Rubik's cube solver robot using Lego

Projects General Guidance
1

I'm currently building a Rubik's cube solving robot out of Legos, with an Arduino uno to run the three motors and to interpret the notation I give it (mod edit link removed).

I'm going to use this forum somewhat as a blog, however I put it under this section because this is the first time I've used Arduino and I already need help.

I'm using a servo, a DC motor and a step motor.

cube bot rotations
cube bot rotations1342×833 111 KB

  1. Z_step-motor turns the base (or the whole cube) 90 deg at a time. I am only going to have Z turn one direction for simplicity in the code.
  2. R_DC-motor rotates the whole cube once, on the x axis.
  3. A_servo-motor lifts the arm to enable Z to rotate the entire cube on the Z axis, instead of just the lower slice (in the code 'Au' for arm up and 'Ad' for arm down).

Motor placement and their moving parts
Motor placement and their moving parts1644×921 166 KB

My goal is to use only the Arduino uno kit I have for this robot.

2

My first problem is the code and wiring for all three motors.

This is a very rough draft code for test controlling the servo and step motor.
As you can probably tell, this code does not quite work properly.

#include <Servo.h>
#include <Stepper.h>

Servo servo;

int x_axis;
int servo_val;

// define number of steps per revolution
#define STEPS 32

// define stepper motor control pins
#define IN1 11
#define IN2 10
#define IN3 9
#define IN4 8

// initialize stepper library
Stepper stepper(STEPS, IN4, IN2, IN3, IN1);

// joystick output is connected to Arduino A1
#define joystick A1

void setup() {
  pinMode(A0, INPUT);
  servo.attach(13);
}

void loop() {
  x_axis = analogRead(A0);

  servo_val = map(x_axis, 0, 1023, 0, 180);

  servo.write(servo_val);

  // read analog value from the potentiometer
  int val = analogRead(joystick);

  // if the joystic is in the middle ===> stop the motor
  if ((val > 500) && (val < 523)) {
    digitalWrite(IN1, LOW);
    digitalWrite(IN2, LOW);
    digitalWrite(IN3, LOW);
    digitalWrite(IN4, LOW);
  }

  else {
    // move the motor in the first direction
    if (val >= 523) {
      // map the speed between 5 and 500 rpm
      int speed_ = map(val, 523, 1023, 5, 1000);
      // set motor speed
      stepper.setSpeed(speed_);

      // move the motor (1 step)
      stepper.step(1);

      val = analogRead(joystick);
    }

    // move the motor in the other direction
    if (val <= 500) {
      // map the speed between 5 and 500 rpm
      int speed_ = map(val, 500, 0, 5, 1000);
      // set motor speed
      stepper.setSpeed(speed_);

      // move the motor (1 step)
      stepper.step(-1);

      val = analogRead(joystick);
    }
  }
}

and here is the DC motor test code:


#define E1 5 // Enable Pin for motor
#define I1 3 // Control pin 1 for motor 
#define I2 4 // Control pin 2 for motor 
 
void setup() {
 
    pinMode(E1, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(I1, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(I2, OUTPUT);
    
}
 
void loop() {
 
    analogWrite(E1, 255);
    digitalWrite(I1, HIGH);
    
    delay(3000);
 
    digitalWrite(E1, LOW);
    delay(2000);
    
  
}
3

@thecuber ,

When you see that a moderator (me) has removed something, in this case a link that looks like it might be spam, from your post then putting it back 5 minutes later isn't the wisest thing you can do. Please do not repost the link, doing so will result in permanent suspension.

Please continue with your topic.

4

Sorry I thought there was some malfunction with the website, so I posted it differently.

1 Like
5

This feels like finding a needle in a haystack...
Please explain what exact problem you have with this code.
Most here will not take the effort to first find your problem and then solve it..

6

Only two faces with a common edge need to be rotated to solve every combination.