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Assembly Instructions

This section walks through building a Hex3 from parts to a walking hexapod.

Tools and Components

  • A full BOM of parts needed can be found here.

  • Tools required:

    • 2.00mm hex key (allen-key):
      • For use on Raspberry Pi and LiDAR.
    • A 2.5mm hex key (allen-key)
      • We recommend also using a 2.5mm drill bit, as manually tightening all the screws is a herculean task.
      • All the hardware, with the exception of the Raspberry Pi and LiDAR connections use 2.5mm hex.
    • Soldering iron and soldering accessories.
    • Flux and solder.
    • Heat set insert bit for soldering iron.
    • Multimeter for continuity and polarity checks.
    • PCB holder or vise (recommended for PCB Assembly).
    • Wire cutter
    • Wire stripper for the gauges listed here.
    • A clamp
      • Not required but highly recommended for press fits.
    • JST crimp tool
    • Terminal Connector crimp tool
      • Highly recommended but not required as you could directly solder these connections.
    • Misc. pliers, tweezers, etc., for removing supports and other general uses.

  • Additional materials required:

    • Multipurpose synthetic grease for gears

Stages

The build is split into six stages, meant to be followed roughly in order:

  1. 3D Printing — print recommendations for the body and legs.
    • Get these prints kicked off and have them running in the background while working on other assembly steps.
  2. PCB Assembly — soldering the leg PCBs and the main PCB.
    • Once completed, you should have at least:
      • 1x mainboard
      • 6x leg boards
  3. Electronics Setup — power wiring, Raspberry Pi wiring, and wire harness lengths.
    • Once completed, you should have at least:
      • 1x power assembly
      • 18x encoders
      • 6x toe time-of-flight sensors (experimental feature; not currently implemented in software)
  4. Mechanical Assembly — assembling the printed parts and hardware into the hexapod body and legs.
    • Once completed, you should have the hexapod fully assembled, with all 6 legs ready for calibration.
  5. Real-Time Firmware — building, flashing, and calibrating the per-leg Xiao RP2350 firmware.
  6. Raspberry Pi Configuration — flashing the SD card and getting Raspberry Pi OS, Docker, and ROS2 all configured.

Once all six stages are complete, head to Common Commands to get the hexapod moving.