Robotcraft Components - RobotCraft Components

Shopping Cart:
now in your cart 0 items

Top » Catalog

Latest products

Trainer-xM Board

The Trainer-xM Board is an

Specials

Skinny (Compatible with Arduino)
~~CAD $23.66~~
CAD $16.99

Browse by Manufacturers:

Links

ARM Microprocessors
AVR - Arduino
AVR Microprocessors
DIY CNC
Electronics
Magazines
Mechanics
Robotics
Robots - Hobby
Software
Software Tools

We are Canadian retailer of quality robotic components located in London, Ontario. We bring our components from multiple places and re-sell them to fellow Canadian roboteers at fair prices by reducing your shipping and customs fees that you have to pay once your items cross the border into the country.

Please, take your time and look around for the right components to create your next robot.

NEWS

Toying around with Trukster-bot

On one of my shopping trips around North-West London (ON, Canada), I came across this plastic truck toy at a price of CAD $1.00 plus taxes. As a toy it's probably nothing special, just a piece of plastic with wheels but what made me wonder is if it can be used to create a small robot platform. I wasn't sure what this platform will fit better for 'line-follower' or 'obstacle-avoider' project, so I decided to follow already familiar path and turn it into RC vehicle first using nRF24L01 module and RFL remote control. The chassis are rather long so it makes them rather inefficient when it comes to skid stirring (or so I thought). Hence my plan of action is to see how chassis will perform as an RC platform first and if there is a good reason to use them for more complex 'thinking' robot projects. It's nice to know your chassis limitations before you commit time and effort to attaching sensors and other peripheral electronics.

Read more...

Mixing things up with R0kker-bot...

For a while now, I have wanted to experiment with the rocker-bogie type chassis, read NASA Mars Rover, and seeing its mechanical merits. However, the time and effort needed to construct one has been preventing me from doing this. Creating this type of chassis without a significant time commitment is easier said then done, unless you already have the right set of components that play well together.

This is where the right blend of build-plate strips, Meccano parts and micro-motors come in handy to build the table-top version of NASA Mars Rover quickly - the 'R0kker-bot'. The build-plate construction system is a set of aluminum strips that can you can drill, bend and cut to any shape or form you wish. And just in case you're not up to speed on what Meccano is, you can look it up here; I highly doubt that though, as you are here and reading this, but just in case :).

The basic chassis setup, excluding wiring and electronics took three hours to complete. You can bolt together the main chassis in an hour using Meccano parts, and it takes another two hours to drill and attach the motors using build-plate aluminum strips. Most of those three hours went into trying to fit Meccano and build-plate components together nicely, and into ensuring that the dual-wheel arch frame has enough clearance for rotation and doesn't get stuck against the main robot body. Meccano’s large bolts do get in the way; therefore it is essential to make sure that there is enough clearance between the frame and the main body. In the picture below, you can see how the motor/wheel combination is attached to the build-plate aluminum strip and then to the Meccano part with regular Meccano bolts. Once the mechanical part was finished, I proceeded with getting everything wired up.

Read more...

Attaching XBee module to Hammer ARM9 board

Ever tried to access your Hammer board remotely using XBee? Well here is how you can do it.

You will need to follow these instructions from Tincantools to enable 2nd serial (UART2) port on Hammer module. Once done, re-compile , upload and flash your new kernel. The following link will help you with how to do that. Once this is accomplished, let's move on to enabling getty console on UART2. IMHO, this seems to be the easiest way to test serial port functionality. And this is how we do it: