Breakthrough in Rechargeable Batteries for Mindstorms
There has been a Breakthrough in Rechargeable Battery technology which is very applicable to powering you LEGO Mindstorms Robots. The new 1.6 Volt Nickle-Zinc (NiZn) have reached the market place. Unlike other rechargeable battery types, a set of six NiZn batteries gives an output of 9.6 volts, instead of 7.2 Volts. As a result, the [...]
What’s inside your Mindsensors GlideWheel-M
My decided to die on me at a most in convenient time whilst building the Mark II version of my 'Bin Emptying Robot'. I was forced to use limit switches instead. After talking to Deepak Patil from , he suggested I take a knife in hand and disassemble it. The process was straight forwad enough, [...]
LEGO Mindstorms NXT Bin Emptying Robot – Mark II
This is a LEGO Mindstorms NXT "Bin Emptying Robot Mark II". It is part of a larger project I have been working on, my "Ball Sorting Factory". A forklift delivers full Bins of balls to be emptied. The Emptied bins are then taken away to the processing facility to be refilled. The Mark I version [...]
LEGO Mindstorms NXT Bin Emptying Robot – Mark I
This is Mark I of my LEGO Mindstorms NXT Ball Sorting Factory, which I have been working for a number of weeks. The whole project consists of three main parts. Firstly there is the 'Ball Sorting Factory', made up of Gantry System with 3-Axis: Front-Back, Left-Right, and Up-Down for the Ball Gripping Claw. The Second [...]
Mounting a Mindsensors GlideWheel-M to a Worm Gear
The Mindsensors GlideWheel-M, Power Functios (PF) Motor controller for the NXT is designed to control PF motors from NXT. Providing high precision speed and rotation control, in an easy to use design. The GlideWheel-M PF Motor controller allows direct connection of PF Motors to your NXT. No extra power needed as Power for the motors is [...]
Gripper (Claw) for Small 2×2 & 2×4 LEGO Bricks
Here's a Gripper for Small LEGO Bricks I've developed for a larger project. It is designed to pick-up standard 2×2 and 2×4 LEGO Bricks. The gripper is opened and closed via a with a 24-tooth Clutch in the drive train to take care of the need for limit-switches and encoders. Complete Gripper Assembly for Small [...]
Mindsensors GlideWheel-M PF Motor Controller
I have received a pair of Mindsensors' GlideWheel-Ms, Motor Controllers to Beta-Test. The GlideWheel-M is a motor controller for (PF) Motors that allows you to connect Motors to NXT Motor Ports. Using the built in encoder, the GlideWheel-M, allows rotational control of Motors. The GlideWheel-M is connected to the NXT Motor Port via NXT a [...]
LEGO PF to NXT Adapter Cable
I really despise the NXT Motor design. The shape of the motor was basically just designed to allow construction of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT Kit's, 'AlphaOne' Robot easy. As a result, it makes it hard to use the NXT Motors in a lot of situations without extra bulk being added to your design. Often I [...]
Mars Rotacaster Rover – ‘Mark II’
After the proof of concept with Mark I, I have totally rebuilt the chassis using 12x Rotacasters in pairs.
ExoForce Wheeled Rover Prototype
This is my ExoForce Rover Wheeled Prototype Chassis. Using the 'Exoforce Wheel Mounts' discussed in my previous post, I now have the basic chassis set-up. The Chassis allows both the front and rear wheels to be driven. Also both front and rear axles steer in order to help to decrease the robots turning circle. CAD [...]
BrickLink Order #2470728
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The Mars Rotacaster Rover – Part II
Lookout NASA, you have Rover competition. And it uses the amazing Rotacaster Omni-wheels for unsurpassed manoeuvrability in confined spaces. The Mars Rotacaster Rover is based on the current NASA Mars Rovers with their unique suspension set-up. Link to this post!
The Mars Rotacaster Rover
Part I Lookout NASA, you have Rover competition. And it uses the amazing Rotacaster Omni-wheels for unsurpassed manoeuvrability in confined spaces. There is no need of a steering mechanism to turn the Rotacaster Rover thanks to the unique wheel design. NASA Mars Spirit Rover I've had a few attempts, going back to the days of [...]
A Shinning Light for the NXTCam Camera
I've been experimenting with my new Mindsensor NXTCam. As most people are aware of the inherent issues associated with optical sensing, mainly due to changes in lighting level, can be very frustrating. In attempt to minimise this lighting issue, I decide to construct a stable light source for the NXTCam. To begin, I needed to [...]
Fast Resistor Sorting with LEGO
Still got that container on the bench with a pile of unsorted resistors left over from projects, or perhaps have purchased a mixed-lot of assorted resistors to begin with. Resistors have colour bands printed on them, rather than numeric values, which makes them more difficult to sort in you don't know the resistor colour-code of [...]
PF Battery Box with Li-Poly Rechargeable
I decided to modify a Lego Power Functions Battery Box and fit with an 11.1 Volt Li-Poly Rechargeable Battery Pack & use a Regulator I.C. to provide the regulated 9Volts required by Power Functions type Devices. The modification was easy, but time consuming to remove the excess plastic in order to get the Li-Poly Rechargeable [...]
Lego PF/NXT OMNI-SPIDER
The Lego PF/NXT OMNI-SPIDER omnidirectional 8-legged robot that imitates a Spider with an excellent degree of accuracy. This is a preview of the prototype, built by Menno Gorter. You can easily imagine that Menno's final version will be absolutely BRILLIANT! As the name suggest, his PF/NXT OMNI-Spider is capable of walking in any direction. It [...]
