Build Your Own Combat Robot

340 Build Your Own Combat Robot
the screw loosens a little, the connector could become loose. A loose wire can
mean loses of control of your robot or could short out some of your components if
it touches something it shouldn’t.
Also, you should make it a practice to secure all of your wires so that they don’t
move around in your robot. Zip-Ties make great tie-downs for wires.
Static Sensitivity
Certain metal oxide semiconductors are used on many robots, and these can be
easily damaged by static from handling. Even large, high-power Metal Oxide
Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFETs) used to make power
H-bridges can be zapped by static from hands. Many of the newer ICs and discrete
semiconductors have input protection diodes to carry static charges. One way to
determine which products can be damaged by static is to see what material it was
packaged in when you bought it. If the leads are stuck in a black foam, or the part
was stored in a pink plastic package or tube, it’s probably static sensitive.
One way to prevent this is to use a static band to ground you to the equipment.
This is a band you strap around your wrist; it has a wire and clip you attach to the
circuit to be worked on. The use of an anti-static board, such as one of the pink
plastic sheets on top of your work bench, works well to eliminate static. Dry and
cold days, artificial fiber clothing, and most carpeting cause a lot of static
build-up. Use common sense in your robot-building area.