jstarne1
Hello Everyone , I had this idea when the v3 was around , but I wanted to wait until v4 was in circulation before pursuing it. The concept is a shield that plugs in directly on top of the existing EZB v4. It would regulate 5 volts on the power pins. Then of course I was thinking... WAIT! 5 volts is a fine standard, but servos run on 6 volts by standard and some high torque get the most power with 7.4 volts! So there are some options. I want to make this shield generally available to the community for testers. I imagine two or maybe three different versions of the shield would be appropriate.
5 volt standard servo shield- all 24 digital power pins regulated by a switching psu , green certified , Gold standard efficiency 96%
5 volt @7.5amp with switch to 6 volt @ 10amp Boost for High Torque servos, preset for all 24 digital power pins , switching psu, green certified, Gold standard efficiency 96%
Dynamixel shield option - 5v @5a and secondary power option 12v @10a continous.
The switching regulators cost more however they produce less heat and waste less power. This increases battery life of your project.
what I would like is feedback on is how I should lay this out. How do YOU as a user want the shield.
1 Top mount pins line on v4 now or 90 degree out to the sides?
2 dip switches or physical jumpers to change voltage from 5 volt to 6 volts (or 7.4 if your servos can take this continuously )
3 what battery voltages does everyone use, I want to configure shield for most users so they do not need to use a plether of step down converters.
4 whats your idea or opinion , lets be constructive afterall I am doing this for you 
Don't get me wrong I know this could be made way cheaper than $27.99 assembled or $17.99 un-assembled! its a good proof of concept for making dedicated boards though. it would be perfect if the regulator was built in or was already inline with the power source wires like the regulator from ez-robot
Isn't half the idea of a shield to avoid having all of those flying leads?
Seems very pricey for what it is too.
Here's an early version of the power board I was working on (I don't have the latest one here as it's at work but you get the idea of it's simplicity)
It wouldn't take much at all to convert it to a shield for the EZ-B. You have your simple in and out for Vcc, Ground and pass through the signal.
@Rich... I know you don't want to step on ez robot's toes or anything, but are you in the position to have these things made for sale? Right of the bat I would buy 10 of each 5V, 6V and 7.4v.... Provided I got the Rich/EZ Robot discount of course....
It's not in any kind of position to be sold, it's never been built or tested and was abandoned about a year ago.
If I get chance and remember I will send my designs I have at work home tomorrow and play around a little more and gladly share the ExpressPCB files (from which you can get the boards made or adjust to better suit your plans)
@Rich... No worries. I do see a market for "these" mini shields so hopefully EZ Robot or someone will produce some...
Cheers Richard
Can I print directly from express pcb? In order to etch pcb?
It's not really where my expertise lies (it's been 17 years since I was at college doing this stuff - which makes me feel old!).
Although I posted my first version/concept for inspiration to Josh and would have no issues with anyone building off of it (I'll re-add it to my list too). This looks like it could be a useful and cost effective regulator which would work with some minor changes to the layout of the board, plus it's adjustable too which solves the whole "what voltage?" question. However it's not as efficient as the switching regulators. But for an initial concept/idea it's something to build off of.
I'm sure Jeremie is cringing at my crude attempt blush
@Josh, there are various print options in Express PCB plus various "export" options. However it is free and offered by a company that's main business is PCB production so my guess is it's likely to be pretty limited.
I only use it as it's free and I can get a rough concept out. If I was to do it properly I would use something else such as Eagle. There are many better programs than Express PCB for this.