This is something I think needs to be revised with regards to the store page for the expansion plate: It doesn’t say what it’s made of. While it looks possibly metal from the image, I assumed plastic, since there are removable segments.
But on receiving it, I note that the bottom appears to be cardboard or pressboard of some kind. And I actually have no clue what the core of it is, holding it in my hand. It seems like it’s sturdy enough, and does what it’s supposed to well, but I still have no idea what it’s made out of.
robotshop.com/en/dfrobotshop-rover-expansion-plate.html?___SID=U
Also, as far as I can tell, neither the robot nor the expansion plate comes with screws long enough to make it through the gearbox, it’s washers, the system board, the nut, and still get a good solid connection to the expansion plate. The front works fine, but the rear connections are very poor.
Is there a place I can find a longer screw with the same threading?
The picture clearly shows the nuts are still on the rover, even on the back set.
I have the M3 screw, the gearbox, two spacers, the PCB, and the nut. That leaves maybe one or two revolutions of the screw thread at most to try and hold the plastic spacer on, and it can pop off pretty easily. I do think it’d fit on better without the nut, but then it’d be harder to remove the top plate without the gearbox falling apart, and that’d be problematic for tinkering purposes.
The front is pretty sturdy, so it manages to hold the back together, but if I had two screws that were a good couple millimeters longer, it would be fantastic. How long are the packaged screws that come with it?
We appreciate the feedback and have updated the description to indicate that it is made from plastic. The material you see on the back is just a very thin protective coating which should be removed. This is sometimes left in place for the laser cutter to ensure the plastic has a nice finish. If you pick at the corner of the sheet, it should peel right off to reveal a nice shiny black surface.
The plate should be mounted as follows: robotshop.com/media/files/images/dfrobotshop-rover-expansion-plate-1.jpg
The screw should go through the gearbox, then through the spacers, then through the PCB, then thread into the white plastic hex standoff. Alternatively, there should be enough thread protruding from the top of the screw to simply add the hex standoff.
Our stock seems to be correct, and we have sold many of these without issue. Can you double check how you have the screws connected? They are M3 (metric 3mm) as are the standoffs. If you still encounter issues, can you show us a few images?
The screws are 10mm long. If you did not use the bottom nut, couldn’t you just unscrew the top screw to remove the plate while the hex standoff acted as a nut to keep the rest of the assembly in place?
Feedback is always appreciated.
