Zeorbot Project - Update 1

This week, I have received all of the parts required to complete the Zerobot. I completed the assembly of the electronics and mechanics of the bot. Since I used a different battery pack, I made some additional modifications. In the original writeup by Max.K, the battery and power charging chip were separated inside the bot. In my construction, I kept the components together and cut out a port in the rear of the bot to allow for charging and power supply to the Zero. I will likely hardwire the Zero in the future but this allows me to turn it on and off by unplugging the battery while the bot is sealed. I improved the mounting of components to the PLA chassis. The motor controller was screwed in to one of the ribs. One issue this week was the fitment of the camera. The ones I ordered have a chip in the wire which hinders flexibility. Luckily, the maximum bend rested the camera in place without needing permanent attachment. The motors had dual directional output drives that were interfering with the other components. I removed the inner drive by cutting them off.

The Zero and motor controller have been soldered and wired along with the motors themselves. I changed the GIPO ports used for wiring for cleanliness. This will require changes in the coding provided, that I will look to complete by next week. As of now, the Zero is powered by the USB output on the power bank, and sends that power to the motor controller via 5V output and ground.

The World's Largest 3D Printed Fidget Spinner


Back in March, the Boca Bearing Company set out to create (what was) the world's largest 3D printed fidget spinner using a Type A, Series 1 printer.

3D Printer Filament Stand Project

Today I built a filament stand for our 3D printers. I wanted to hold 24 rolls on the back and will be adding posts for the most common ones up front.

Built from
  • 3 – 2x4x12 
  • 10 – ½” dowles 
  • Construction wood screws 
  • Cost – 50$ 

This was a simple design but was constructed without the use of power cutting tools. ½” holes were drilled evenly spaced and rods that were cut into thirds were pressed in via hammer.

Zerobot Project Introduction


I was assigned to create a step by step instruction manual for others at the company and future interns to build a project that uses many of the tools available at Boca Bearings. The Zerobot was selected as it incorporates 3d printing, coding, wiring, and fabricating. The initial plans were documented from https://hackaday.io/project/25092-zerobot-raspberry-pi-zero-fpv-robot. Thanks to Max.K for uploading this for the first prototype to be built.

Using these plans, I used a Maker Select 3D Printer v2 to print all of the components provided via STL files. During the time waiting for parts to print, I compiled a list of all the parts I used to build the bot. Most were listed from the link above, with a few changes of my own.