Build Your Own Combat Robot

A first-time experimenter can easily make PCBs at home with simple kits obtainable
from Radio Shack and many of the suppliers listed in Appendix B.
“Stick-on” patterns are available for integrated circuits and transistors, as well as
other components and wiring traces. These patterns are applied to a clear sheet of
plastic and used as a positive mask to sensitize a treated board that is then etched
with an etching solution. Similar results can use circuits from magazines and
transfer them to a usable positive mask. Many computer printers and copiers can
also print a mask on a sheet of plastic for conversion to a PCB.
Wire-Wrapping Prototyping
Another popular type of electronic circuit development and prototyping is wire
wrapping. Just about the reverse of the prototyping boards with many small holes,
wire wrapping involves the use of many headers with two rows of long,
gold-plated square pins. The thin pins of the headers are inserted in a holder board
and a wire-wrapping tool wraps a stripped, thin wire around a selected pin. Manual
and battery-powered wire-wrapping tools are available in many electronic tool
catalogs. You then cut off a desired length, strip the other end of the wire, and
wrap it around another pin on another header. The pins can hold multiple
wrapped wires. One bad feature of these types of boards, however, is the long pins
that protrude out the back of the holder board; these can easily be bent and short
to each other. This type of prototyping is best when using a series of dual in-line,
pin-integrated circuits (DIP ICs).
Soldering for Robots
Soldering for robots is a bit different from the type you might use to assemble
small electronic kits, especially the larger BattleBot types of machines. If you have
experience with building kits and various experimental projects using printed circuit
boards, you’ll probably be pretty good at doing some of the larger and more
difficult solder joints in a robot. If it’s all new to you, don’t despair; it’s fairly easy
to learn.
You can probably get by using a simple $5 soldering iron from Radio Shack for
the majority of your work, but you’ll soon want to buy equipment that is a bit more
versatile. A soldering station made by Weller or another manufacturer allows you
to vary the heat control to suit the needs of a particular job, and then hold it at that
temperature. These can cost anywhere from $50 to hundreds of dollars.
Another useful soldering tool is the soldering gun. A dual-wattage gun can allow
you to solder those large, high-power, cable terminal lugs, yet allow you to use
lower power for circuitry. The use of a small vise also helps to hold a circuit board
or ungainly wire still while you’re soldering.
Three things to remember in soldering:
■ Clean Both surfaces you intend to solder must be clean.
Appendix A: Prototyping Electronics 337
■ Shiny The soldering surfaces should be shiny before soldering.