Make a simple Manual Robot for Racing

In every college in the world, every year many events are conducted. Robo race is also one of those events.

For this, you need to build a manual robot for racing that will be controlled with the help of a remote. Many of us know these robots but are unaware of building them. Believe me, it’s super easy to build manual robots for racing. In this post, we are going to learn how can one build a simple manual robot for racing.

Components required for Roborace Robot

1. Chassis
2. DC Motors
3. Wheels/Tires
4. DPDT switch
5. Switch Box
6. DC Power Supply / Battery
7. Wire strips
8. Insulation Tape

Chasis

We are needed 1 chassis for this robot. The chassis should be strong enough to sustain the load and hence, we recommend using the metal chassis.

Chassis – 1 Quantity

DC Motors

DC Motors are used for the movement of the robot. They are used for forward, reverse movements. Speed and torque are the important factors while selecting the motor.

There are a lot of DC motors available in the market, but we will be using DC motors as shown in the figure. You can purchase the motor as per your required RPM and Torque. Here we have selected a DC motor with 100 rpm.

You can use either 2 or 4 motors for the robot depending on your budget. We generally recommend using 4 motors for better control of the robot.

DC Motors – 2 or 4 Quantity

Wheels/Tires

Wheels are one of the important parts of this robot. The diameter of the wheel decides the ground clearance of the robot. Hence, we recommend using the proper size of wheels like 100 mm or 4 inches.

Rubber grip or tire on the wheel also plays an important role in different terrains. Tires as shown in the figure are the most commonly used tires. But you should decide the tires depending upon the track you are going to face.

Wheel – 4 Quantity

DPDT Switches

Switches are used to give a signal to the DC motor for the desired motion or movement. We will be using 2 DPDT switches for left side motors and right side motors. Wiring connections for the switches are discussed further in this post.

DPDT Switch – 2 Quantity

Switch Box

A switch box is used to hold the switches firmly and to protect the user from any open-wire connection.

It should be noted that slots for the switches should be of the exact size that of the switches you are going to use. If it is less then the switch will not be fitted in the switch box and if it is bigger than the switch size, the switch will fit loose.

Switch Box – 1 Quantity

DC Power Supply / Battery

A power supply is needed for an electrical system or machine to work. Here a 12 V battery is used as a DC Power Supply.

Battery – 1 Quantity

Wire strips

Wires are required for the connection of the motors through switches. You can use xyz meters of wire as per your requirement.

Insulation tape

Insulation tape will be used to cover the open connections of the wire and connect the wire joints.

Insulation Tape – 1 Quantity

Tools for Assembly

Tools you will need during assembly

1. Screw Driver
2. Plier
3. Soldering Iron
4. Wire Stripper
5. Multimeter

 So first of all take your chassis and assemble all four motors as shown in fig. below and fix the tires on the shaft of each motor. Ensure that you have fixed tires tightly.

Now we come to the most important part of this bot i.e. switches.

For the anticlockwise motion of the motor, generally, DPDT switches are used. For this robot, we will need only 2 switches.

Make the proper connections of the switches as shown in the figure and solder them.

Check the connection once before you are going to solder them.

Note: If you don’t want to solder then you can also make use of “LUX”.

Same connections are used for both the switches.

Now connect the wires of switches and motors as shown

After making all connections you will get connections like this

Now connect the wires to the DC power supply i.e. Battery and your robot is ready to run.

Robot Control Tutorial

Movement	L-DPDT Switch	R-DPDT Switch
Forward	Top	Top
Reverse	Bottom	Bottom
Right	Top	Off
Left	Off	Top
360 Right	Top	Bottom
360 Left	Bottom	Top