Building a Pi Robot
1 Organise your workspace
We know how tempting it is to just dive right in and spill the contents of all the bags over your already messy desk. Don’t do this. Instead, clear a nice workspace, read the instructions carefully and place all the tools you’ll need to one side. If you have to solder anything then make sure this happens in a wellventilated area, and have some desoldering wick to hand. 2 Fix the mounts
The motors will usually attach to the underside of the chassis by way of some angled brackets. Find the right holes and attach these brackets with the appropriate nuts and bolts. The DiddyBorg uses metal posts to secure the brackets. Don’t forget to add washers if your chassis needs them. These help to distribute force and will protect against chassis fractures. 3 Attach motors and controller
Fix the motors in place with the appropriate screws. The DiddyBorg uses spring-lock washers to ensure friction even if the holding screw is loosened. You really don’t want your motors detaching while your robot is in motion. Now attach the motor controller to the chassis, or attach any required standoffs and then do so. Pay attention to the controller’s orientation here. 4 Solder and attach
Cut the required lengths of wire and strip the ends. We can’t tell you how to solder from the confines of this small box, so be careful. Solder the red wires (if appropriate) to the positive sides of the motors, and the black ones to the negatives. Use a piece of tinfoil to catch any drips and protect the chassis. Connect the wires to the appropriate controller terminals. 5 Attach your Pi and batteries
Affix the battery pack and switch to the chassis, and then connect them to the controller. For more powerful robots this might involve heavy-duty wiring compared to the motors. Ensure that the SD card is in the Pi (and that Raspbian is set up to use your wireless network and Bluetooth controller) and attach the Pi to the chassis. Take care not to overtighten the screws. 6 Finish the job
Connect the controller to the correct GPIO pins on the Pi (ensure that the connectors are oriented correctly). Attach any other robot peripherals (such as sensors or cameras). Fix the wheel hubs to the motors securely with grub screws, and check that there’s sufficient clearance for them to turn freely. Finally, put the wheels on the hubs and screw them firmly in place.