Page 205 - Robot Builder's Bonanza

174 BUILDING BOTS FROM FOUND PARTS

frames are attached in parallel to the T- strap. Drill holes in the metal of the T strap to match
those in the flange or mounting bracket of the motor you are using.

SHEET METAL FOR LUMBER STRAPPING
Don’t stop with just T- shaped straps for building robot bodies. The same lumber section of
your local home improvement store has plenty of other choices. Some of it is specially formed
and bent pieces made for things like hanging 2- by- 4 joists in an attic or garage. These are
somewhat less useful than flat metal.
Figure 17-4 shows the outline drawing of three commonly available nail plates— so called
because they’re used to nail together two lengths of wood. As with the T- strap for the Mini
T- bot, these are made by Simpson, but if you can’t find this brand, there are other, similar
products out there.

LSTA9 strap tie: Measures 9″ 1-1/4″. Example uses: center rail in a walking robot;
connecting strap for wood, metal, or plastic bases; side angle bracket for tracked bases.
66L L strap: L- shaped plate measures 6″ on each side. If you need bigger, there’s the
88L, which is 8″ on each side. Example uses: mounting brackets for larger robots; out-
riggers for motors.
TP37 and similar tie plate: Flat plate with different lengths to suit various applications.
Width for all is 3-1/8″: TP35 length: 5″; TP37 length: 7″; TP39 length: 9″. Example
uses: robot base; mounting plate for heavy parts (large motors, batteries) on framed
robots; side panels.
Figure 17-5 shows how you might combine some of these sheet metal pieces to make
various kinds of robotic bases. Or you could use the LSTA9 as a crosspiece for mounting
motors or legs, or use it as a long side bracket for a tank- style robot.

Figure 17-4 Outline shapes of three common
nail plates. Like T straps, these are found in the Figure 17-5 Two of an almost unlimited number of
lumber section of local hardware or home ways to combine nail plates to construct robot bases of
improvement stores. all shapes and sizes.

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