WEEK 7
Electronics Integration & Wiring
All electronics installed, wired, powered. Pi 5 boots. All servos controllable from Pi.
Est. Hours
35h
Est. Spend
$0
Tools Required
soldering ironmultimeterwire stripperscrimping toolheat gunFlySky FS-i6X RC
CAD FILES
electronics_bay_layout.pdfwiring_harness_diagram.pdf
PRINT FILES
electronics_trays_cf.stlcable_management_clips.stl
Goal
All electronics installed, wired, powered. Pi 5 boots. All servos controllable from Pi.
This is the nervous system. Every previous week’s work converges here. Take your time — clean wiring prevents debug nightmares later. If you rush this week, you’ll pay for it in Week 8.
Day-by-Day Tasks
| Day | Task | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Build power distribution board | Fuse panel + buck converters, mounted in electronics bay | Battery 24V LiFePO4 → Direct to dolly motor ESC → Buck 24V→12V → BTS7960 motor drivers → Buck 24V→6V → Servo power bus (BEC) → Buck 24V→5V → Pi 5, Arduinos, sensors → E-stop + fuse box on main line |
| 1-2 | Install all electronics in bays | CF-printed mounting trays, bolts | Pi 5, Arduino Mega x2, PCA9685 x4, BTS7960 x2, Coral TPU, fuse panel, BEC. Organize by function. |
| 2-3 | Build main wiring harness | Deutsch weatherproof connectors, labeled looms | Route all wires: head harness (through neck/slip ring), arm harnesses (through shoulder pivots), motor harness, sensor harness. Label BOTH ends of every wire. |
| 3-4 | Wire servos → PCA9685 → Arduino → Pi 5 | I2C bus, USB | Board 1: head servos (19). Board 2: right arm (8). Board 3: left arm (8). Board 4: torso + spare (4 used, 12 spare for Tier 3). |
| 4 | Wire motors → BTS7960 → Arduino | Power wiring, signal wires | Dolly motor + supplemental 775 motor. Independent speed/direction control per side. |
| 4-5 | Wire sensors | I2C, GPIO, USB | IMU → I2C. Ultrasonic x4 → GPIO. Pi cameras x2 → CSI. Mic → USB. Speaker → I2S/USB amp. |
| 5 | Install 7” touchscreen in chest | GPIO/HDMI, CF-printed bezel | Status display, optional face display. |
| 5-6 | Power-on test | Controlled — ONE system at a time | Test sequence: battery → fuse panel → 5V rail (Pi boots?) → 6V rail (servos twitch?) → 12V rail (motors respond?). Fix any issues before enabling everything simultaneously. |
| 6-7 | Install FlySky RC override | Receiver → Arduino, channel mapping | Channels: drive L/R (ch1-2), head pan/tilt (ch3-4), arm select (ch5), E-stop (ch6). Test manual override kills autonomous mode. |
| 7 | Continuity + safety check | Multimeter, visual inspection | Check every connection. Look for: bare wires, pinched cables, short circuits, overheating. Tug-test every Deutsch connector. |
Skills Practiced
Power distribution, harness building, I2C bus wiring, safety systems, methodical debugging.
Print Queue
Done — only ad-hoc reprints for fit issues.