UK Shopping lists for Robotics at Home with Raspberry Pi Pico
If you are based in the UK here is an item shopping list suitable for building a robot as shown in the Robotics at Home with Raspberry Pi Pico book. These are made using ThePiHut, a reputable UK electronics vendor with a broad selection and Amazon. You could definitely find parts cheaper on eBay or Alibaba, however you will have longer lead times and the quality will vary.
Some parts have already been adapted to newer versions in this list. Note that Amazon links on this page are paid.
Robot parts:
| Item | Cost | Count | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Pico | £3.60 | 1 | £3.60 | |
| Breadboard | £3.00 | 1 | £3.00 | |
| TB66112 FNG Module | £4.50 | 1 | £4.50 | |
| 5V 3A Ubec | £8.70 | 1 | £8.70 | |
| 8 x AA switched battery compartment | £7.98 | 1 | £7.98 | |
| N20 Gear motors with encoders 298:1 | £12.40 | 2 | £24.80 | |
| Ball castor | £1.90 | 1 | £1.90 | |
| Wheels | £6.40 | 1 | £6.40 | |
| VL53L1X Sensors | £16.20 | 2 | £32.40 | |
| BNO055 Sensor | £29.80 | 1 | £29.80 | |
| Motor brackets | £2.90 | 1 | £2.90 | Subtotal |
| Section Total | £125.98 | £125.98 |
You will also need consumables. These are parts needed for the robot, but come in quantity so you will have a stock for other robot and maker projects. You may already have some of these around.
| Item | Cost | Count | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precut Jumper Wire | £4.00 | 1 | £4.00 | |
| Diode kit with 1n5817 Schottky diode | £5.96 | 1 | £5.96 | |
| 3mm styrene sheets | £14.99 | 1 | £14.99 | |
| Standoff/hex kit M2.5 and M3 | £15.99 | 1 | £15.99 | |
| Plug Pin headers | £2.60 | 1 | £2.60 | |
| 10-20mm hook and loop (Velcro) self adhesive discs | £1.83 | 1 | £1.83 | Subtotal |
| Section total | £45.37 | £171.35 |
The next thing you will need are tools. You may also already have these in your home. These will be usable in other robotics projects, or are the kind of thing you’ll find in a maker space or school workshops.
| Item | Cost | Count | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic sheet cutter | £9.69 | 1 | £9.69 | |
| Cutting mat | £8.49 | 1 | £8.49 | |
| Try Square, metal | £4.99 | 1 | £4.99 | |
| Metric Metal ruler min 200mm - Covered by the above item | ||||
| Sandpaper selection | £5.65 | 1 | £5.65 | |
| Temperature controlled soldering iron | £15.99 | 1 | £15.99 | |
| Soldering iron stand - Covered by the above item | 1 | |||
| Brass wool soldering tip cleaner (optional) | £4.95 | 1 | £4.95 | |
| Some solder (60-40 or lead free flux core) - Covered by the iron | 1 | |||
| Pin vice drill, with 2mm and 3mm bits | £8.99 | 1 | £8.99 | |
| Precision Metric wrench set - tiny type | £8.96 | 1 | £8.96 | |
| Screwdrivers: Philips PH0, Ph1 and flat bladed 2mm/3mm | £17.87 | 1 | £17.87 | |
| USB Micro Cable | £2.50 | 1 | £2.50 | Subtotal |
| Section total | £88.08 | £259.43 |
Finally, there is the optional part of crimping. I feel this makes the connections from the motors, batteries and UBEC neat. Crimping tools are not cheap, but this falls into tools and consumables for more projects.
| Item | Cost | Count | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dupont Crimp Kit | £8.99 | 1 | £8.99 | |
| PA09 Engineer Crimping tool | £43.60 | 1 | £43.60 | subtotal |
| Section total | £52.59 | £312.02 |
Part availability and prices are changing rapidly at the moment, and hopefully some of the sensors and motors will come down in price, closer to where they were when this started.