Make Your Own

With a budget of less than $250, you too can build your own BoardBot. With open source CAD and and code, you can remix your BoardBot to fit your exact needs.

BOM

Name	Description	Cost (USD)	Source
Acrylic	Approximately 12”x24”	15	Buy
Stepper Motors	Two Nema 17 Bipolar	2x 10	Buy
Stepper Motor Driver	CNC shield with 4x DRV8825	15	Buy
Arduino Uno		10	Buy
Servo	Standard hobby grade	10	Buy
USB Cable	10ft Type A to B	5	Buy
Timing belt and Pulleys	10m GT2 belt, 2x pulleys	10	Buy
Idlers	2x Idlers	5	Buy
General Screws	#6-32 1/2” (>20 count)	3	Buy
Nuts	Square #6-32 (>20 count)	3	† Buy
Washers	#6 (>20 count)	1	† Buy
Metric Screws	Two m5x30mm	1	† Buy
Metric Nuts	Two m5	1	† Buy
Long screws	Two #6-32 x 2”	1	† Buy
	Total	90

† indicates brick and mortar purchase recommended, for cheaper low-volume pricing.

Our mechanical design is available on Onshape.

Our software is available on GitHub.

Build Instructions:

Laser Cutting

For laser cutting fabrication, you will need:

12”x24” 1/8” Acrylic sheet
Laser Cutter (Capable of cutting acrylic)

A cut sheet is available Here

Download sheet as whatever format is convenient for your Laser Cutting toolchain, and cut all paths.

Counterweights

3D printing

For this fabrication, you will need:

3D Printer
~100g of Filament

Parts are available Here

Download as STL, and print two copies of each part.

Assembly

For each counterweight assembly, you will need:

Back block
Belt cover block
Bottle cover block
4x #6-32 heat set inserts
4x #6-32 1 1/4” screws
Bottle
Soldering iron

Place each heat set insert in the corresponding hole in the back block, then use the soldering iron to gently push them into place.

Make sure your prints match the color of your build.

Snap the bottle into the bottom of the back block.

After final assembly, screw the cover blocks on.

Stepper Mount

Chassis

For each stepper mount, you will need:

10x #6-32 1/2” screws
10x #6-32 square nuts
10x #6 washers
2x side panels
Mount panel
Top panel
Phillips Screwdriver

Take care to reverse the chirality of the mount panel for the second stepper mount.

Hardware

For each stepper mount, you will need:

NEMA 17 stepper motor
4x M3-8mm screws
4x M3 washers
M5-30mm screw
M5 nut
M5-10mm spacer
M2 hex key
M2.5 hex key
M4 hex key

Take care to align the direction of the wire exit from the motor with the direction of the idler pulley.

Tool Changer

Chassis

For the Tool Changer, you will need:

7x #6-32 1/2” screws
15x #6-32 square nuts
7x #6 washers
2x #6-32 2” screws
4x #8-32 screws
4x #8-32 square nuts
Base plate
End plate
Mid plate
Front plate
Top plate
Side plate
Whiteboard marker
Hobby servo
Phillips screwdriver

First, uncap the pen, insert through the mid plate and front plate, then recap. Next, install the servo in the base plate with the #8 fasteners.

Assemble the rest of the chassis, taking care that all the side plate notches are on the same side.

Run the 2” #6 screws through the sides of the tool changer, adding 4 nuts in the middle of the screw. These will serve as the adjustable contact point for the belts.

End Effector

For the End Effector, you will need:

Assembled Tool Changer Chassis
4-way servo horn
Servo horn screw
1” pin
Marker with eraser cap
Hot glue gun
Cutting Tool

First, cut two of the lobes off of the servo horn. Next, hot glue the pin and the marker cap to the remaining two lobes Finally, install the servo horn on the Tool Changer Chassis.