Chapter Two - Putting it together

All the casing layers.

Peel off the protective layer from both sides of all the casing panels.

Remember

Peel off the protective layer on both sides of the acrylic casing. Even the black casings have a protective layer on them! 

This is how your casings should look like after removing the protective layer.

Using this, align the white plastic tube through the bigger hole and align the bulge through the smaller hole right above the bigger one. Confusing but take a look at the below pictures for a visual reference on how to do this.

Align the electromotor with the casing.

While holding the electromotor in place, grab one of the big metal bolts. There are two holes on the bottom of the electromotor so insert the metal bolt through one of those holes. These will secure the motors in place.

Insert the metal bolt.

Use a metal nut to secure the motor in place on the opposite side of the casing. You can use your finger to twist the nut on and tighten it.

Twist the metal nut to the metal bolt.

Repeat this step with the second metal bolt and nut. It should look like this:

A view of the electromotor attached to the casing.

Since the electromotor will be connected with Wheelson's wheels we have to ensure it is screwed on tightly. So, using a Phillips screwdriver and needle-nose pliers we will tighten the bolts to avoid any unwanted movement. 

Use the needle-nose pliers to hold the nut in place while you use the screwdriver to tighten the bolt. If you need an extra pair of hands, you can always ask for help.

Make sure that the bolt is tightened completely otherwise the wheels could move around unnecessarily.

Repeat the same step for the second electromotor on the narrow side of the casing.

This is how the side panel should look with two electromotors attached.

Now grab the second black acrylic casing and repeat the same steps. Be careful to attach the electromotors to the correct, opposite, side of the acrylic casing.

Here's a tip on how to do that. Align the two acrylic casings so that the wider top parts of the casings are facing each other, as seen below. Then, attach the electromotors so that they're on the inner side of the two casings. Use the photo below for reference.

All four electromotors attached and properly aligned.

Step two - Attaching the battery to the casing

Remember the battery we disconnected at the very beginning? It's now time to connect it to the casing. Here's what you'll need:

• The Battery we disconnected from earlier
• The front acrylic plate

See the below photos to see what each part looks like.

Small black acrylic casing and Li-Po battery

Turn over the Li-Po battery and peel off the protective layer from the sticker.

Align the battery within the middle of the black acrylic casing and press it firmly in place. See the below photos if you're not sure.

Align the battery with the middle of the casing

Make sure the battery is firmly attached by pressing it in place.

Step three - Connecting the main board with the camera and headlights board

Let's connect the main board to the camera and headlights board. Grab these components:

1. Main board
2. Camera and headlights board
3. Male to Male JST cable

If you're not sure about any of the parts, check the photo below.

Take the male to male JST cable and insert it into the JST connector on the back of the Camera and headlights board.

Make sure to push it all the way in!

If it doesn't go in the first time, check that you're plugging it the right way around - you may find that you need to turn the cable around and try again.

Connect the JST cable with the JST connector.

Next, find the camera on the end of the long, white cable that is connected to the main board. Then find the sticker on the back of the small board right below the camera. Peel off the backing to reveal the sticky part; this will allow us to stick it onto the camera and headlights board!

Take the camera and headlights board and turn in upsidedown. Then, stick the small camera board onto the shorter part of the camera and headlights board, as shown in the photo: 

Next, take off the backing from the camera.

Stick the camera to the front of the board. Make sure to keep the camera centred!

Here's how it should look like:

Camera glued to the board.

Step four - Connecting the first two wheels

Okay, I'm excited now! We're getting close to the end. Let's connect the first two wheels onto the electromotors. You'll need these components: 

• Two wheels
• One large black acrylic casing with electromotors attached
• A small metal bolt 
• Two nylon spacers

If you're not sure what these look like, take a look below!

Start by inserting the small metal bolt through the hole in the casing on the opposite side of the motors.

Insert the metal bolt through the casing.

Next, grab the nylon spacer that has a thin plastic part sticking out from one end. Screw it onto the bolt you just inserted. You can use your hand to twist the spacer onto the bolt. 

Then, take the other black nylon spacer and screw it on until it is tightened to the spacer we previously connected with the metal bolt.

It's time to attach the wheels now. Pick up one of the wheels and the casing we just connected the nylon spacer to. 

You'll notice that the white plastic tube on the electromotor has the same shape as the wheel. Make sure to align the wheel with this tube and push it into place. It's as easy as that!

Push the wheel into place.

Make sure to push the wheel all the way in. This will ensure that your wheels are placed securely and do not move around.

There should be no space left between the acrylic casing and the wheel - push it in as far as it goes. Use the photo below for reference:

Push the wheel in as far as it goes

Repeat the same process to connect the second wheel. 

Wheels connected to the casing.

You don't have to connect the other two wheels just yet. We'll let you know when it's time to do that.

Step five - Connecting the parts

Wheelson is slowly starting to come together! Let's assemble the last few pieces. Here's what you'll need: 

• The casing with the wheels attached
• The main board connected to the camera and headlights board
• The casing with the connected Li-Po battery

Not sure? Check the photo below.

The first step is to connect the camera and the headlights board to the main board. Turn the mainboard upside down (so the JST connectors are facing up) and take the male to male JST cable that's connected to the camera and headlights board.

You'll see that there are letters next to each JST connector on the main board. Find the JST connector that has 'HL' (for headlights) written next to it. This is where you should insert the cable.

Insert the JST cable

Next, grab the casing with the Li-Po battery. Connect it to the main board, as shown in the photo below:

Connecting the battery with the main board.

Now place the large black acrylic casing with the wheels connected onto a flat surface with the wheels placed on the surface.

Then, take all the parts you just connected; the main board, Camera and headlights board, and the casing with the Li-Po battery glued to it and get ready to assemble them.

You'll see that the large black acrylic casing has holes that these pieces fit into, like a puzzle!

With that said, insert the boards and casings into their designated places. Use the photo below as a reference: 

Fit the the pieces into the side panel and push them into place

You're doing great! In this step, we'll connect the electromotors with the main board. This part might be a little bit hectic but if you follow our instructions closely, you should be fine.

Remember us mentioning that each JST connector has some letters written next to it on the board? These letters will help you identify how to connect the right electromotors with the right JST connectors. Here's what they stand for:

1. BR = back right
2. FR = front right
3. BL = back left
4. BR = back right

Letters on the board

When looking at Wheelson from the top, the casing with the wheels attached to it is on Wheelson's right side. 

• This means that the first motor (on the left in the photo below) should be connected to Wheelson's Front Right connector.
• The second motor (on the right in the photo below) should be connected to Wheelson's Back Right connector.

We'll now connect Wheelson's front and back right electromotors with the main board.

Take the JST cable connected with the electromotor in the front and connect it with the JST connector labeled 'FR' (front right). Then, take the other JST cable and connect it with the connector labeled 'BR' (back right). 

Let's connect the remaining two electromotors. 

We've connected the electromotors on Wheelson's right side so now, it's time to connect the ones on the left side! Grab the other side panel.

Take the JST cable connected to the electromotor on the front and connect it with the JST connector labeled 'FL' (front left). Then, take the other JST cable and connect it to the connector labelled 'BL' (back left).

This is how it should look like. 

A closer look at the connections.

Congratulations! You're done with all the finicky parts. The only thing that's left now is to assemble it all together!

Grab the clear acrylic casing and place it right under the electromotors. You'll see two slots at the bottom of the side panels that will fit the casing perfectly - that's where the clear casing should go.

Then, take Wheelson's left side casing and place it on the top, so all the boards and pieces should fit like a puzzle. This may take some fiddling around so be patient until it all slots into place. 

This is how it should look like:

Let's secure everything in place now! Take the final small metal bolt and put it into the hole that aligns with the black nylon spacer we connected with the casing previously. Tighten it into place using a screwdriver.

We've come to the last step in the assembly process - attaching the remaining two wheels. Repeat the same steps that we did before - align the wheels with the white plastic tubes and push until the wheels click into place.

If Wheelson's wheels aren't fastened enough or keep falling out, you can use a small piece of electrical insulating tape on the inside of the wheel to fasten it.

Now, you can remove the protective layer from the screen and the camera if you haven't done so already.

Remove the protective layer from the screen.

Remove the protective layer from the camera.

And that's it - you've reached the end of the build guide. Your Wheelson is now fully assembled and ready to go!

Remember!

Make sure you turned off your soldering iron! Unplug it from the power source, place it on the soldering iron stand and let it cool off for at least 5 minutes before you put it away in your tool box.

If you can't wait to program custom functions for your Wheelson, be sure to check out Wheelson's coding tutorial that will show you how to do that:

• Check it out here!