MonsterBorg Failure

Submitted by seh7464 on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 20:25

Forums:

Assembled monsterborg yesterday. Ssh'd into raspberry Pi to set test programs executable. Before I could run program (monsterSequence.py) robot quit. Upon inspection, discovered circuit board damage around battery connector and leaking batteries. Motors are connected exactly per instruction. The build instructions are clear and concise. What happened? Thanks ahead for any help.

Steve

Images: 

seh7464

Thu, 04/26/2018 - 23:28

So I was directed here for product support. What does n/a mean? I was hoping to have this thing up by now for teaching electronics/robotics. The first time I use it, it smokes. I think this device has great potential but mine is just plain broken. After double checking the wiring, I'm convinced the motor driver card and/or the pc card it's connected to failed. Please help?

Images: 
piborg's picture

piborg

Fri, 04/27/2018 - 11:09

Hi Steve,

Sorry about the slow reply, we are based in the UK and only arrived in the office a couple of hours ago :(

It looks like the batteries were probably shorted out (direct connection between + and -) causing them to overheat and leak. Unfortunately it is difficult to tell what the cause was from photos alone.

It is possible that the battery holder itself may have been to blame as well. This would likely be a defective holder which is not contacting with the board correctly, it is also possible that a battery inserted the wrong way (though unlikely) could cause this kind of problem.

The best thing to do is if we send you out replacements for the ThunderBorg + Lid and the battery holder to get you up and running. If you can also send back the damaged ThunderBorg + Lid and the original battery holder so we can investigate the fault further and determine if any further action is needed.

If you could please do the following to help us continue investigating the problem:

1. Attach a photo of the battery holder, the connections to the ThunderBorg are the main point of interest.

2. Send the ThunderBorg + Lid and the battery holder back to us for investigation at this address:

Freeburn Robotics Limited
Unit 15, Earith Business Park
Meadow Drove
Earith
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE28 3QF
United Kingdom

3. Let us know what address to send the replacements to using our forum Contact form.
Please include a contact phone number for the courier to use as well. We will get the replacements shipped out to you once we have the address.

4. I recommend disposing of the batteries you were using with the MonsterBorg.
Even if only some of the batteries leaked it is likely that they are all damaged and might cause further damage if used with something else.

5. Just to be safe double check everything is connected correctly and nothing is touching the battery contacts when you have the replacement fitted.
In particular: no metal should be close to the battery contacts, batteries are in the holder the correct way around, no wires are connected to the V+ or GND screw terminals on the ThunderBorg.

We will let you know once we have received the damaged board and when we have investigated the cause.

seh7464

Sat, 04/28/2018 - 18:50

Thank you for your quick response and solution! I will do as directed.

Steve

Images: 

seh7464

Sat, 04/28/2018 - 18:57

A couple more photos. Thanks again.

Images: 

seh7464

Wed, 05/02/2018 - 15:19

I sent the damaged parts yesterday. Is there any chance of viewing a diagram/schematic? I would like to ring this thing out, prior to applying power again. The motor-driver card is "welded" to the lid, indicating a short of some kind. Looking forward to receiving those replacement parts! Thank you

piborg's picture

piborg

Wed, 05/02/2018 - 18:03

I presume you are referring to the ThunderBorg Lid, in which case it is supposed to be like that. Basically we solder the four connections between the Lid and the ThunderBorg itself before the boards are sent out to ensure a good quality connection for the power to the motors.

The screws between the two boards are just for extra rigidity, the soldered connections are enough to hold them both together on their own :)

seh7464

Wed, 05/02/2018 - 21:21

My bad. Just trying to figure this thing out. I worked as a electronics tech, fixing machine tools for 35 years. I do much better with prints. This cool car is going to be used to teach some young people a little introductory electronics/computer/programming. It's a great device to focus their attention. Just a little anxious, I guess. Thanks :)

piborg's picture

piborg

Thu, 05/03/2018 - 10:28

No problem, I am the same way with software faults myself :)

I just had a look through our system and I cannot see a message from you with the mailing address for the replacements. Did you send a message using this contact form?

seh7464

Thu, 05/03/2018 - 14:15

Getting some kind of message delivery issue:

"Failed Recipient: info@piborg.org
Reason: Remote host said: 550 5.7.1 Unauthenticated email from yahoo.com is not accepted due to domain's
5.7.1 DMARC policy. "

I didn't notice the first time I sent message.

Steve

seh7464

Thu, 05/03/2018 - 14:33

I inserted a different e-mail in your system and tried again.

Steve

piborg's picture

piborg

Thu, 05/03/2018 - 15:01

I am not sure what is wrong, but the contact form does not appear to be working correctly for some reason :(

Can you send your address by email to info@piborg.org instead.

seh7464

Thu, 05/17/2018 - 05:16

Received replacement parts and everything working fine. Thanks for the great support!

Steve

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