Page 40 - Robot Builder's Bonanza

DO IT YOURSELF, KITS, OR READY- MADE? 9

If you feel your workshop skills aren’t up to par, try one of the basic robot platforms (bod-
ies) in Part 2. You can choose a robot body made with wood, plastic, or metal.
You’ll find construction tips and techniques throughout this book, but nothing beats
hands- on shop experience. With experience comes confidence, and with both come more
professional results.

TWO VERY IMPORTANT SKILLS

So far, I’ve talked about basic skills that are desirable for the hobby robotics field. There two
important skills that you cannot develop from reading books: they are patience and the will-
ingness to learn.

• Be patient! Give yourself time to experiment with your projects. Don’t rush into things, or
else you’re bound to make mistakes. If a problem continues to nag at you, put the project
aside and let it sit for a few days. Keep a small notebook handy and jot down your ideas so
you won’t forget them.
• Be willing to learn new things! If trouble persists, maybe you need to study more before
you can tackle the problem. Be willing to go beyond this book and discover things on your
own. Research is never in vain.

Do It Yourself, Kits, or Ready- Made?

There’s never been a better time to be an amateur robot builder. Not only can you construct
robots “from scratch,” you can buy any of several dozen robot kits and assemble them using
a screwdriver and other common tools.

MAKE YOUR OWN

This book is chock full of robot projects made from wood, plastic, and metal. One of the
robots you can build is shown in Figure 1-5. This one is the Hex3Bot, from Chapter 27,
“Build Robots with Legs.” Construction takes about a day (depending on your shop skills) and
requires only basic tools.
Or you can try building a robotic arm, complete with separate motors for each joint. See
Chapter 28, “Experimenting with Robotic Arms,” for a project you can make in your shop. Then
in Chapter 29, “Experiment with Robotic Grippers,” give your robo-arm a hand and fingers.

Figure 1-5 Using the right materials and
tools, it takes a day or less to construct a
homemade robot like this one. The Hex3Bot
uses easy- to- cut plastic.

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