is not required for the robot arm to turn off the switch.

Step 3 - Print Your Robot!

Use a 3-D printer to print all of your robot parts. This will take between 5-6 hours to complete. The CAD drawings for the robot are ready for download at the bottom of the page.

Printed parts may require light sanding or scraping on unfinished surfaces that come in contact with other parts (for example the printed piece that connects to the servo). Ensure the surface is smooth and the parts fit together snug.

While your robot is printing, it may be a good idea to cut your metal rods into 6 - 6" pieces (servorods), 2 - 5.5" pieces (servosliderods), and one - 1" piece (postrod). Once these are cut using your hacksaw you must file down the edges of the rod so they will fit smoothly into the holes of your printed parts.

Step 4 - Assemble Robot

Once all of your parts are acquired, cut and filed you may begin to assemble your robot.

Place all the 3D printed pieces where they should go to get a test fit as shown in the final assembly photo with the metal rods. At this point you may need to do some additional sanding to make sure everything fits together as designed.

Use superglue on any loose attachments (for example where the metal rods slide into the placement holes on the base).

Place servos, breadboards, and missile switch in their proper places. Sanding may be required.

Connect wires to all circuit components using the schematics below.

Step 5 - Enjoy!

We hope you enjoyed seeing how we made a Useless Robot, please let us know if you decide to make your own!

Graph:

Below is a graphical representation of the response time of the robot hitting the switch. A data point is collected each time the robot hits the switch. From the video above, the response time was calculated. The length of the switch on time (1) is different because the robot taunts are variable times.

Schematics

Code

int flipswitch = D7;                                                    // physical missile switch is connected to D7 pin and D6 pin
int debounce;                                                           // ensures the publishing events happen only once when switch is turned on

void setup() {
    pinMode(flipswitch, INPUT);                                         // allows D7 pin to turn on LED
    pinMode(D6, OUTPUT);                                                // D6 pin is output connected to one end of switch
    digitalWrite(D6,HIGH);                                              // when switch turns on it will turn on D7 LED 
}

void loop() {
    if (digitalRead(flipswitch) == LOW)                                 // checks to make sure the switch was off before a publishing event can occur
        debounce = TRUE;
    
    if (digitalRead(flipswitch) == HIGH && debounce == TRUE) {          // limits publish to be when the switch is on and debounce is true
        Particle.publish("move", "switch");                             // sends the data to move the robot arm to the missile switch
        debounce = FALSE;                                               // resets 'debounce' so publish is not called repeatedly
    }
}

Servo pivot, claw, arm;                             // create multiple servo objects

void move(const char *event, const char *data) {
        digitalWrite(D7, HIGH);                     // when event is received light turns on
        delay(3000);
        
        int taunts = random(5);                     // set initial amount of taunts to random 0 - 4
        while(taunts > 0) {                         // loop for decrementing the remaining amount of taunts
            int taunt_type = random(2);             // type of taunt to use on this interation (0 or 1)
            if(taunt_type == 0) {                   // runs taunt type 0 (open / close claw)
                claw.write(70 + random(45));        // open claw to random position (70° - 114°)
                delay(500);
                claw.write(50);                     // close claw
                if(taunts != 1)                     // only delay after closing the claw on NOT last time                     
                    delay(500);
            } else {                                // runs taunt type 1 (pivot arm UP)
                pivot.write(110);                   // move arm up to 110°
                delay(600);
                pivot.write(90);                    // lower arm back to original position
                if(taunts != 1)                     // only delay after closing the claw on NOT last time
                    delay(600);
            }
            taunts--;                               // decrement the number of remaining taunts
        }
        
        delay((random(6)) * 1000);                  // delay turning off of switch up to 5 seconds (5000ms)

        pivot.write(45);                            // lower arm to switch (and flip it)
        digitalWrite(D7, LOW);                      // turn off indicator light
        delay(750); 
        pivot.write(90);                            // return to original position
}

void setup() {
    pivot.attach(D0);                               // attach each servo to PWM pins
    claw.attach(D2);
    //arm.attach(D1);                               // the servo was shorted so we are no longer using 'arm'
    
    pivot.write(90);                                // set each servo's initial position
    claw.write(50);
    //arm.write(90);                                // the servo was shorted so we are no longer using 'arm'
   
    pinMode(D7, OUTPUT);                            // enable output for the indicator light

    Particle.subscribe("move",move);                // subsribe to second particle for data on move function
}


void loop() {
 
}

Credits

Jessica Cedrone

1 project • 1 follower

Contact

Scott Mendenhall

3 projects • 8 followers

Mechanical Engineering Student at UNC Charlotte

Contact

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Useless Robot