WEEK 27: BUYING ADDITION COMPONENTS

OBJECTIVE

1. To decide what type of components that suitable to develop my new design project.
2. To search electronic store that sells the components that needed with a reasonable price.

METHODOLOGY

1. Understanding the steps taken to build the quadruped robot on https://www.instructables.com/id/ESP8266-WIFI-AP-Controlled-Quadruped-Robot/ . 
2. Comparing the design to my 3D printed body parts and decide what components suitable for my project.
3. Listing the addition components that need to buy.
4. Searching the electronic store on Jalan Pasar, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.
5. Buying the components.

RESULT

As a result, I found one electronic store near Jalan Pasar, Pudu, KL that offer all the components needed to build my project. The named of the store is 'Online Components Sdn Bhd'. 

Online Components Sdn Bhd near Jalan Pasar

The addition components that I've bought on this store is:

WeMos D1 Mini

PCA9685 16-Channel 12-bit PWM Servo Motor Driver

Hobbywing UBEC 5V or 6V switchable max 3A

Mini DC-DC Step Down Converter

Li-Poly RC Battery 7.4V 2200mAh

Boat Button Switch

ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION

The store provide me all the addition components required for me to build my prototype. The reason why I choose these components is because: 

WeMos D1 Mini: This is the same type as NodeMCU dev kit. it has ESP8266 WiFi module but this component is a lot smaller than nodeMCU. I choose this component because of it small size so that it is fit to my robot since my robot is small. It also has less pin however, I only use 4 pins for my project. thus, less pin does not give problem to build my prototype.

PCA9685 16-Channel 12-bit PWM: This component is recommended from the project that I found in the internet. it can give addition of PWM pin to my arduino Pro Mini. This board is powered using 5V power and very useful for building a robot or proect that use many PWM servo motor.

UBEC 5V or 6V switchable max 3A: This component works as voltage regulator to 5V of 6V similar to DC to DC voltage regulator. However, it has filtering so it will reduce noise that can affected the motor glitch and it has high ampere that's enough to lift up the robot load.

Mini DC to DC Step-Down Converter: The mini DC to DC step-down converter is to regulate power from source to 5V which then can supply to the components that powered up with 5V. It has no filtering so, for this project I will not powering up servo motors with this component.

Li-Poly RC Battery: This LiPo is the main power source for my robot. It gives 7.4V power to connect to the UBEC and DC to DC step-down.

Boat Switch Button: For safety issues and power saving consumption, I will make a power switch from the LiPo using the Boat switch button since the LiPo doesn't have switch button.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the components to build this project have already been bought. All the components are bought with a reasonable price. Thus, I can continue to developing the quadruped robot using the addition components.