Page 60 - Robot Builder's Bonanza

Chapter 3

Getting Parts

xactly where do you find robot parts? Your friendly neighborhood robot store would be a
Egood place to start— if only such a store existed! Fortunately, other local and online retail
stores are there to fill in the gaps.
The fundamental stuff of bots includes:

• Basic electronic parts to control your robot. These include core electronic components
such as resistors and capacitors, switches, wire, and relays.
• Specialized electronic modules to complete circuits that you connect with the rest of your
robot. The options here are nearly limitless, but the main modules you’ll be interested in
include a microcontroller (holds programs for your robot, operates motors and other parts)
and sensors.
• Motors and wheels for making your robot go.
• Construction materials for building the body, or base, of your robot. You can make the
base from found material (old CDs, small plastic containers) or from wood, plastic, metal,
foam, even heavy cardboard.
• Fasteners, adhesives, and other building parts to put everything together. These might
include small screws and nuts, but also cable ties, Velcro, and glue.

In this chapter we review where you can find these and other parts for your robot projects.

For more information on finding and getting parts, be sure to see Appendix A, “RBB Online
FYI Support,” which contains updated parts lists for the projects in this book, and Appendix B,
“Internet Parts Sources.”

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