Circuit diagram

I made a circuit diagram for the project. At first, I spent time looking for editors that could help me, and I found some like Tinkercad, but I didn’t find everything I needed. This is why I made it using Photoshop, and next time I will do it with KiCad as a PCB schematic.

Project Completed!

Today I finished the entire line-follower PID robot project.
I started by completing the PID code and doing several tests on a small maquette, fixing conditions and improving the logic step by step.
Then I upgraded the robot by adding Wi-Fi control, which allowed me to change PID values live from a website without needing to re-upload code every time.
A friend helped me make the web interface look nicer.
Test

Full Board Soldering+New 3D Model

Today I finished soldering the whole board: the motors, the TB6612FNG driver, and the L7805 regulator.
After that, I tested everything with a motor test code, made a few adjustments, and confirmed that the full board is working as expected.
I also created a new 3D model, cut it to be compatible with the BFD-1000, and assembled the new version.
Then I spent some time adjusting the leveling of the line sensors to make sure the robot reads the line correctly.
To verify the system, I wrote a Bluetooth control code to drive the robot manually and ensure the motors + driver are fully working.
The next step is to write the final PID line-following code for smooth and stable motion.

BFD-1000 Soldering and Testing

Today I started soldering the new board.
I didn’t finish everything yet I only soldered the BFD-1000 module pins.
This time I learned from my previous mistakes, so I decided to test all the sensors before soldering the full board.

Surprisingly, everything worked super well all the sensors are working perfectly and are ready to be used.
The next step will be to finish soldering the entire board and bring the new 3D model to life.

QTR Testing and Problems Found

During the last four days, I spent all my time trying to get the QTR sensors to work.
I tested everything using a calibration code and even changed the plate level of the QTR during testing, which helped a bit, but the readings were still unstable.
After many trials, I found that some pins on the QTR sensor and the board were damaged, which caused major signal problems.
Because of that, I’ve decided to replace the QTR sensors with BFD-1000 modules.
This means I’ll need to update my 3D model, adjust the code, and resolder a new board for the new sensors.

Assembly and Motor Testing

Today, I completed the assembly of the whole robot and spent a great deal of time leveling it, since the wheel diameter, bille libre, and line sensor were not all at the same level. I had to adjust them carefully to everything level out.
Once I was done, I began testing the motors and the TB6612FNG driver. It was my first time using PWM and the enable pins of the TB6612 driver and encountered many small issues, but I got everything worked out as it moved along.
I tested out the motors with the Bluetooth control code and were able to get the motors and TB6612FNG supplier to work properly.
I am still working on getting the QTR sensor to work, so next step is to tackle this.

New Prototype Board

Today I built a new prototype and soldered my new board with the ESP32.
It was one of my longest and hardest soldering sessions so far.
The process was quite complex.I had to resolder some parts after realizing I mixed up analog and digital pins for the sensors.
I haven’t tested it with power yet, but I checked continuity with a multimeter, and everything seems connected correctly.

My previous work from the Summer of Making.

This is some of my previous work from the Summer of Making.
I am posting this so as not to count as Blue Print working hours.
What I worked on back then included 3D modeling of the components of the robot as well as the construction of the prototype board using Raspberry Pi Pico. However, the project had not been completed.