The Scrapbot
SHS: College Engineering
The Scrapbot
A basic computer mouse shaped robot designed to traverse through a maze using a limit switch, photodiodes and a relay to provide control input for two motors.
One of my first ever robots and the project that truly ignited a passion for engineering.
The Electronics
Analog light-operated circuit that runs both motors forward until the limit switch triggers the relay and reverses until the capacitor is fully depleted.
Developed soldering abilities, learned about circuit design and how to compactly and readably construct circuits.
The Chassis
The chassis was fabricated in two steps: creating a wood mold and vacuum forming a plastic shell.
Creating a wood mold helped me learn so much about woodworking. I got to use band saws, disc sanders, table saws and other more traditional handheld tools.
Making this mold also helped me understand how to design for manufacturing. I learnt Vacuum Forming temperature, design and form constraints.
The Final Build
Reflecting on this project, it stands out as one of the most impactful of all of the projects I’ve worked on over my engineering career. What I learnt over the duration of this class and over the course of this project provided a foundation of skills that I use till this day.
This project taught me how to solder, gave me the confidence to build my own parts via woodworking and vacuum forming, it gave me an entry point and general understanding of electronics, it imparted the importance of project management and the use of gantt and pert charts and it showed me what engineering is and can be.
Every other project you’ll find within my portfolio would not be possible without the foundation laid by this small robot.
The final Scrapbot build featured:
Two DC Motors, two photodiodes, one limit switch, an LED, a relay, a toggle switch, a 9v battery, a LM386, a capacitor and a resistor.
A vacuum formed shell and a bottom plate made out of of the leftover plastic material.
