LEVi Rover Raspberry Pi Modular Robot , OPEN Hardware, 3D Print Edition

thingiverse

Hello everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is Josh Starnes, an Application Development student at Western Governors University. I've spent time developing the first edition of the LEVi Rover Robot platform. The original goal was to create a multi-use platform that can perform various tasks by adding on accessories to expand its capability. The initial accessory I tested was for mowing the lawn. It's incredibly satisfying to see the fruits of hard work, maintaining your beautiful turf. The possibilities don't stop here; the purpose of this project is to release a vanilla unmodified platform into the wild so that accessories can be designed for specific tasks. This could include a floor scrubber, pressure washer, or even a leaf vacuum. LEVi could engage in giant-sized robot soccer and SUMO matches against another LEVi! The options are endless, and I'd love to see this platform become a valuable tool in the educational classroom. I will continue to update this project. Eventually, I'd like to create molds that can be used to produce copies of the robot in resin. Until then, if you need one printed, it's possible. However, keep in mind that it requires a significant amount of filament, making it not cheap. It could still save thousands over buying even basic educational platforms of this size. I do ask that everyone who downloads and prints this project keeps the name LEVi Rover and provides credit to me, the creator. This helps me track usage as Google indexes photos and project posts on the internet. This is ultimately a school project. About the Model: Tires - The tires are designed to be printed in plastic, followed by creating a mold with silicon. Liquid rubber can be mixed with pigment or powdered carbon to give it a tough but flexible texture. You can also print the tire and wheel together as one piece for a simpler approach. Tracks - The tracks cannot be printed and used in plastic; they're too rigid. You could print them in Ninja Flex, but I prefer creating a cast from a mold like discussed with the Tires. A file is available that stretches out the track into a large round circle. Unless your printer is very large, you'll want to slice this up into 4 pieces and reorient on your printer's bed. When printed, you'll need to glue together all the pieces and fill any cracks before casting the large track ring in rubber. I recommend making a mold box that gets within an inch of the track model to minimize waste. Headlights and Tail Lights - These are place holders. You can print them and add LEDs for good lighting or leave the covers off and fill the area with epoxy to encapsulate any LEDs you put in there too. Head/Face - The face is colored black, but the long-term goal is to print the face and then use vacuum molding to make a copy in acrylic or Plexiglas. Then you can tint that plastic with grey or black clothing dye and warm water. The Raspberry Pi and other electronics are supposed to be printed on DIN mount cards and mounted on the DIN rail rack inside the body behind the head area. Movement: Head - uses two standard-sized servos Wheels - uses 6 x 120rpm worm gear 12v motors Credits - The DIN files are from another contributor, "imstrng," on Thingiverse. I included them in this post in case theirs is ever removed as they're incorporated into this project. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2610621