Building the Mower

Welcome to the OpenMower Building guide!

Note: This WIKI was only just started on 2022-04-22, but are actively working on filling it up and making a good documentation for the new builders out there!

Warning

Please note that this project currently is in a very early stage! So don't go buying stuff right away! You will need to order and solder your own boards, since there are no assembled boards for sale yet.

Please make sure that you're actually allowed to build this device in your area. There may be laws / patents prohibiting you of doing so!

Please just be responsible and if you're not sure what you're doing, please don't do anything.

BTW the warranty of your brand new mower will obviously be void as soon as you modify it in any way, so be aware.

Intro

Below you can find an overview of the major parts and components in the OpenMower.

There is a also another page with a Builder Road Map that gives guide to how to go about building your own OpenMower project.

Bill OF Materials

Open Mower Bill of Materials

Name	Description	Optional	Availability	Quantity Required	Source Link 1	Alternate Source
Mower (Yardforce Classic 500)	Base building block		Off the shelf	1	https://amzn.to/3NWgIxk	Note: Earlier, we had a reference to myrobotcenter. However, they have gone into reconstruction, so be aware of that vendor!
OpenMower Mainboard	The core of the new electronics.		Custom	1	Components Octopart BOM	WIP
xESC	Motor drivers		Custom	3	Components Octoparts BOM: - RP2040 without CAN - RP2040 with CAN - STM32	WIP
Raspebrry Pi 4	The brain of the robot. Also used to send RTK correction data from the base station. For the base station the Raspberry Pi can be any model with Ethernet and USB, for the robot we need the Raspberry Pi 4 with at least 4 GB of RAM.		Off the shelf	2	https://rpilocator.com/?cat=PI4&instock	WIP
Ardusimple RTK2B GPS	Positioning system for the bot		Off the shelf	2	https://www.ardusimple.com/product/simplertk2b-basic-starter-kit-ip65/	https://www.ardusimple.com/product/simplertk2b-basic-starter-kit-ip65/
Raspberry Pi Pico	Microcontroller talking to peripherals, soldered to the OpenMower mainboard		Off the shelf	1	Widely available
MPU 9250	9-axis accelerometer sitting on Mainboard allowing for direction through compass and dead reckoning of movement between GPS updates.		Off the shelf	1	You may need to shop around, corresponds to this one Amazon (Fast shipping)	https://aliexpress.com/item/1005003056348525.html https://aliexpress.com/item/32787237588.html https://aliexpress.com/item/1005003718272772.html
3D printed brackets	To hold the GPS inside the bot		Custom	1	https://www.printables.com/fr/model/175826-openmower-gps-mount-for-yardforce-classic-500	WIP
SMA Angle Adapter	Needed to connect the GPS without bending the wire too much		Off the shelf	1	https://amzn.to/3K913b1	WIP
CC/CV Step Down module	As charger for the docking station		Off the shelf	1	https://amzn.to/3NUdRVL	WIP
Docking Station Adapter PCB	A PCB to hold the module in place.		Custom	1	WIP	WIP
GPS PCB	A ground plane PCB to improve GPS reception		Custom	1	WIP	WIP
USB Angle Adapter	If you want to use the Classic 500's USB port	YES	Off the shelf	1	https://amzn.to/3ukNAIj	WIP

Building the bot

We are working on providing step by step instructions on how to build the bot. At the moment, we only have Clemens's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bImqD-pQSA