I’m working on my first project for this year’s up-coming sciencefair, but I’m TOTALLY lost! I’ve been using this old college text book I found at my school’s library, but it doesn’t help much, so I’d really appreciate the help. For my robot(Technesium) I’m planning on using a 9V battery(and if I should use a higher voltage, please tell me!), but I don’t know what type of wire I should use. The book I’m reading says to use No. 12 wire, but I’m still not really sure. Also, I have one more question, how do I determine the current a battery has? Thanks for your help, really!
You need wire that conducts
You need wire that conducts electricity. The only wire that wouldn’t work, due to the voltage, would be tiny. I use 20 or 22 hook up wire because it holds its shape.
I’m with Jklug on this one,
I’m with Jklug on this one, 22 or 20 seems to be the best bet for prototyping and whatnot. You shouldn’t need 12-gauge wire unless you’re working with much more than 9v.
And the current isn’t generally listed on most 9v batteries, but I believe it’s fairly low. What kind of things will your robot be doing? There’s a very good chance that you’ll be better off with some AA batteries, they’ll be able to keep it running longer without a recharge. For smaller robots, 6v ish should be fine… alot of servos run at 5v, and some of the smaller motors only take 3v-6v.
But some details might help us explain what you’d need next, are you planning on picking up items? running around in circles? dancing until the lights are off?
Details
Originally, i was going to make it a mini-version of the two rovers that landed on Mars, but I decided that might be a little to fast since I’ve never made a robot before. Now I’m planning on trying to get my robot to either being able to turn a screwdriver, or being able to move things over long distances. I hope that helps a little:)
To be honest I would try to
To be honest I would try to make a robot that can move first. Then maybe add something that can spin (turn a screw driver), then maybe make it so it can grab something. Then add functionality to make it go a certain distance and drop it. Start small and slowly add to it.
Just this last week I had a project that I didn’t get done in time because I tried to add too much too fast and it made troubleshooting difficult.
You may have picked up on
You may have picked up on this from the other posts, but 9V batteries are often not your best choice for robotics. They don’t have a lot of capacity. Depending on what your current demands are, they might not be adedquate at all.
Figure out the basics of your robot. What actuators (motors, servos, etc.) you need. What provides the “brains” (microprocessor, PC, simple circuit, etc.). What sensors you will use. What outputs (sounds, lights, LCD screens). These things will determine your power requirements.
If you are new to robotics (it sounds like you are), read through the Start here robot walkthrough. You don’t need to make your robot like this, but it will give you a good idea of how to get a robot working quickly. Search through and read some of the helpful stuff on this site, and then post questions if you get stuck.
Welcome to LMR. Good luck!