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http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Introduction I created the StorageBot to help solve a problem experienced by most Makers. After many years of accumulating thousands of parts stored in storage bins, I began to go crazy looking for parts scattered between so many of these bins. The hardest parts to find were always those rare miscellaneous parts that were thrown somewhere into a "junk" bin. StorageBot solves the location problem by listening to my voice commands, processing the location of parts from a master database and then delivering the matching bins in a manner that only a robot can do! StorageBot does have a bigger picture when it comes to purpose. I explain in my video that it's not about building a StorageBot that's important, but rather it's the skills we can learn from such projects that help to enrich our knowledge and inspire us to build the next great thing or start the next cool business. In this Instructable you'll gain insights into the electronics, mechanics and software systems used to create useful projects by utilizing commonly available components such as the Arduino and stepper motors. I've included a bazillion pictures and files. Source code for the Aduino program, source code for the Visual Basic voice recognition software, DXF files for the ABS parts, schematics for the electronics, 3D files drawn in the free Autodesk 123D program, parts list, etc... It's all here! If you find this project inspirational and helpful then don't forget to vote for it in the ShopBot contest. I would use a ShopBot to create the ABS parts, aluminum parts and vaccuum form molds for my next generation home robots. Enjoy!
The video above gives you a glimpse into the frame and mechanisms required to physically push out each bin based on the voice commands. I'll describe the system by breaking it into the basic components. Here's an outline: - Building the pine frame - Building the x-axis - Building the z-axis - Building the y-axis - Buldling the electronics - Voice recognition software
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. Harbor Freight storage bins with labels 2. horizontal addressable led strips 3. vertical addressable led strips 4. laptop with voice recognition software interfaced to an Arduino controller 5. electronics and power supply stored behind here
Image Notes
Image Notes
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
1. Pine frame with bins 2. in Autodesk 123D click on eye icon to turn components on/off
Image Notes 1. construct the sill and fascia boards with 1x4, 1x6 wood
Image Notes 1. construct shelves and support using 1x6 and 1x2 wood
Image Notes 1. add the fiber board backing material for the shelves
Image Notes 1. this shelf backing is the key to reducing any frame flexing
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. bin screw mount 2. bin screw mount 3. bin screw mount 4. bin screw mount
Image Notes 1. Bins tested fitted. Paint frame black before final mounting
File Downloads
storagebot_pine_frame_rev11.zip (1 MB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'storagebot_pine_frame_rev11.zip']
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. 4 foot rail commonly used on pocket doors 2. nema 23 stepper motor mount for x-axis 3. idler belt pulley used on opposite end of the stepper motor pulley 4. this vertical frame slides along the axis (x) 5. two wood strips act as lower rail guides for a nylon spacer
Image Notes 1. 4 foot rail guide originally made for pocket door applications
Image Notes 1. these rollers fit into the pocket door rail 2. pocket door roller
Image Notes
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
1. this vertical structure moves along the x-axis 2. nylon spacer that rides between the lower wood guides of the frame 3. pocket door rollers used to hang the x-axis structure
Image Notes 1. space between two wooden strips used as a lower guide
Image Notes 1. nema23 mount for x-axis 2. x-axis idler pulley mount
Image Notes 1. x-axis nema 23 stepper motor mount, stepper motor and pulley
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. ABS belt coupler with mounting hole. mates to nylon spacer in next pic Image Notes 1. this nylon spacer fits into the belt coupler hole in prior pic
Image Notes 1. nema 23 mount 2. x axis belt coupler mount 3. mounts for x-axis idler pulley 4. cut parts on a small CNC machine (or use laser cutter - see Pololu.com)
File Downloads
X_AXIS_ABS_PARTS1.DXF (66 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'X_AXIS_ABS_PARTS1.DXF']
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. nema 17 z-axis stepper motor mount 2. z-axis carriage 3. z-axis idler pulley mount
Image Notes 1. carriage wraps around this frame with nylon rollers for vertical contraint
Image Notes 1. nema 17 motor with ABS mount 2. belt system 3. z-axis carriage 4. y-axis rack and pinion
Image Notes 1. z-axis frame with stepper motor at top, carriage in middle & bottom idler
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. z-axis idler pulley mount Image Notes 1. z-axis belt coupler with hole for mounting into carriage spacer
Image Notes 1. nylon bearing assembly Image Notes 1. z-axis carriage with spacers
Image Notes
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
1. nylon spacer slipped over the aluminum spacer for roller motion
Image Notes 1. assembly nylon roller Image Notes 1. slotted hole allows for roller position adjustments
Image Notes 1. front z-axis carriage mount 2. back z-axis carriage mount 3. nema 17 stepper motor mount
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
4. z-axis idler pulley mount 5. z-axis belt coupler with carriage mounting hole
File Downloads
Z_AXIS_ABS_PARTS1.DXF (69 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Z_AXIS_ABS_PARTS1.DXF']
Image Notes 1. mounting holes for y-axis rack and pinion assembly 2. mounting bolt to z-axis carriage 3. mounting bolt to z-axis carriage Image Notes 1. 32 pitch rack gear 2. rack drive gear mounted to servo horn underneath
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. adjustable bottom rack spacer 2. adjustable top rack spacer
Image Notes 1. rack end acts as a finger for pushing out the storage bins
Image Notes 1. 1/4" 8-32 nylon spacers 2. threaded rods cut to length 3. lock nut, plastic 1/4" clip, 1/4" aluminum spacer
Image Notes 1. upper rack spacer 2. lower rack spacer 3. outer mounts for sandwiching rack gear and rack spacers
File Downloads
Y_AXIS_ABS_PARTS1.DXF (56 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Y_AXIS_ABS_PARTS1.DXF']
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
The servo motor for the y-axis is also very easy to drive. The servo actually contains a motor driver board internally. A certain type of digital waveform is sent to the servo to make it move anywhere between the extreme clockwise and counter clockwise positions. Scope captures of this servo waveform are in the attached pictures.
Image Notes 1. ATX computer supply 2. addressable LED strip 3. limit switch 4. limit switch 5. y-axis servo motor 6. x-axis stepper 7. z-axis stepper 8. Arduino compatible controller 9. x-axis stepper driver 10. z-axis stepper driver
Image Notes 1. Arduino compatible controller 2. z-axis stepper driver 3. x-axis stepper driver
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. measuring pulse width for max servo clockwise position 2. 600us pulse width
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. measuring pulse width for max counterclockwise servo position 2. 2.28ms pulse width
File Downloads
shopbot_win_rev6.zip (22 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'shopbot_win_rev6.zip']
Image Notes 1. old laptop 2. built in MIC 3. speakers 4. USB and audio connections
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. test screen sends serial data to the Arduino for debugging
File Downloads
storagebot.zip (27 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'storagebot.zip']
Step 8: Conclusion
I wanted to end by showing examples of how the systems used in the StorageBot are commonly found in many successful products today (ie: ShopBot, MakerBot, garage door openers, CNC conversion kits, etc). I hope the many ideas presented in this instructable inspires you to create the next great products!
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Image Notes 1. ShopBot uses stepper motors too 2. StorageBot z-axis stepper for size comparison 3. rack gear on ShopBot
Image Notes 1. belt drive also used on the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic for linear motion
Image Notes 1. belt drive used on the garage door opener in my mom's house
Image Notes 1. x-axis stepper on my CNC converted milling machine 2. y-axis stepper 3. belt drive for spindle motor
Related Instructables
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/
Comments
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Feb 27, 2012. 9:02 AM REPLY
Orangutanlibrarian says:
I love the idea and the video was great. I just wanted to know about how much did it cost and how long did it take to build? Keep up the excellent work.
dttworld says:
Feb 27, 2012. 12:25 PM REPLY Thanks. Two months plus one allnighter to design, build and document. You can find detailed parts list with pricing in the uploaded images. Basically: pine frame and bins = $260, misc motion components = $155, electronics = $300. I would say this is comparable in pricing and complexity to a lot of the build a CNC machine based Instructables.
http://www.instructables.com/id/StorageBot-voice-controlled-robotic-parts-finder/