Note: These instructions assume you have purchased a kit from us. If you are sourcing your own parts, you need to build the switch/battery connector assembly. For diagrams see Vorpal Combat Hexapod Battery/Switch Construction.

Choking-Hazard-Image.jpg

Electronics:

• Passive Piezo Buzzer module and 3 wire cable (see image)
• Arduino Nano (marked R to indicate it is pre-loaded with robot software)
• Potentiometer with 3 wires pre-soldered
• 1 x HC05 BlueTooth Module with 4 x F-F jumper wires for making connections (Note: the HC05 has six pins but only four are used in this project)
• 1 x Servo Controller module (Adafruit 16-channel 12-bit I2C PWM/Servo driver) with F-F jumper wires for making connections, plus 1 two-pin shunt tying V+ to VCC
• 12 x MG90 micro servo motors and associated servo horns (you will only use the single-arm horn).
• 1 x Power distribution wiring with on/off switch, Battery holder for two 18650 cells, and female connectors to distribute power.

3D Printed Parts:

• 1 x Chassis
• 1 x Cap
• 6 x Legs (individually marked with servo numbers)
• 1 x Switch bracket
• 12 x Servo bracket U-shaped halves
• 1 x Electronics Caddy
• 1 x Stand
• 1 x Eye/glasses Decoration
• 1 x Joust game accessory with “rider”
• 1 x Capture the Flag game accessory with flag and cup.
• 1 x Fidget Spinner Challenge game accessory (no Fidget Spinner, just the stand)
• 1 x Ultrasonic Rangefinder Bracket

Miscellaneous:

• 20 x 10mm diameter ceramic magnet, north pole marked. 6 are for robot top, 1 for eye/glasses decoration, 7 for Capture-the-Flag and Joust accessories, 6 for Kung Fu accessory.
• 12 x socket head cap screw, 2.5mm diameter by 8mm long
• 5 x #6-32 x 1/2“ screw to fasten on/off switch bracket (2) and to hold electronics caddy on chassis (3)
• 1 x L shaped hex driver for both kinds of screw

Electronics:

• 1 x Battery/Switch Wiring Unit with 9v battery clip. (Note: the gamepad requires no BEC so you can use this fact to distinguish from the robot wiring unit)
• 1 x button matrix with associated connecting wires
• 1 x Dpad Button module with associated connecting wires
• 1 x HC05 Bluetooth module and four wires to connect it
• 1 x microSD Card Reader module and six wires to connect it. NOTE: A microSD card, not included in the kit, is required for record/play features to work. The capacity should be 1gb or less.
• 1 x Ardunio Nano (marked “C” to indicate it is pre-loaded with Controller software)

3D Printed Plastic Parts:

• 1 x Gamepad base plastic part
• 1 x Gamepad top plastic part
• 1 x Gamepad button carrier
• 1 x Switch Adapter

Fasteners:

• 6 x #6-32 x 1/2” screw to hold cover on gamepad (4) and also to hold switch bracket on base (2)
• 1 x USB cable A to mini for connecting gamepad to computer for ScratchX programming

This project has been finely tuned to make it easy to 3D print. No supports are required for any of the parts. In some cases you may want to use brims or rafts to help parts adhere to the print surface. There is minimal bridging, never farther than about 15mm (5/8“). Some of the parts do require some flexibility, for example the sides of the servo compartments need to bend outward while the servos are inserted, they then snap back into place when the servo is completely inserted. This means brittle plastics like PLA are not the best choice for this project. (Although we have made PLA hexapods and they do work if you're careful when inserting the servos). This page assumes you have basic familiarity with 3D printing and 3D printing terminology. If not, you might want to reference online materials such as youtube videos or information from your 3D printer manufacturer before attempting this project. If you are 3D printing the plastic parts (as opposed to buying them pre-printed), here are some tips. MINIMUM PRINTER REQUIREMENTS

• The bed size should be at least 150mm cube (5.9 inches cube). The largest part is the hexapod base so it is the limiting factor on bed size.
• A heated bed is strongly recommended, especially if you are printing in ABS.

RECOMMENDED PLASTICS

• ABS and PETG both work well. When we sell Full Kits and Assembled Vorpals we use ABS.
• PLA is somewhat brittle, but it will work if you're careful. Inserting the servos into the legs and hips will somewhat flex the plastic so be careful during that process with PLA.

PRINT SETTINGS. We print using the following settings on a Lulzbot TAZ 6 or Lulzbot Mini with 0.5mm nozzle:

• 0.38 layer thickness
• 1mm walls (i.e. two perimeters)
• 1.14mm top and bottom (i.e. three layers)
• 15% infill
• You can print with thinner layers if your printer does not support 0.38mm layers or if you want a more refined look, it will just take longer.

BRIMS AND RAFTS

• Brims or rafts are recommended for the following hexapod parts: Base, Legs, Electronics Caddy, Cap. This ensures proper bed retention to avoid warping. These parts have relatively little contact area with the print bed, or have certain sections with little contact.
• Brims are not recommended on any of the other parts. The other parts generally have enough bed surface contact that they will print fine without brims. Your mileage may vary however and it is recommended that you keep a close eye on the first few layers of the print to make sure everything is sticking properly. If not, you can cancel the job with minimal loss of plastic then restart with brims or rafts.
• We personally prefer brims (such as available in Cura) as they are easy to remove and leave a clean look.

OBTAINING THE STL FILES

• We have posted the STL files to many popular 3D printing model sites such as http://www.thingiverse.com.
• Pleaes note: These parts are considered in pre-release status at this time. Our official release date is currently projected to be October 20. The parts we are posting have been printed many times and tested and do work well for us, but we are making a few more tiny adjustments and refinements.
• Please help us by rating the VCH project (or clicking on the LIKE button or equivalent) on whichever site you download it from!

You will need the following tools:

• 2mm hex key. A 3/32 inch hex key will also work.
• A marker that can write on dark plastic and still be seen, such as Sharpie Metallic or Sharpie Oil markers (white and yellow work great).
• This is the easiest way to mark servo wires with their corresponding leg number
• If you don't have these types of marker, you could use clear tape and bits of paper to tape wire labels near the socket end of the servo cable. Don't put labels right on the black plastic connectors at the end of the servo because you'll make them too thick to fit side by side when plugged in.

The servo horn should come straight out from the body at a 90 degree angle as shown here. Do not turn the servo shaft by hand until after it has moved under power!

• STEP 1: Insert accessory port screws in the chassis Insert 5/8” #6-32 hex head screws in the bottom two holes of the accessory port, head of the screw inside the hexapod, then tighten nuts outside. Repeat for the top two accessory holes with shorter 1/2“ #6-32 hex head screws. The heads of the screws recess into hexogonal holes so you don't need to use pliers inside the robot body, just for the nuts.
• STEP 2: Insert servos in the chassis.
• Without twisting the shaft of the servo at all, insert the 1-prong servo horn on the servo so that it comes straight out from the servo as shown in the diagram to the left. DO NOT turn the servo shaft by hand, this can damage a new servo. Use a rocking motion to work the horn on if it's a tight fit. You may not be able to get the horn to come perfectly out at 90 degrees, just come as close as you can.
• Next, insert the servo into the chassis as shown in the diagrams below. As you insert the servo into the chassis, slowly press it into place until it clicks in under the small tab on one side of the servo holder.
• Immediately mark the black connector at the end of the wire to indicate the servo number (which is engraved in the top of the servo holder, a number between 0 and 5).
• A metallic sharpie pen works very well for this, or a light colored oil paint sharpie such as white.
• If you don't have any of those things, a little piece of masking tape can be affixed to the wire and marked, or you could use clear cellophane tape to attach little bits of marked paper to the wire. Do not attach any tape or paper to the black connector, as it will be a tight fit when connecting later.
• The wire coming out of the servo sticks out away from the robot, the servo shaft would face down toward the table top if the chassis were resting on the table.
• After inserting the servo, thread the wire through the top servo wire guide hole, and into the center of the chassis.

Insert Servo in Chassis Insert Servo in Chassis Insert Servo in Chassis

• STEP 3: Insert the servos in the Legs. The technique is very similar to inserting the servo into the chassis.
• As before, insert the single prong servo horn so it comes straight out from the servo at a 90 degree angle. Do not rotate the servo shaft while doing this.
• Insert the servo straight into the leg socket so that the wire is coming out of the servo facing away from the plastic leg and the face of the servo with the shaft and servo horn goes into the open faced side of the leg, as shown in the diagram.
• The servos in the legs are called the “knee” servos. Each leg has a higher number on it, this is the knee number, they run from 6 to 11. Again, write this number on the black connector at the end of the servo wire. PRO TIP: For 6 and 9, underline the number so you don't read them upside down!
• Insert Servo in Legs Insert Servo in Chassis Insert Servo in Legs

Align the servo brackets as shown here. The bumps (see arrows) should both be near each other when properly aligned. Hold one in each hand with the ends of the U shape between thumb and forefinger. STEP 4: Assemble the servo brackets. Each servo brace is composed of two identical U-shaped parts. Take one in each hand and align the two so that the bump (shown in the diagram at the right) are both near each other. Turn one 90 degrees with respect to the other. Gently squeeze each piece between thumb and forefinger, which causes the little jaws in the center to open up slightly. Work the two halves together. Squeeze just enough so they work their way on, no more or you might break the part!. STEP 5: Thread each leg servo wire into the bottom wire guide slot on the chassis. Each leg servo should be matched with a hip servo plus 6. For example, the leg marked 6 should be threaded through the wire guide on hip servo 0, leg 7 goes with hip 1, leg 8 goes with hip 2, etc. Add 6 to the hip number to get the leg number. STEP 6: Build the electrical system., You need to power up the servos and make them seek to the 90 degree position, this will allow you to adjust the legs properly for walking. STEP 6A: Push the potentiometer shaft into the hole on the chassis meant for this purpose. The wires coming out of the potentiometer should be pointing down. Put the retaining nut on the potentiometer. Turn it all the way counter clockwise, then insert the knob so it points to STOP. STEP 6B: Put the on/off switch into the chassis, lining up the holes of the switch adapter with the two matching holes in the chassis. Insert a #6-32 1/2” screw from the outside and turn it to secure one side of the switch, repeat for the other side. STEP 6C: Make the connections listed in the ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS section of these instructions below. Be extremely careful about the power connections. Double check all connections before powering on. STEP 7: Power up! Make sure the on/off switch is off, and the knob is turned to STP. Connect a battery (6 x AAA rechargeable such as NIMH) and power on the robot using the on/off switch. The servos should all move. If the robot does not move at all, turn the switch off and check your connections again. STEP 8: Adjust Servo Horns. The knee servos are not at 90 degrees when the knob is all the way counter clockwise. Turn the knob very slightly clockwise and you will see all the knee servos twitch. This is “adjust servo horn mode”. All servos (knees and hips) are now at their halfway point, 90 degrees. Now you need to take off each servo horn that's not sticking straight out and adjust it so it comes straight out. You will not always be able to make the horn come totally straight out. This is because there are only 22 little groves (splines) in each shaft, meaning you can in general only come within about 8 degrees of perfect. This amount of error is acceptable, just get it as close as you can. It is better for the horn to be a little too much clockwise than to be a little too much counterclockwise, especially for the knees. Do this for all hip and knee servos. Do not insert any screws yet. STEP 9: Assemble the Servo Brackets. The servo brackets come in two U-shaped parts that are identical. Line them up as shown in the illustration. The two raised circles should be next to each other for proper orientation. Hold one bracket in each hand, the ends of the U-shape between your thumb and forefinger as shown. Now, gently squeeze as you push them together, squeeze just enough so they slide into place. If you squeeze too hard, some kinds of plastic may break, PETG is best for this part because it's a little more flexible than most other types. When they seat together, release the pressure and you should have a strong bond between the parts with no screws or glue required! Repeat the process until you have six double brackets. STEP 10: Attach Servo Brackets. The servo brackets connect the hips to the knees. They only go on one way. First place the end that matches the servo horn on, then you need to very slightly bend the U shaped piece while pulling it over the hemispherical bearing on the other side. It's a little easier to do the knees (servos mounted to legs) first, followed by the hips (servos on base). STEP 11: Test Knee Positions. Turn the knob fully counter clockwise (to STP) and the robot will go into “stand still” mode. Place it on a level surface such as a table top. Do all of the legs touch the ground? If one or more legs don't touch the ground, you need to adjust the servo horn on the knee a little bit so it does touch. Gently pull off the servo bracket. Pull the servo horn off, and put it back on just a little bit moved so the leg would move closer to the ground. Put the servo bracket back on, and see how it looks. Do this until all legs are at least slightly touching the ground. Again, you can't necessarily be perfect due to the 8 degree increments the servo horns can be moved. But you should be able to be close enough that all legs at least slightly touch the ground. STEP 12: Insert Servo Screws. Now that the legs are adjusted, you can insert the M2.5×8 screws into the servo horns to lock them in place. Note that you will NOT be using the screws that were in the little bag the servos came in, you'll be using the separate pack of screws, which are longer than the ones in the servo bag. Do not overtighten these screws, as you could possibly crack the servo brackets. Just turn the screws until you start to feel resistance, then turn a quarter turn more and stop. STEP 13: Test Individual Servos. To test whether every servo is working, put the robot on its stand. Then start with the knob on STP, then slowly turn it clockwise. First the servos will go into adjust mode, you used that a moment ago to set the servo horns. But, keep going, and the robot will go into “individual servo test mode”. In this mode, every hip servo will move, one by one. When all the hips have moved, every leg will move, one by one. You should see every servo move, in order. If some don't move, check your connections. A common error is to plug a servo connector into the servo controller backwards (i.e. the brown wire is matched with the yellow pin instead of the black pin).

STEP 14: Test Using Demo Mode. Ok, everything looks good, so time for a full test. Turn the knob to STP, then take the robot off the stand and put it on the floor. Turn the knob to DEMO, and the robot will go through a series of movements to demonstrate some of the things it can do. The full demo only takes about 30 seconds, then repeats. Here, you are looking for the robot to, for example, be able to get back up off the floor after doing some of its dance moves. If the robot struggles to get off the floor, you may have a battery that is not fully charged, or there may be too much friction between the servo bracket and the little ball socket it sits in. A tiny bit of silicone lubricant will usually fix that problem, or just make sure those parts are cleaned up from 3D printing and don't have an excess strands of material that are causing friction. See “Trouble Shooting” for more information about different kinds of issues that can occur. STEP 15: Store the Electronics in the Caddy Now things look pretty messy with all those wires hanging loose, let's clean it up by stowing them in the electronics caddy. Please reference the video here for quick instructions. STEP 16: Assemble the Cap STEP 16A: Put magnets in the Cap Insert a magnet in each magnet holder in the cap. The magnets are marked with a dimple on the North pole side. It is important that this dimple be showing after installation. In other words, insert the magnet with the non-dimple side down. Pressing with just your fingers might work, but if the magnet does not complete seat, use pliers to gently squeeze it into place. Be careful because if you squeeze too hard you might crack the Cap. STEP 16B: Install magnets If desired, use a permanent marker to color the Vorpal “V” on top of the Cap. STEP 16C: Put Cap on the Hexapod Screw the cap on the robot by lining up the tabs with the matching slots in the rim of the base. Turn the cap clockwise to lock it in place. IMPORTANT: Do not press down on the robot to insert the cap when the robot is under power standing on its legs! You can damage the leg motors by doing this. It is best to turn the robot off, and either support the bottom of the Base with one hand and press the Cap on with the other, or set the Base down on the table top or floor with legs out to the sides so they don't take pressure. Building the Gamepad

Gamepad order of parts during assembly (wires not shown for clarity). To go beyond demo mode, you need to build the Vorpal Gamepad. The Vorpal Gamepad allows you to call up many different actions by the hexapod such as walking, turning, dancing, or fighting. The gamepad can also be used as a transmitter to allow Scratch programs to wirelessly control your robot from a computer. STEP 1: Attach cables to the button matrix. Pull 8 wires off the Dupont wire bundle. The colors don't really matter so just take 8 adjacent wires and leave them together if possible. Carefully push these 8 wires, in order, onto the pins coming out of the 4×4 button matrix. Make sure the wire connectors don't “swap places” by twisting under each other, it is very important that the order be correct.

Layout of Electronic Boards. Left to right: Arduino Nano, HC05 Bluetooth Module, and SD Card reader. (wires are left out of diagram for clarity) STEP 2: Attach cables to the yellow DPAD buttons. Pull three wires off the Dupont wire bundle of the following colors: red, black, white. Plug the white wire into the yellow DPAD button module's pin marked S (signal). The middle pin gets the red wire, and the pin marked “-” gets the black wire. STEP 3: Install the switch. Take the switch/battery assembly and use two #6-32 screws 1/2“ long to attach it on the inside wall of the gamepad base, in the rectangular hole. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE SCREWS. The switch assembly has tiny markings for on and off, the markings are the numbers 0 and 1. Make sure the “1” is oriented in the same direction as the “1” engraved on the outside of the gamepad base near the switch hole. STEP 4: Place the buttons Place the 4×4 button matrix and also the yellow DPAD button module in the matching places on the button bracket. The yellow DPAD buttons should be placed down first, and you may need to slightly bend the pins downward. The 4×4 button matrix also should have its pins slightly bent downward, then its wires will go on top of the wires coming out of the yellow DPAD button module. STEP 5: Connect the electrical system wires. Using the connections indicated in the section below on electrical wiring, plug in all the wires for the Arduino Nano and HC05 Bluetooth module. STEP 6: Insert the Arduino Nano. The Arduino Nano should be oriented such that its USB port is coming out the square hole on the left side of the base, and all the outgoing wires from the Nano are coming out toward the front of the base. Once in place, gently push the side of the Nano opposite of the USB port until it clicks into place, securing it. STEP 7: Insert the HC05 Bluetooth Module. Slip the HC05 Bluetooth module under the U shaped bracket near the center of the gamepad base. Its lights should be facing upward, they will be visible through holes in the top of the gamepad and this helps you know that the gamepad is turned on. STEP 8: Put it all together. Put the 9v battery clip inside the battery box area of the base. Place the button bracket on top of the base, then place the gamepad top on the button bracket, sandwiching the button modules in place. Align the four screw holes in the corners with the matching holes on the base and secure with four #6-32 screws 1/2” long. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN. NOTE: You might want to just put two screws in, and don't even put them all the way in, until you test the gamepad. In that way, if it does not work, you can easily open it back up to check connections. STEP 8: Test! Turn the switch to “0” (off). Connect a 9v battery to the 9v battery clip then slide the battery door onto the base. Turn the switch to “1” (on). Lights should be visible through the holes. Turn the hexapod's dial all the way clockwise, to “BT” thus putting it in Bluetooth mode. Turn the hexapod on and wait a few seconds for it to completely boot. Try to control the robot! Try hitting each of the top three rows of 4×4 matrix buttons (W, F, D) one by one, and test to make sure every mode functions. If most modes work but a couple do not, you may have swapped some wires coming off the matrix.

STEP 9: Decorate If desired, use a marker to darken the Vorpal “V” symbol, the W, F, D, R markings, the 0 and 1 switch markings, and the record/play symbols under the 4×4 button matrix. This will make them more visible as well as making the gamepad look better. We like using oil based paint markers. For dark colored plastics, use a white oil paint marker, for light colored plastics use black. Electrical Connections: Robot

NOTE: These are the official RELEASE 1 connections. If you have an older prototype (you can tell because the gamepad has no SD card reader in the older version) then please see Vorpal Combat Hexapod Prototype Electrical Connections. NANO PIN CONNECTIONS

Digital IO Pins: D0, D1 are reserved because they are used for uploading programs to the robot. D2 Bluetooth Module Rx D3 Bluetooth Module Tx D4 Beeper Signal (white wire) D5 and D6 are reserved for the optional HC-SR04 ultrasonic rangefinder sensor accessory. D7 through D9 are reserved for future expansion. D10 through D13 are reserved for the optional CMUCAM5 (Pixie) sensor accessory. Analog Pins: A0 Potentiometer signal (white wire) A1 Potentiometer Power (red wire) A2 Potentiometer Ground (black wire) A3 is reserved for the optional light sensor. A4 Servo Controller SDA A5 Servo Controller SCL A6 and A7 are reserved for future sensors. Power Pins: VIN pin on Nano connects to Battery positive (the red Dupont connector coming off near the switch on the wiring module) GND pin on Nano connects to Battery negative (the black Dupont connector coming off the battery black wire) second GND pin on Nano (there are two GND pins on the Nano) connects to the GND pin on the HC05 module +5V on Nano connects to HC05 +5V Pin IMPORTANT NOTE: The red Dupont connector coming off the switch/battery assembly must go to VIN and never +5V, because the battery voltage is much higher than +5 volts. You will more or less instantly destroy your Nano if you put unregulated battery power directly into the +5V pin. The VIN pin has its own voltage regulator. The +5V pin on the Nano will be used to provide regulated power to the Bluetooth module. Bluetooth Module Power

+5V on HC05 connects to Nano +5V pin GND on HC05 connects to either of the two Nano GND pins Beeper Power

Connect the beeper V+ and ground (marked “-”) pins (red and black respectively) to Port 14 of the Servo Controller, matching black and red wires to black and red pins on the Servo Controller. Servo Controller

Connect the 12 servos to port numbers corresponding to the servo marking (0 to 11). Make sure the signal wire (yellow) is oriented correctly and matches the yellow plastic header pin. Connect the switch/battery module regulated BEC output (a three pin Dupont connector where only two of the pins are populated, one with a red V+ wire, one with a black ground wire) to an unused servo port power and ground. Make sure the red wire is going to VCC and black wire to GND. On one short side of the Servo Controller you will find a VCC and VIN pin right next to each other. Use a shunt (small black connector that goes over two pins) to connect those together if one is not already installed. This shunt causes both the servos and the microprocessor to run at the same +5V level. SDA and SCL go to A4 and A5 on the Nano, respectively. Robot Screw Sizes

Servo horn screws: 12 x M2.5 by 8mm long Switch assembly: 2 x #6-32 by 1/2“ long Electrical Connectons: Gamepad

Note: These connections are for the Kickstarter Release 1 product. If you have an older prototype (the gamepad does not have an SD card reader in the prototype) then please see Vorpal Combat Hexapod Prototype Electrical Connections. NANO PIN CONNECTIONS

D2 through D9 are connected to the button matrix pins.Looking from the top of the button matrix module, the rightmost button matrix pin (labeled 1) goes to D9, second to right (labeled 2) to D8, etc. D10 to SD card CS (may be labelled SS on some SD card readers) D11 to SD card MOSI D12 to SD card MISO D13 to SD card SCK (may be labelled SCL on some SD card readers) A0 Unused A1 Dpad Signal (white wire) A2 Dpad VCC (red wire) A3 Dpad GND (black wire) A3 Unused A4 HC05 Bluetooth Module Rx A5 HC05 Bluetooth Module Tx A6, A7 Unused VIN battery/switch positive (red wire) GND Either ground on the Nano goes to the battery/switch negative (black wire) ICSP pin 4 (see diagram): SD card reader GND ICSP pin 6 (see diagram): SD card reader VCC GAMEPAD: Screw Sizes

Switch assembly, 2 x #6-32 by 1/2” long Gamepad Cover, 4 x #6-32 by 1/2“ long