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Asked — Edited

Inmoov Community

Hi all,

I have tired of MRL, the incessant changes, and the near total lack of support and documentation. I have an InMoov all built and rearing to go, but nothing that can successfully and reliably drive it! The best InMoovs I've seen so far all seem to use EZ-Robot.

I want to connect with the community for support and assistance getting everything in place. My InMoov has 27 servos running on 25 channels (Top/Mid Stomach are each a master/slave) , a PID, two Cameras for eyes, two speakers driven by a little audio board, a 16 Neopixel Ring on an Arduino Nano, and a Kinect (which so far has only been a decoration). I've uploaded a bunch of mods to Thingiverse.

Shall I just post to this forum as the need arises? For starters I think I need two EZBv4 or one EZBv4 and one SSC-32?

Thanks!
Stephen


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Malaysia
#17  
Hi All,

I am also building my INMOOV. Tried MRL for nearly 2 months and finally gave up. Bought an EZB and it was not easy but easier than MRL. Slowly getting the hang of it, then BOOM, EZB died on me. Bought a new EZB and gonna try it again. So far, I have completed both arms, and is now printing the torso.

Lets hope my new EZB doesn't blow again.
#18  
@jimbo - there may be a return policy if the failure was not yours... Be careful about overloading the ECBv4 which is rated at 5 amps continuous, 20 amp spike. I provide direct power to the hands and wrists so 6 servos are NOT drawing power through each two ECBv4s.
Malaysia
#19  
I know. I am powering the servos separately. Not through the board. Only the signal cables and ground goes to the board
Malaysia
#20  
Also, apparently there is no return policy from the authorised re seller that I bought the EZB from
#21  
@jimbo. Be sure to share the ground between your EZ-B power source and your servo power source. Probably not related to the blowout of your first EZ-B, but needed for signal reference.

Might want to add a 20 amp fuse to the EZ-B power source as well since you don't know what caused the failure.

Alan
Malaysia
#22  
Tech Guru,

Hows that?I am currently using 6xAA battery for EZB power source and 4xAA battery for Servo. Loop the ground? Already looped. Doesn't the EZB already have a fuse?

I hope its not because of the ground looping that caused the card to be damaged.
#23  
There is a 20 amp fuse in the bodies of the robots and in the power base. If you are using one of these, you have a fuse. If not, you should add a fuse. The EZ-B does have a polyfuse also on the bottom board of the V4, but if you are not using one of the robot bodies or in the power base, you should add one inline between the power source and the EZ-B.

On the ground, all of your devices (servos, sensors and EZ-B) need to share a common ground. Having a ground for the servos that is not the same for the EZ-B will cause devices not to communicate with the EZ-B.
#24  
All-righty then... I've added external speaker wires and power lines to my two ECBv4's, set each one to client mode, turned off the bat warning since I power with 6V SLA, started a test project, added a vertical servo control, set min/max, (and the servo didn't do anything when changing the value with the mouse), scripted so I could manipulate the (hacked for 180) test servo via the external pot -- got it spinning L, R, and Stop.

What to do next? I'm a coder. @bhouston I think I dowloaded a big xml file from you - not sure what that is or where it goes... I've printed the EZ-Script Function Set

What are the big steps to bring my InMoov back to life? servo Movements, Speech Recognition, Scripted Gestures, Camera Stuff once it comes, Neopixel Ring (have a nano loaded with code I found on these boards -- how to command it?)

Thanks in advance!
S~
#25  
On the neopixel, you can connect to the serial port on the EZ-B (or technically any digital port), and send serial commands to the arduino controlling the neopixel ring. This can be scripted.

Looks like you are making great progress!
#26  
I saw that ini the original script they were connecting UART1 pins 18 and 19, but now there is a dedicated UART0 wouldn't it be fine to use that?
#27  
You sure can.

There are 3 UARTs on the EZ-B V4. 2 of them are through digital pins and the other is through the UART port. Technically, any digital pin can send serial commands, but if you are not using the UART port for anything, just connect to it. It will keep the digital pins free for other things:)
#28  
@mayaway I usually use UART0 so I don't have to use up a digital pin... As David mentioned any digital port can send serial data but only the 3 uart ports can receive it as well...
Canada
#30  
@mayaway - We used to offer slower, more cost effective shipping options from China but it ended up being a disaster. The delivery times are significantly longer and often without proper tracking. Packages with valuable EZ-B's would go missing too frequently with no recourse. EZ-Robot actually subsidizes part of the shipping costs from China through DHL to make it a bit more affordable today.

We have been working on building out a strong reseller network to provide products and support closer to customers locations. If your local reseller doesn't carry what you're looking for, you can always ask them to bring it in and notify us as well. We will try and get them to carry the products so they are available closer to home.

And who knows... we might even have products available through Amazon Prime one of these days;)
PRO
USA
#31  
Alan,
Amazon Prime is everybody's local supplier! We can get it shipped for free and you can stop subsidizing Chinese shipping and make more money.
#32  
@ezrobot - Thanks for chiming in. Why is it so different when I order through Amazon? I expect $ is the answer. (I never have to pay $18 for a few ounces...) Where can I find a local distributor of EZ products?
Thanks!
S~
#33  
Guys Robotshop.com sells ez robot stuff maybe purchase from them as they have free shipping over a certain dollar value...
Canada
#34  
@mayaway We use DHL Express 2-3 day, tracked service. The smallest weight category for that service is .5kg. If you'd like to see what it costs to ship from China (origin zip 518000) to your destination, use the DHL Rate Calculator and fill in the information. We obviously get a good volume discount off those rates, but it is still quite costly to ship. I'm guessing items you buy from Amazon that don't cost as much to ship are not shipped with a 2-3 day, tracked service.

You can Find a retailer near you by clicking that link, or select the Find a retailer near you button from the shop page. There are a handful around the USA!

@Perry_S I can definitely vouch for Prime. I think I've placed 72 orders in the past 6 months :D!
#35  
Thank you. Informative and helpful. Perhaps you could offer cheaper shipping for those not in a hurry. I'd rather have a choice than be forced into 3 day select...
#36  

Quote:


Thank you. Informative and helpful. Perhaps you could offer cheaper shipping for those not in a hurry. I'd rather have a choice than be forced into 3 day select...


There are several choices on checkout, but the difference in cost is not too significant until you start getting into the larger packages.

Another point that Alan didn't mention but that DJ did earlier, is that they selected DHL due to their global reach. They serve every country, and handle the VAT and/or duty collection. A small company trying to have that kind of distribution network using different carriers for each country becomes very difficult logistically. When EZR grows they may be able to do that (probably by outsourcing a lot of the delivery to Amazon, although that doesn't solve the every country issue).

For US small packets, China Post transferred to USPS is pretty reliable and offers tracking, although it can take weeks to get a delivery, but not every country will accept China Post package exchange.

We have talked before about doing group orders, but never managed to coordinate it.

Alan
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