OSHE Growbot Mounting Units

This project is for the Growbot project by the Open Source Hardware Enterprise at Michigan Tech. The Growbot aims to provide an open source solution to home gardening by taking the guesswork out of growing plants and allowing the user to go about other daily tasks. The OSAT goal that this project is addressing is Zero Hunger. These motor housings and battery mount are all part of the internal workings of the Growbot allowing for it to move and power electronics.

• Prototypes
• 

  Fig 1: Motor Housing for Growbot project.

• 

  Fig 2: Battery Mount for Growbot project.

Bill of Materials[edit | edit source]

Motor Housings

1. 299.06g of Atomic PETg (149.53g per housing)
2. 8 - M4x8 screws for mounting motor
3. 8 - M3x8 screws for mounting encoder mount
4. 8 - M6x10 screws for mounting to the frame

Battery Mount

1. 29.55g of Atomic PETg (28.32g for base and 1.23g for top)
2. 4 - M4x8 screws for mounting to frame

FreeCAD Files:

1. Motor Housing
2. Battery Mount Base
3. Battery Mount Top

STLs:

1. Motor Housing
2. Battery Mount Base
3. Battery Mount Top

Tools needed[edit | edit source]

1. MOST Delta RepRap or similar RepRap 3-D printer
2. M3, M4 and M6 allen wrenches

Technical Specifications and Assembly Instructions[edit | edit source]

Motor Housings (20 minutes for assembly - printing)

1. Print the motor housing on your printer with 50% infill and.20 mm layer height. This process will take about 12 hours depending on your printer.
2. Print the encoder mount created by Zach Arnold. This process will take about 6 hours depending on your printer.
3. Attach the encoder and encoder mount to the rear shaft of the Turnigy motor and place front shaft through shaft opening in housing.
4. Secure the encoder mount to the housing using 4 M3x8 screws on the side and bottom.
5. Secure the motor to the housing using 4 M4x8 screws around the shaft opening.
6. The motor housing can now be dropped into the Growbot frame and secured with 4 M6x10 screw.

Battery Mount (2 minutes for assembly - printing)

1. Print the battery mount base using 15% infill and.20 mm layer height. This process will take about 4 hours depending on your printer.
2. Print the battery mount top using 30% infill and.20 mm layer height. This process will take about 12 minutes depending on your printer.
3. Secure the base of the battery mount to the frame using 4 M4x8 screws.
4. Place the battery in the mount and snap the battery mount top into place.

Common Problems and Solutions[edit | edit source]

1. A common issue is the top of the battery mount breaking off when trying to remove it from the base. This can be solved by testing to see if the part does not wiggle, but does not require a lot of effort to remove. Adjust the diameter of the pegs if this is a problem.

Cost savings[edit | edit source]

Estimated Costs

• 299.06g of Atomic PETg (299.06g @ $32.99/roll) $9.87
• 29.55g of Atomic PETg (29.55 g @ $32.99/roll) $0.98
• Hardware <$1.00
• Total <$11.85

This project does not have a commercial equivalent because it is a component of a custom open source project.

Benefited Internet Communities[edit | edit source]

• OSHE
• Community Supported Agriculture
• Urban agriculture
• Open Source Community
• Gardening

References[edit | edit source]

• HobbyKing Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 - 6374-149KV Brushless Outrunner Motor, Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20201203172430/https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-aerodrive-sk3-6374-149kv-brushless-outrunner-motor.html
• HobbyKing Turnigy Heavy Duty 5000mAh 6S 60C Lipo Pack w/XT-90, Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20210324042824/https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-battery-heavy-duty-5000mah-6s-60c-lipo-pack-xt-90.html