Mechanical

Overall Assembly

Bikbucket is a tri-layered robot, with each level dedicated to a certain set of subsystems and functionalities. The primary materials used are duron and PLA. 

• The top and middle layers are rigidly connected with laser-cut corner panels

• The top and base layers are constrained using the laser-cut side walls and L-shaped brackets

• The middle layer rests on the base using the  3D-printed bumper corners.

Multiple circular cut-outs were made as wire passageways between layers, with the space between the middle and top layers being the largest for ease of wiring and debugging.

Base Layer

Bikbucket's base layer housed the drivetrain, caster wheel, reflectance sensors, and wheel batteries. Additional holes and slots were added to fine-tune reflectance sensor placement for line following optimization. The drivetrain consisted simply of the provided motors, motor clamps, shaft couplers, shafts, ball bearings, bearing mounts, wheel mounting hubs, and wheels.

Multiple 3D printed parts were designed to:

1. Offset the height and secure the caster wheel

2. Secure the central reflectance sensor

3. Clamp the motors

4. House the bearings and support the shaft

Middle Layer

Bikbucket's middle layer housed the power distribution, TLE, signal conditioning, PIC-32, and additional boards, alongside the 5V battery, detailed in the Electrical section. Accounting for most boards in the CAD enabled secure mounting using standoffs.

While mounted to the front and back walls, the middle layer also housed the 3D-printed ultrasonic and limit switch mounts.

Top Layer

Bikbucket's top layer housed all user input controls including the required kill switch, a start button, 3 branch selection buttons, and 2 rotation correction buttons. 

Our electromechanical indicator, symbolic of "forking" a repository, was a servo motor also mounted at the top.

3 LEDs were also mounted to the top layer, resting directly onto the plate strung through the array of universal mounting holes.

A critical function housed on the top layer was our flexible beacon detection mount to fine-tune the angling of our  IR phototransistor.

360 View of Bikbucket here.