Wired for Success

[This Week’s Update]

This week we finished the Power Distribution Unit (PDU). We also got one step closer to finalising the mechanical design and additional safety features such as limit-switches but I forgot to take pictures of them… Whoops. In this post, I’ll share a small part of the process of creating a Power Distribution Unit (PDU) for a robotics system using custom 3D-printed mounts and precise circuit assembly. This will also be in the final report which will be avalible after our Project is finished. Schematics, ciruity diagrams and STLs will be included in the final report so other people/students may reporduce the system.

The assembly starts with 3D-printed mounts, designed to securely hold the components in place using M3 screws.

The PCA9685 chip is the core of the PDU and is here for our PWM control. After soldering pins onto it, we remove and remount the power connector so it sits flush with the board. Using a heat gun, we desolder the pins, then apply copper tape to clean the area. The PCB connectors are then soldered to the PCA9685, and a prototype board is connected via dual PCB connectors.

Next, we secure all components with the 3D-printed brackets and wire them to ensure proper power flow. The bottom prototype board manages power distribution to the buck converters, which regulate voltage to the PCA chip and other components.

The buck converters are added for powering servos (2 servos per buck converter), ensuring the grounds are properly connected to prevent short circuits. The wiring is done with multicore wire, being careful to avoid stray strands. The final result is a fully assembled and functional PDU, demonstrating our skills in soldering, wiring, circuit design and working with a minimal budget. This project is a great example of our ability and creativity to bring complex designs to life. Overall our project was initally just to prove that EEG would be applicable in the rehabilitation field, we proved it early on and now we’re moving forward with prototypes.

Sorry this was kinda of a tutorial, but I hope you found it helpful or interesting. See you next week!