Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Drill Attachment for Parallax Board Boe Bot — Parallax Forums

Drill Attachment for Parallax Board Boe Bot

remosinghremosingh Posts: 1
edited 2013-11-19 22:39 in Robotics
Has anyone ever installed a drill bit on a boe bot before? We are trying to drill some holes vertically through some thick foam.

Comments

  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,566
    edited 2013-11-17 11:05
    Welcome to the Forum!!

    To my knowledge that hasn't been done, but I would like to see that! ... take pictures and post!

    One thing I would make sure that isn't going to be a potential problem is that the foam, isn't soft enough that it wraps around the drill bit and binds it up.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-11-17 11:09
    remosingh wrote: »
    Has anyone ever installed a drill bit on a boe bot before? We are trying to drill some holes vertically through some thick foam.

    Welcome to the forums!

    What kind of drill attachment, a Dremel? You would would need a heck of a counter weight on the other end to compensate for the drill and mechanics for the z axis motor drive.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2013-11-17 11:17
    Beau, how about that little $23 eBay drill attachment your daughter used in a science fair project?
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2013-11-17 11:27
    Better hope that your drill bit is very sharp or the bot may end up spinning around it.
    (If so, I expect a YouTube video pretty soon)

    Anyway, it should be possible... I think...

    You'll need some sort of solid Z-axis (A couple of stainless steel smooth rods would be nice)
    A BLDC Airplane motor may have enough 'grunt' for the drill, and the motor controller is handled just as a servo.
    Make a frame to fasten the motor in that slides up and down the stainless steel rods.

    You'll need a motor to lift and lower the drill, too. A strong Continous-Rotation servo should be enough.
    (Key here is 'strong'. A standard size servo may not be strong enough)
    How you design the lift/drop mechanism I'll leave to you.

    You'll most probably have to lump extra weight onto the Boe-bot, too, to keep it stable.
    And adding a bit of weight on top of the drill motor can't hurt, either.
    (As long as the Z-axis motor isn't straining to lift it, it's not too much)

    Anything that helps improve the wheel's friction against the surface is worth its weight in Gold.
    you may want to swap out the standard servos used on the drive, too, with something a bit stronger, just in case...
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2013-11-17 12:57
    Gadgetman wrote: »
    Better hope that your drill bit is very sharp or the bot may end up spinning around it.
    (If so, I expect a YouTube video pretty soon)

    Anyway, it should be possible... I think...

    You'll need some sort of solid Z-axis (A couple of stainless steel smooth rods would be nice)
    A BLDC Airplane motor may have enough 'grunt' for the drill, and the motor controller is handled just as a servo.
    Make a frame to fasten the motor in that slides up and down the stainless steel rods.

    You'll need a motor to lift and lower the drill, too. A strong Continous-Rotation servo should be enough.
    (Key here is 'strong'. A standard size servo may not be strong enough)
    How you design the lift/drop mechanism I'll leave to you.

    You'll most probably have to lump extra weight onto the Boe-bot, too, to keep it stable.
    And adding a bit of weight on top of the drill motor can't hurt, either.
    (As long as the Z-axis motor isn't straining to lift it, it's not too much)

    Anything that helps improve the wheel's friction against the surface is worth its weight in Gold.
    you may want to swap out the standard servos used on the drive, too, with something a bit stronger, just in case...

    In other words rebuild the robot, right?
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,566
    edited 2013-11-17 15:48
    Ken,

    That drill attachment would be ok depending on remosingh's application, but I wouldn't pay $23 for it.... I got it for $3.50 around Christmas last year ... the price went up

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Small-PCB-Press-Drill-Drilling-With-0-8mm-Drill-Diameter-28mm-Motor-Diameter-/390568207140?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aefade324
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2013-11-18 00:04
    kwinn wrote: »
    In other words rebuild the robot, right?

    Well, yeah... Isn't it nice?
    How much you need to rebuild of course depends on the size of the drill and motor driving it.

    The kit Beau linked to probably won't need much modification, if any, but then again, it can't handle anything but the tiniest of drill bits.

    With a BLDC motor for RC airplanes, you should be able to use a 1/8" Collett, and get access to anything with a 1/8" shank.
    (That includes a lot of endmills, cutters, drill-bits polishing tools and whatnot.)
  • dgatelydgately Posts: 1,630
    edited 2013-11-18 10:20
    Ken,

    That drill attachment would be ok depending on remosingh's application, but I wouldn't pay $23 for it.... I got it for $3.50 around Christmas last year ... the price went up


    You can still find them at low price...

    $3.76
    http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.X12V+Small+PCB+Press+Drill+Drill&_nkw=12V+Small+PCB+Press+Drill+Drill&_sacat=0&_from=R40

    $3.70
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Small-PCB-Drill-Press-Drilling-With-0-8mm-Drill-Diameter-28mm-Motor-12V-C-/370685249899?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item564e90096b

    dgately
  • garyggaryg Posts: 420
    edited 2013-11-19 22:39
    Remosingh
    Could I ask what your end game is?
    The concept is very good.
    I'm just wondering where you are planning to go with this.
    I'm trying to figure out an application for something like this.
    Only if you don't mind talking about it.

    Thanks
Sign In or Register to comment.