Robotics

5.... 4.... 3.... 2.... 1.... Turn your Raspberry Pi into a spaceship!

This robot chassis is designed to be used with our Explorer HAT, Explorer HAT Pro, or Explorer pHAT boards though it will work with other motor drivers!

The kit is a great way to introduce yourself to robots and controlling motors with your Raspberry Pi. It even includes a camera mount so your little robot can take pictures while it's roaming around!

There is no soldering required and the whole kit can be put together with a small flat-head screwdriver.

Connor Plant has created a build video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHn3ZiPG69w

Kit includes:

• Laser cut chassis
• Raspberry Pi camera mount
• 2 x super-grippy moon-buggy wheels
• 2 x push header motors (298:1 ratio)
• 0.5" front castor wheel
• Jumper leads
• 2 x motor mounting brackets
• 2 x battery clips (battery optional and not included)
• Nuts, bolts, and other fixings

Build up your robot and program it in Python, Scratch, or whatever language you prefer! Add a USB battery pack (not included) and a WiFi dongle and you can make it roam free!

Does not include the Raspberry Pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, or Explorer HAT (Pro or pHAT).

The PicoBorg is an ultra compact motor controller for the Raspberry Pi. With PicoBorg, you can turn on and off fans, motors, solenoids or relays from your Raspberry Pi. There are 4 low side drivers, so you can turn on and off 4 devices, and one device is connected to the RPi PWM pin, so you can vary the speed of that motor! Motor control is accessed via a simple GUI, which can be installed by following the PicoBorg installation instructions. Motor power is not taken directly from the Raspberry Pi, so there's no risk of your Pi dropping out. Instead, the PicoBorg utilises a battery pack to drive the motors; meaning you're not restricted to 5V motors, in fact you can drive ANY motors up to 20V! Why not create your own Raspberry Pi Cyborg?

The PicoBorg is perfect for any small motor project, for example:

• 4 fans on/off control over all and vary speed on one fan
• 4 solenoids
• 4 DC motors (on / off control over all and vary speed on one motor)
• Control one 6 wire stepper motor in both directions
• Rover project!

The PicoBorg Features:

• Drive 4 x DC Motors (on/off) or 1 x 6-Wire Stepper motor (Bi-Direction)
• Allows speed control on 1 x Motor
• Max 20V recommended 12V or less
• Max current 2.5A (stall) or less
• Primarily designed to be used with large resistance, low inductance motors and for learning and experimenting purposes.

• As there are no pull up or pull down resistors on the inputs, the picoBorg expects the Pi to be controlling the pins when the power is applied. Power the Pi first, run the software and then apply power to the PicoBorg.
• There is no thermal shutoff, keep an eye on temperature of the FETs and diodes
• There is no current limiting, you must observe current restrictions
• There is no short circuit or reverse voltage protection
• For commercial applications and control of larger motors and lower resistance coils etc, PiBorg or PiBorg nano may be a better solution
• If you are new to electronics and getting started, we recommend you don't use a battery, rather a low current <100mA power supply as this can be more forgiving if you get things wrong
• Be very careful of connections and soldering as mistakes could potentially hurt your picoBorg and Raspberry Pi.

Description:

There are two L9110S motor controller chips onboard
This module can simultaneously drive two DC motors or a 4-wire 2-phase stepper motor

Feature:

Work under low static current
Power supply voltage: DC 2.5V - 12V
Each channel has 800mA continuous current output
Low saturation pressure drop
TTL / CMOS output level compatible, can be connected directly to the CPU
Output built-in clamping diode, apply to the perceptual load
Control and drive integrate in IC
Pin high pressure protection function
Working temperature: 0°C - 80°C
Size: 29 x 21mm(L x W)

Circuit diagram:
 

Package includes:

  1x L9110S stepper motor driver

Please note this item only includes the MegaPi board. Servos, motors etc is for demonstration purposes only.

What is MegaPi?

MegaPi—Born to Motion Control

MegaPi is a microcontroller board based on ATmega2560. With abundant motor driver interfaces, it can control and combine different kinds of motors rapidly, drive 10 servos and 8 DC motors/ 4 stepper motors simultaneously and have a maximum output current of 10A.

MegaPi can be programmed with Arduino software (IDE) or graphical programming language. It is even better that MegaPi works perfectly with Raspberry Pi, by which makers will be able to drive motors and sensors with Python!

With strong motor-driving ability and ease of use, MegaPi is an ideal option for 3D printer, CNC, robotic project etc.

How to Use MegaPi?

Take it easy! It is quite easy-to-use though with great capabilities. If you are a fan of Arduino or Raspberry Pi, we believe that controlling Mega Pi will be a piece of cake to you, since you must know Arduino IDE or Python programming very well. (Controlling MegaPi through Python programming requires a Raspberry Pi, and you have to weld their communication interfaces together.)

We also prepare graphical programming for the beginner of Maker, making creating robot very easy. We even add the control program of MegaPi into our App, which enables you to control MegaPi with iPad! As congeneric products, MegaPi also need to control motor by motor driver. However, the driver interfaces of MegaPi are encapsulated and anti-reverse, so that you can insert or pull out driver module conveniently.

Driver modules types:

• Stepper motor driver: http://makeblock.com/megapi-encoder-dc-motor-river

• DC/coding electric motor: http://makeblock.com/megapi-stepper-motor-driver-v1

Thus, don't forget to buy motor driver if you intend to do some projects with motor. We prepare some instructions ：

User Guide:

Learn: http://learn.makeblock.com/megaPi/

Arduino IDE: http://learn.makeblock.com/learning-Arduino

Makeblock HD App: http://learn.makeblock.com/makeblock-app-hd/

Who is MegaPi Born for?

Constructing and developing projects like robots, 3D printer and CNC require main control board with stronger motor-driving ability and diversified program languages for users of different levels. MegaPi is exactly born for this. As the newest generation of microcontroller board of Makeblock, it inheres our idea: making creation easy.

• If you are a geek who need a cost-effective board to make your infinitive creative ideas into practice;

• If you are a teacher or a student of STEM education who desires to learn open-source hardware and program language;

• If you are a cool parent who wants to create something, enjoying DIY with your kids,MegaPi will be the best choice for you.

Features:

• Four motor driver interfaces for adding encoder motor driver and stepper motor driver, and thus to drive DC motors, encoder motors and stepper motors;

• One wireless communication interface for adding Bluetooth module or 2.4G module;

• Ten servo interfaces which enable the board to drive up to 10 servos at the same time;

• Two high-power MOS driver interface which is able to drive devices with a maximum current of 10A. Maximum output: DC 5V 3A;

• One Raspberry Pi switch interface (requires manual soldering) to realize 5V to 3.3V serial communication.

The various colors on MegaPi represents specialized functions:

• Red pin--power output/motor output;

• Yellow pin--I/O pin;

• Blue pin--wireless communication interface;

Description:

This module is designed to drive stepper motors. It uses DRV8825 chip and has a maximum driving current of 2.5A. The DRV8825 is a complete micro-stepping motor driver with built-in translator for easy operation. It is designed to operate bipolar stepper motors in full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8/ 1/16, or 1/32 step modes. We add an on-board potentiometer, so you can change the current of motor easily.

Features:

• Compatible with 4 wire bi-polar stepper motors;

• A potentiometer to control the current of the stepper motor;

• A on board heat sink helping heat dissipation;

• Capable of driving one encoder motor (green interface);

• Color-code male and female pins ensure connecting with MegaPi correctly;

• Small size for easy connecting with MegaPi.

Specification:

• Motor driver: DRV8825

• Output current：1.75A (with proper heatsinking at 24 V and 25°C）

• Max current: 2.5A (pay attention to heat dissipation)

• Drive voltage: 8.2V-45V

• Note: MegaPi max supply voltage 12V

• Logic voltage: 5V

• Dimensions: 1.5cm x 2.0cm

User Guide:

• MegaPi: http://learn.makeblock.com/megaPi/

• Arduino IDE: http://learn.makeblock.com/learning-Arduino/

• Makeblock HD App: http://learn.makeblock.com/makeblock-app-hd/

Description：

This encoder motor is capable of driving two DC motors or one encoder motor. It has 16 pins, allowing you to connect with MegaPi by simply plugging in. The motor driver IC on the board is TB6612, which is a high efficiency MOSFET driver with low heat dissipation. Overcurrent protection included to prevent the driver IC from burning out.

Features:

• Compatible with 4 wire bi-polar stepper motors;

• A potentiometer to control the current of the stepper motor;

• A on board heat sink helping heat dissipation;

• Capable of driving one encoder motor (green interface);

• Color-code male and female pins ensure connecting with MegaPi correctly;

• Small size for easy connecting with MegaPi.

Specification:

• Motor driver: DRV8825

• Output current：1.75A (with proper heatsinking at 24 V and 25°C）

• Max current: 2.5A (pay attention to heat dissipation)

• Drive voltage: 8.2V-45V （Note: MegaPi max supply voltage 12V）

• Logic voltage: 5V

• Dimensions: 1.5cm x 2.0cm

User Guide:

• MegaPi: http://learn.makeblock.com/megaPi/

• Arduino IDE: http://learn.makeblock.com/learning-Arduino/

•Makeblock HD App: http://learn.makeblock.com/makeblock-app-hd/

Control 16 Servos with perfect timing!

This HAT can also do PWM up to 1.6 KHz with 12 bit precision, all completely free-running.

For use with Raspberry Pi Model A+ or B+, can be used with the Model A or B if you use a tall 2x13 header instead of the included 2x20.

• drive up to 16 servos or PWM outputs over I2C with only 2 pins.
• The on-board PWM controller will drive all 16 channels simultaneously with no additional Raspberry Pi processing overhead.
• stack up to 62 HATs to control up to 992 servos - all with the same 2 pins!

Best of all, Adafruit even have a Python library you can use, so you'll be up and running instantly, to make your robotic creation com to life. The Adafruit PWM/Servo HAT is the perfect solution for any project that requires a lot of servos or PWM outputs! Check out Adafruits detailed tutorial for lots more information including diagrams, schematics, installation instructions and more

Each order contains

• a Servo HAT
• a 2-pin terminal block
• four 3x4 headers
• a 2x20 socket header

You'll need to do some light through-hole soldering to attach the headers onto the HAT circuit board. If you would like to stack multiple HATs onto one Pi, you can also pick up a 2x20 stacking header and a set of right-angle 3x4 headers that should be soldered on instead.

Please note! This kit does not come with Raspberry Pi, servos, or required 5V power supply.

Fire four solenoids, spin two DC motors or step one bi-polar or uni-polar stepper with 1.2A per channel (3A peak) using the TB6612.

 We really like these dual H-bridges, so if you want to control motors without a shield or HAT these are easy to include on any solderless breadboard or perma-proto.

We solder on TB6612 onto a breakout board for you here, with a polarity protection FET on the motor voltage input and a pullup on the "standby" enable pin. Each breakout chip contains two full H-bridges (four half H-bridges). That means you can drive four solenoids, two DC motors bi-directionally, or one stepper motor. Just make sure they're good for 1.2 Amp or less of current, since that's the limit of this chip. They do handle a peak of 3A but that's just for a short amount of time. What we like most about this particular driver is that it comes with built in kick-back diodes internally so you dont have to worry about the inductive kick damaging your project or driver!

There's two digital inputs per H-bridge (one for each half of the bridge) as well as a PWM input per driver so you can control motor speed. Runs at 2.7V-5V logic. The motor voltage is separate from the logic voltage. Good for motor voltages from 4.5V up to 13.5V! This wont work well for 3V motors.

Comes as one assembled and tested breakout plus a small strip of header. You'll need to do some light soldering to attach the header onto the breakout PCB. Arduino, motors, and power supply not included. Check out the handy tutorial on assembly and wiring!