FIELD MANUAL · § 02.5 PHASE 5 · REV 0.1FM 18-DOF / SPEC-P5
★ PROJECT HEXAPOD ★ INTERNAL

Phase 5 — Ship V1.

GOAL: USB SERIAL F/B/L/R/S CONTROL + LVC E-STOP + 1-METRE WALK ACCEPTANCE. · 2 EVENINGS · DAY 11–12

01 · Safety prerequisites
▲Firmware battery cutoff at 6.6 V (3.3 V/cell)
Motion stops with hysteresis up to 7.0 V. Resume only after a fresh charge.
▲E-stop stays physically accessible at all times
Bluepad32 Options/Share freezes the pose. If the wireless link drops, pull the XT60.
02 · What you need from Shop
MG996R metal-gear servo
qty 18 · PiShop
R1 942.20
PCA9685 16-ch I²C PWM module
qty 2 · Micro Robotics
R158.70
DC-DC Buck converter, 300 W 20 A
qty 1 · Micro Robotics
R147.20
OnBO 3300 mAh 2S 25C LiPo (XT60)
qty 1 · Rclipo
R572
IMAX B6 balance charger (clone)
qty 1 · Bobshop
R250
Fireproof LiPo safe bag
qty 1 · Africa Drone Kings
R200
XT60 male+female pigtails (pair)
qty 2 · Communica
R60
2S low-voltage alarm buzzer
qty 1 · Communica
R50
Inline 30 A blade fuse + holder
qty 1 · Communica
R53
M3 screw/nut assortment kit (6–25 mm)
qty 1 · Communica
R150
M2.5 servo-horn screws (100 pack)
qty 1 · Communica
R80
M3 heat-set threaded inserts (50 pack)
qty 1 · DIYElectronics
R120
Male-female Dupont jumpers (40 × 20 cm)
qty 2 · Multiple
R80
Silicone wire 18 AWG, 1 m red + 1 m black
qty 1 · Rclipo
R80
Creality PETG filament, black, 1 kg
qty 1 · PiShop
R231.32
Shipping across ~3 suppliers (Jo'burg)
qty 1 · Various
R400
Contingency (solder, heat-shrink, 1 DOA servo, cable ties)
qty 1 · —
R300
Open full shop →
03 · Tasks
T20Serial CLI parser· depends T18
Acceptance:F/B/L/R/S commands all work over USB serial; robot responds within one gait phase (~400 ms); CLI echoes each command back.
T21LVC monitor + e-stop· depends T20
Acceptance:E-stop trips between 7.15 and 7.25 V on bench-supply sweep; servos go limp; system halts until reboot.
T22ACCEPTANCE — 1-metre walk· depends T19, T20, T21
Acceptance:Robot walks ≥1 m in <30 s on F; does not fall; halts within one gait phase on S; LiPo still above 7.5 V at finish.
Calibration steps
  1. STEP 1
    Verify the LVC trip with a bench supply, not the LiPo
    Don't drain the LiPo to test the cutoff. Use a bench DC supply and sweep 8.0 → 7.0 V slowly while watching the serial monitor — you want to see the LVC! halt happen between 7.15 and 7.25 V.
  2. STEP 2
    Hero shot after acceptance
    Once the 1-metre walk passes, take a clear photo of the robot mid-stride. Commit the firmware, tag v1.0, and tick off Phase 5 in this site. That's V1 shipped.
Reference docs
  • → docs/08_BUILD_SEQUENCE.md
  • → docs/10_SAFETY_CHECKLIST.md