I did the long and tedious Task of going through every single part in the project and give each one a custom name, description and product details. I did this because of onshapes built in BOM tool, so now it gives me a full list of needed parts and quantities.
I edited the properties of over 300 parts to do this.
If you want to be more engaged in this projects trajectory or have any suggestions or questions, join the slack channel #grow-bot.
Today I made an electronics box and modelled the spacing of the main electronic components.
The box is held up in the superstructure by four 3D prints and cable ties.
If you want to be more engaged in this projects trajectory or have any suggestions or questions, join the slack channel #grow-bot.
Today I made the mount for the stepper motor that runs the belt for the x-axis
It will allow the robot to move up to 120 inches down the garden bed. It engages with a belt that pulls the robot down aluminum tubes to traverse the full length
It uses a 1x1 aluminum tube with 1/8 inch walls to mount to the main turret plate and them it houses the motor, pully and idlers for the belt
I also shifted the entire belt over to the left for a better motor fit.
If you want to be more engaged in this projects trajectory or have any suggestions or questions, join the slack channel #grow-bot.
If you want to be more engaged in this projects trajectory or have any suggestions or questions, join the slack channel #grow-bot.
Today I designed the belt tensioner for where the belts terminate on the gantry, it uses ratchets to tension pullies with the belt wrapped around them.
I also designed the mounting piece for the wrist mechanism.
If you want to stay involved in the making this project a reality, I recommend joining the slack channel #grow-bot to help out or ask questions.
Core-XY is a popular belt-driven motion system commonly used in 3D printers and CNC machines. Instead of having one motor move the X-axis and another move the Y-axis independently, Core-XY uses two stationary motors that work together using a single, continuous loop of belt to move the toolhead diagonally, horizontally, or vertically.
The Gantry hub is 3D printed out of PA6-CF Nylon for maximum strength, and it has many through bolts that support the bearings and pullies that double as rigitidy in the structure.
The gantry was designed to be as light-weight as possible due to it riding to the far end of the cantilevered aluminum superstructure.
The best way to describe the shape of the belt is a plus symbol, since it goes from the left to the center to the top to the center then to the right ect. The belt is terminated and tensioned at the bottom of the 1x1 aluminum tube, this is what allows for all of the motion since the tube is effectively riding the belt.
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I donβt know if that makes any sense lol, but pretty much if the motors spin together it translates left and right, and if they spin in opposite directions, it will go up and down.
If you want to stay involved in the making this project a reality, I recommend joining the slack channel #grow-bot to help out or ask questions.
Today I built the gearbox component of the core-xy gantry system, I will send an update later today on the rest of the gantry.
The top motor drives the far end of the gantry through a dead-axel gear and pully riding on a through hex axel. The bottom motor directly powers the through axel for the near side pully.
Join the slack channel #grow-bot to keep up with development
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I have had to deal with some personal issues and illness over the course of the past few weeks, and was unable to work on the robot. However, I am officially back to making progress.
Here is a list of miscellaneous improvements I have made since the last devlog
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But I am seriously sorry for not updating folks on the status for the past few weeks. π€¦
Since I designed the main gantry assembly, I added the actually turret to the frame that uses 10 bearing stacks on shoulder screws to rotate and a cnc machined aluminum azimuth gear to rotate.
I am going to mount the main superstructure to the turret using a 3/16β walled 2x2 aluminum box tube with quarter inch bolts spanning both the turret plates for extra stability, I am using two large gussets to mount the 2x2 box tubing for the superstructure to the turret box tube.
The superstructure is comprised of 2x2 box tubes and aluminum gussets, I only have the main frame designed, and am currently working on the core-xy linear gantry for the toolhead.
I also designed a belt tensioning system for the main belt that allows the gantry to pull itself along the garden bed rails.
I sincerely apologize for not keeping anyone following the progress of this project up to date with its happenings, but I promise to be better in the future
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To join the conversation around this project join the slack channel #grow-bot
The gantry is a frame that rolls on the aluminum tubing, it uses bogies to provide omnidirectional support (2 wheeled structures).
There are custom Urethane wheels on aluminum hubs that roll on the aluminum tubing, they are rotated 140 degrees from each other. The bogies attach to aluminum 6061 tube stock above it that forms the main superstructure for the turret to mount to.
Thank you so much for reading this, if you are interested in this project join #grow-bot in slack to participate!
Fist off, to address the obvious⦠the new name!
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Thought process:
βGROW + Robot = GROW-Bot!β
Please leave me your thoughts down below!
I spent most of today doing miscellaneous things, like adding a dirt texture to the garden bed and designing a greenhouse concept framework. I also decided to ditch the lightening on some of the aluminum since the weight simply doesnβt matter in this scenario
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Tomorrow I am going to design the turreted gantry system and possibly start work on the superstructure.
The channel name has also now changed to #grow-bot so join to keep up with development and to help out!
Today I designed the rails that garden robot I am designing will traverse on.
They are mounted to 2x4s that are directly embedded in the ground and to the main structure of the garden bed.
Tomorrow is the big day when I start work on the actual main gantry part of the robot. I hope to have the 3d printed bogie (3 wheel structure that wraps around rails) and the turret assembly designed by the end of the day tomorrow.
This robot is coming together! Join #grow-bot in slack to keep up with updates and/or ask questions!
This is the V1 CAD for the differential gear mechanism that will allow for the toolhead to rotate and pitch forward on my automated gardening robot called GROW.
A half inch hex axel is mounted to the larger bevel gear and the gantry frame. The main cartriage is largely floating and only supported by the chain and gear since both motor walls and bevel gears are on bearings and floating freely on the main axel.
When both motors spin together, The mechanism pitches up and down. When they spin opposite, it rotates
Please watch the attached animation that illustrates the mechanism (the chain is not animated), and comment below with any questions or suggestions.
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Also, join the slack channel #grow-bot to participate or observe the development of the robot, I am also searching for programming help once the fabrication phase is over.
Thank you all so much! Please give me feedback on how to improve my devlogs, and consider following if you want to see where this is going!
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I finished Cadding the garden bed including screw positions and soil depth.
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I am taking a break from the wrist mechanism as I discovered a major flaw with the mechanism that needs some adjustment which I will hopefully complete tomorrow.
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Join #grow-bot to keep up with the progress!
I just finished Modeling the differential gearbox in the toolhead, It is powered by 2 stepper motors, and chain.
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I am hoping to print out these parts and make a prototype later today
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Join #grow-bot to keep up with development
This is the project moving from Crayon Block CAD to Master sketching all of the dimensions and plate layouts in side and top view.
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I dimensioned the CORE-XY upper gantry system, and all of the rollers and turret layers on the base.
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Also, I have decided to instead of making the bed two rows of garden beds, it will loop around the top to form a U-shaped structure in order to provide increased working area. The total dimensions are 16ft x 10 ft
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Master Sketch Onshape Document
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MS To-do:
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I designed the differential gear box mechanism in CAD today, I didnβt have tons of time to work on it, but I got the general dimensions figured out.
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It will operate as a differential gearbox for the rotation and the pitch of the main tool-head. I used gearlabs to generate the bevel gears.
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I also worked on some designs for the tool head system, and am considering weather or not a tool changer is necessary
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Join #grow-bot for more updates
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This is what I like to call βCrayon CADβ or when the project exists as undetailed blobs.
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I have just finished working out some of the basic layout of the gantry structure. It is going to be cantilevered over One side of the rotating base, and the extendable carriage will ride along the 72 inch long 2x2 aluminum tube using bearings and belts.
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The main beam is supported by two 2x2 aluminum tubes that form a triangle of support, this design allows for maximum travel length and minimal interaction with plants.
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FYI I am currently designing the robot to be compatble with any plant up to 36 inches tall, this includes some smaller types of tomato, pepper, and bean plants.
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I also sketched out the roller gantry design before CADing it.
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Join #grow-bot to keep up with development!
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This is what I like to call βCrayon CADβ or when the project exists as undetailed blobs.
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Crayon CAD for the garden bed base is complete! This will be a good frame to start making rough CAD for the gantry system and elevators, along with spacing out the general dimensions before getting into mastersketches.
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The current Idea is that the gantry will ride along these 1.5β aluminum tubes, and will be externally belted for linear motion
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Join #grow-bot to keep up with development and help out!
This is what I like to call βCrayon CADβ or when the project exists as undetailed blobs.
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Crayon CAD for the garden bed base is complete! This will be a good frame to start making rough CAD for the gantry system and elevators, along with spacing out the general dimensions before getting into mastersketches.
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The current Idea is that the gantry will ride along these 1.5β aluminum tubes, and will be externally belted for linear motion
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Join #grow-bot to keep up with development and help out!
Preliminary design constraints and sketches for garden robot
