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8. Assembly and testing

1. Frame

I laser-cut 5mm acrylic board to build a solid frame for the motors and PCB.

frame_1

frame_2

I glued the parts using acrylic adhesive (solvent type). Later, I painted the frame yellow. Since the lacquer spray I have was not for acrylic, I first applied a surfacer to protect acrylic, then painted it yellow.

frame_2

2. Assembly

3. Proof of conccept

As a test, I installed all motors and breadboards onto the frame (before painting) to check the mecanum wheel control.

  • Most worked, but bottom-right motor didn’t rotate
  • Top-left motor rotated weakly with jerky movement

I suspected low current from reused 12V 2.5A adapter (Week 14 setup)

Estimated power needs:

  • 1.5A × 5 = 7.5A
  • 12V × 7.5A = 90W
  • With extra margin, 12V 10A 120W power supply was needed

I didn’t have that power supply, so I gave up testing all the motors at the time.

4. Stabilized power supply

I upgraded to a 12V 10A stabilized power supply after the previous 12V 2.5A adapter proved insufficient.

power

  • Used milled PCB instead of breadboard due to high current
  • Modified plug to fit input bolts (cut the circular )
  • Connected DC cable to output
  • Adjusted voltage (10.0V–13.5V) with dial
  • Checked polarity before powering on

stabilized_power

High current warning

Warning: 10A current is too high for a breadboard and can cause overheating or damage. Always handle high current with proper connectors, insulation, and safety precautions.

5. First mecanum wheel test

With the power supply, I was able to begin testing the Mecanum wheel kinematics using the Arduino code documented in Final Project | System and Programming.

Also I first tested AccelStepper library.

It demonstrated clockwise rotation, forward and backward movement, as well as left and right strafing. However, due to an issue with the left rear motor driver, the sideways movement was not smooth.

6. Enclosure

I printed the enclosure using yellow PETG filament and attached it to the PCB mounting bolts.

enclosure

The locker switch snapped perfectly into the designated 20mm hole. All motor wires were routed through openings in the frame and wired internally.

enclosure_0

enclosure_1