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http://www.irobotweb.com/~/media/MainSite/PDFs/About/STEM/Create/Create_2_Wheel_Hack.pdf?la=en

Scroll to page 3.

I'm trying to interface the Roomba's preloaded navigation system with a pair of motors not attached to the roomba itself- however, to do this I need an interface board of the same dimensions as the one pictured in the above document. It has 0.050" (1.27) contact centers, which don't seem to be commercially available. Can anyone provide any help locating PCBs of this size?

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  • $\begingroup$ Interestingly I just found this post after requesting pretty much the same thing. The date on this post was from two years ago, so I don’t feel bad re-asking the question. iRobot has not responded to my requests for their interface boards (their p/n’s 4121554 R3 Wheel CE PCB and 4107208 R3 Main Brush Card Edge PCB). I see a few good ideas for interfacing the Sullins connector with old PCI PCBs. It has also been suggested to enlist the help of a PCB manufacturer. $\endgroup$
    – NexxuSix
    Jan 23, 2018 at 2:04

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Here are a few ideas:

  1. Buy 0.050" spacing prototyping board. For example, here are some possible boards that could work on Digi-Key.
  2. Use a PCB prototyping service and fabricate the board you're looking for; this would have the advantage that you could add other circuits to the panel that you may need for your project.
  3. Remove the boards from the wheel modules and use those. iRobot sells new ones on their website; you might also be able to get them from broken robots on eBay, or perhaps someone at iRobot could help if you e-mail them.

Hope this helps!

Please note that I am an iRobot employee, but the postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent iRobot's positions, strategies, or opinions.

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If you have any old PCI Bus cards on hand, eg an old modem, with a jeweler's saw you can trim off a bit of the card edge connector for use as an interim connector. Here's a drawing (part of a picture from PC PCI boards at multi-circuit-boards.eu) –

dimensions - PCI picture of card edge

The important detail in that drawing is that the card edge connector fingers are spaced 1.27 mm, or 0.050", apart. The smaller picture shows a small section of a PCI board, similar to what you can cut out from an old modem. If you don't have a jeweler's saw (which is like a small coping saw, but with a fine-tooth blade, eg 50 TPI) use whatever means you like to cut a piece out, then smooth its edges with sandpaper or a file.

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