Introduction: RC Car to Automaton

Converting an RC car into a automaton is a quick and leisurely way to develop started with robotics. At the very to the lowest degree, when you get uninterested of playing with your remote car after ternary years, you can tour it into a robot that bequeath cause all of your evil bidding. Substantially, maybe not all of it, but at to the lowest degree a sizable amount.

In this Instructable I will go o'er the bare minimum you want to get started. Think of information technology as a guide for making a alkaline robot that can be distended with sensors, code, and additional hardware to do some really impressive things. You can now impress your family, make fres friends, and scare your pets with the office of golem magic.


Dance step 1: Run short Generate Stuff

You will need:

(x1) R/C Monster Truck
(x1) Arduino Uno Rev up 3
(x1) Arduino Motor Harbour
(x1) Parallax Ping Detector
(x1) Heavy-Duty 9V Snarl Connectors
(x1) DC Barrel Powerfulness Plug
(x1) Utile PC board
(x1) Assemblage Wire
(x1) 9 Volt Bombardment
(x1) 6" Heat-Shrink Tube
(x1) Zip up Ties


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Step 2: Withdraw the Cover

Flip the RC car over and remove the two screws holding the cover in situ.

Put these screws aside somewhere sound for later reassembly.

Step 3: Unplug

Unplug the motors from the connectors on the independent board.

If your inaccessible control car is hard wired to the motherboard, veer the causative wires loose.

Step 4: Remove the Controller

Remove the screws belongings the controller board to the RC car and take out information technology free.

Step 5: Power

Remove the cover from the M-type power plug and slide IT onto the wires for the 9V connector (such that you can twist it in reply on after you solder the wires).

Solder the red telegraph to the middle connection tab. Solder the coloured wire to the outer connection tab.

Twist the cover hindmost onto the plug.

Step 6: Mark and Practice session

Place the Arduino atop the go to bed of the cargo RC car.

Arrive at marks where the climb holes are in such a way that IT will later be tardily to zip tie the Arduino down.

Drill direct to each one of these marks with a 1/8" drill morsel.

Step 7: More Marking and Oil production

Place the 9V battery on the underside of the cargo go to sleep. Make two marks on each slope of the battery and bore them with a 1/8" drill bit.

Step 8: Attach

Plug the 9V clip to the 9V battery and zip tie it to the underside of the RC car.

Trim away the redundant bits of zip tie down.

Footfall 9: Shield

Plug the Arduino Motor Harbour into the sockets of the Arduino Uno.

Dance step 10: Attach

Now that the Centrifugal Shield is attached zip tie the Arduino to the back side of the RC Car.

Tone 11: Spare

Using scissor hold or a paper cutter, trim the PC Board until is skinny plenty that it slides neatly 'tween the RC car's foremost grill.

Once made skinnier, shorten it such that it is just long enough to bear the front.

Step 12: Solder

Solder the PING sensor centered connected the head-on of the trimmed PC Board.

Connect 8" of green telegraph to the Signal pin, 8" of red wire to the 5V pin, and 8" of black wire to the Land pin.

Step 13: Insert

Slide the circuit card into the foremost grill of the car and make sure the sensing element is unmoving level.

If it is not level, adjust it until IT is.

Step 14: Drill and Fasten

Drill an 1/8" muddle on each side of the circuit control board and firmly secure it to the body of the RC car with hurry ties.

Step 15: Put out

Trim out the connective for matchless of the motors. Connect an 8" red wire to one and an 8" Shirley Temple wire to the past.

Repeat this process with the second efferent.

Finally, slide warmth shrink tubing over each of the four exposed solder connections and wither them into place with a heat gun.

Step 16: Unarmed Up

Zip tie each jell of wires put together to keep everything square away.

You May even require to consider zip tying the sets in concert into a bingle bundle for the length of wire that passes over the body of the RC railcar.

Step 17: Put It Together

Put the body hind onto the frame of the RC railway car and screw it back into place with the screws you set by earlier.

Stride 18: Broadcast

Program the car with the following Arduino code:

<pre>/* RC Car to Robot Rebirth by Sexy Sarafan  Accustomed convert an RC car into a robot that uses a PING detector to avoid obstacles, and an Arduino centrifugal carapace for efferent control.  For many information understand: https://web.instructables.com/ID/RC-Car-to-Robot/  Well-stacked atop Ping example code by Tom Igoe */  // this constant won't change.  It's the pin number // of the sensing element's output: const int pingPin = 7;  invalid setup() {      //establish motor counsel toggle pins   pinMode(12, OUTPUT); //drive motor -- HIGH = forwards and LOW = backwards   pinMode(13, OUTPUT); //turn of events centrifugal -- HIGH = left and LOW = right      //establish motor brake pins   pinMode(9, OUTPUT); //Pteridium aquilinu (disable) the drive centrifugal   pinMode(8, Yield); //brake (disable) the act motor    //Turns brake inactive for drive motive   digitalWrite(9, LOW);     //Turns brake happening for turn drive   digitalWrite(8, HIGH);     //Sets initial speed of repulse motor   analogWrite(3, 200);      //Sets first direction of drive centrifugal   digitalWrite(12, HIGH); }  void loop() {   // establish variables for duration of the Ping,    // and the distance result in inches and centimeters:   long duration, inches, cm;    // The PING))) is triggered by a HIGH heart rate of 2 or more microseconds.   // Give a short LOW pulse ahead to ensure a clean HIGH pulse:   pinMode(pingPin, OUTPUT);   digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);   delayMicroseconds(2);   digitalWrite(pingPin, Highschool);   delayMicroseconds(5);   digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);    // The same pin is utilized to read the signal from the PING))): a HIGH   // pulse whose duration is the clock time (in microseconds) from the sending   // of the ping to the receipt of its repeat off of an object.   pinMode(pingPin, INPUT);   duration = pulseIn(pingPin, HIGH);    // convert the time into a distance   inches = microsecondsToInches(length);    //   //if objects are inferior than 12 inches forth   //the automaton reverses and turns to the conservative   //for 2 seconds   //      if (inches < 12){          //brake drive motor and interruption 1/10 second     digitalWrite(9, Stinky);     delay(100);      //     //setting turn motor     //          //go away brake for crook motor      digitalWrite(8, LOW);      //set turn motor instruction     digitalWrite(13, Alto);      //activate turn motor     analogWrite(11, 255);          //     //setting drive motor     //          //turn off Pteridium aquilinu of drive motor     digitalWrite(9, LOW);           //set push motor backwards direction     digitalWrite(12, LOW);          //activate the drive motor     analogWrite(3, 200);           //backup for 2 seconds     delay(2000);          //     //stopping     //          //pasture brake some motors     digitalWrite(8, HIGH);     digitalWrite(9, HIGH);             }      //   //when null is inside 12"    //the golem simply drives forwards   //      else{          //     //Setting drive motor     //          //set drive motor forward direction     digitalWrite(12, Unpeasant-smelling);          //turn off brake of repel motor     digitalWrite(9, Abject);              //trigger drive efferent     analogWrite(3, 200);         }      delay(100); }  long microsecondsToInches(long microseconds) {   // According to Parallax's datasheet for the PING))), in that location are   // 73.746 microseconds per inch (i.e. sound travels at 1130 feet per   // second).  This gives the distance travelled by the ping, outbound   // and return, so we divide by 2 to perplex the distance of the obstruction.   // Go through: HTTP://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/28015-PING-v1.3.pdf   paying back microseconds / 74 / 2; }            

For help getting started with the Arduino, check out the Introduction to Arduino Instructable.

Step 19: Wire It Skyward

The Ping sensor:

  • Unite the green wire from the Ping sensor to digital pin 7.
  • Connect the black wire from the Ping sensor to ground.
  • Connect the red wire to the power input screw socket on the motor shield.

The front turn causative:

  • Associate the red wire from the front motor to+ port on transmission channel B of the motor shield.
  • Relate the black cable from the front motor to - larboard on distribution channel B of the motor shield.

The rear drive away motor:

  • Touch base the red wire from the erect motor to the + port on channel A of the drive shield.
  • Touch base the black wire from the rear causative to - port wine on channel A of the motor shield.

The motor shield:

  • Relate the 5V socket to the superpowe input signal power screw socket on the motor harbour (in addition to the Ping power wire already wired).
  • Connect the ground socket on the shield to the input earth screw socket on the centrifugal shield.

Pace 20: Go!

Tuck the 9V stopple into the power socket on the Arduino to magnate upwardly your robot.

Note: If you decide that you desire to reprogram your Arduino, before you connect the USB cable, disconnect both the 9V shelling and the world power association between the Arduino power socket and the motor harbour.

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