PCBs and Controller Progress

Last week, finally got to a position to design PCBs! We finished up some last changes after hooking up the last few LEDs and a dip switch array to the tank. The dip switches will eventually be programmed to allow any controller to be paired with any tank base. By physically configuring the 4 dip switches to a configuration, then matching that configuration on the controller through the LCD menu, we’ll be able to have any two controller and tanks pair properly! The PCBs came in today, so we'll be soldering them and getting them connected this weekend.

 Tank PCB:

Controller PCB:


In terms of the mechanical design, we've done quite a bit of refining to the robot base. We changed the motor connection to screw in rather than press fit onto pegs, then realized that our motors weren't actually symmetric, so we modified the design to account for that. We also made a turret to snap onto the servo, and prototyped various snap fit designs for the tank housing connection. Over the weekend, we plan to print the tank housing and confirm that things work as planned.

 The last thing to work out before we have a working robot is the controller design. We've created a basic controller design and looked at how things will fit, but we still need to finish working out the support structure for the electronic components inside.


Finally, the code is in a pretty good state. Our last major obstacle is working out the RF response for when the tank gets hit to send the information back to the controller. We made some good progress today, but it will take some time over the weekend to get it just right. We expect to have a fully functional prototype next week.

 Overall, we've made great progress over the last couple weeks and are right on schedule to be finished by the design fair!

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