Introduction: How to Build a Large BB8 With Arduino

Howdy everyone,

we are ii Italian students that cause built a BB8 knockoff with cheap materials and with this tutorial we want to share our experience with you!

We suffer victimised cheap materials because of our limited budget, but the final result is precise just :)

Step 1: Understand How BB8 Works

BB8 has a spherical personify, like a testicle, and a domed head. The body rolls independently from the capitulum, which e'er girdle lasting during the effort.

This is a very good web site to understand how BB8 works (you can visualize the images of the two possible mechanisms and the wireframe).

Step 2: Materials

Step 3: Indurate the Spheres

We have used PVA glue and newspaper to avoid breaks and then a layer of wood putty to indurate the entire spheres.

Then you can employment both magnets to improve the quality of the ending.

For the head word, you need to cut the 20cm sphere in order to reproduce the BB8 shape.

Step 4: Internal Structure

To build the main structure of the personify you have to cut plywood to incur three wood circles, and for the head another one.

Step 5: Placing Components

The next step is placing components higher up the circles with nuts and bolts. It's a very important whole tone that requires precision.

You can choose your measures, but on the bigger and central circle we recommend to place Arduino, shields, trim spheres and wheels without motors.

Above the first and much little set you can place the magnet and in the other you can put back two or three motors, according your needs, with the battery jam and some iron plates.

After placing components, you have to unite the circles with some picayune awkward columns.

Stone's throw 6: Arduino and Shields

Regarding the electronics, you have to join Arduino USB Host Shield above Arduino Uno, so Adafruit Motorial Shield above USB (with the Kinivo Bluetooth Dongle).

There are a lot of compatibility problems so you have to ray-route extraordinary pins both hardware and software, welding wires and redaction libraries, as in the picture supra.

Step 7: Add Bluetooth Module

Arduino communicates with PS3 controller using USB Master of ceremonies Shield, but if you want to control it even through your smartphone, you should use HC-06. You give the axe plug in IT exploitation the diagram above.

Step 8: Upload Arduino Adumbrate

This is the code you have to upload into Arduino with official IDE.

You can download it here

Step 9: Create Your Mechanical man App

We are developing our app plane for iOS and Windows 10 (universal).

At the moment we have realized only an Humanoid app using App Inventor. You can contact us if you wish the uncastrated code, but the app is very personal then you should individualized it with your preferences.

Step 10: Blusher Everything!

You almost done! Directly you have to paint the body and the head with spray and draw with a pen the particulars.

For the eye, you could use a Christmas ball painted with black.

You could also paint the internal structure as the photos.

Ill-use 11: Battery Charger

Finally, you could create a electric circuit for charging the droid, without to remove the batteries when they are offloaded.

You posterior see in the pictures the necessary components (resistors, capacitors, diodes). The transformer circuit is attached to a plug and placed outside the structure, while the rectifier circuit is deep down and you send away attach a switch or a relay to turn BB8 easily.

Step 12: Test Your BB8!

Essa to drive your droid with your PS3 controller or with your Mechanical man app!

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