I have a GoPiGo3 and a GoPiGo servo. I want to mount the servo on the top of the GoPiGo3, but the slot on the top deck is too small for the screws. (It is also not really oriented correctly.) I have read the installation instructions. The top deck shown in the instructions is definitely different from the actual top deck on my GoPiGo3. The slot is wider and oriented differently. Can the servo be mounted on the top deck? How?
Note that mounting the servo on the bottom deck is a problem with the USB stick installed. There is not enough clearance for the servo to rotate with the USB stick in place. (Yes, I have tried all USB ports.)
I was also dissatisfied with the default mounting option for the GoPiGo servo and distance sensor. It makes it difficult to access the USB and Network ports on the Raspberry Pi.
The holes in the acrylic plates on the GoPiGo3 use Lego Technic spacing (4.8mm pins spaced 8mm apart). This makes it possible to design your own custom mounting devices. I’ve made a bracket for mounting the servo using the supplied hardware and a bracket for attaching the distance sensor to the servo using the 4-arm horn and hardware supplied with the servo.
Since this arrangement puts the servo and distance sensor out in front of the GoPiGo3, I made a bumper to protect it from being damaged by hitting obstacles.
I also considered mounting it on the top plate, but I didn’t want to mount it too high or it would be looking over the top of shorter obstacles.
@gcadoret, the GoPiGo3 is designed to get the servo mount on the lower plate, while the previous GoPiGo had it on the top plate. You can choose to use a different USB key, or no USB key at all (although it makes saving your code harder). We are currently working on addressing that issue but we’re still a few weeks away from having a company-wide solution.
Another way to solve this problem is with a tilt-pan assembly mounted on top. It does require drilling four new holes in the top, and reversing the rotation direction in all GoPiGo3 code with a minus sign or overloading the rotate_servo() method.
@cleoqc - On Mar 12, or the problem on difficulty of mounting servo when a USB key is in place, you had indicated that a solution is a few weeks ago. Where can I find the solution?
Hello @tnkumar
You raised an interesting question…
The USB drive can be ordered here: https://www.dexterindustries.com/shop/raspberry-pi-usb-drive/
But it seems we forgot to update the photo. Currently it shows the big black USB drive, which I’m assuming is the one you have.
The new one looks like this:
It is MUCH smaller.
