The Robot Sbot

Sbot's Body

Since I'm building this robot on a ghost of a budget, I need to keep things as cheap as possible. I wanted to use something sturdy, could handle some knocking around and could have some sort of shelving system that I can put all my stuffs in. I had an original idea when I found one of those old VCR tape holders that's like a tower shaped. When I found it at goodwill (get used to that, I've gotten most about everything on half-price day at the goodwill) it seemed pretty strong and I could put the 7" monitor on one side and shove electronics in the VCR tape slots. However, I tried to figure out how I was going to cut into the plastic but found it was way too brittle and would suck.

I gave up on that idea and while getting a drink of water, I thought a water cooler would be just about perfect for my project. They are usually either metal or think plastic and have shelves in them. I had to wait a while but found a water cooler at goodwill. As you can see it's pretty old, but it'll work great. This cooler in particular came with a small non-refrigerated area with a door on the front. I figure there's going to be a good amount of mechanics in the bottom, so I could not keep the container part of it. But, I can use the door to get to those mechanics and other items I mount in that area.

One of the important parts I have to keep in mind is to keep it modular. I should be able to disassemble the whole thing and nothing is permanently mounted. That way I can handle screw-ups, change my mind as I go, upgrade things and fix/replace things as often and with as little effort as possible.

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