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Mechanical Assembly

1. Bearing and shaft assembly

1.1 Push the low-friction bearings into the bearing mounts.

1.2 Bolt the mounted bearings to the base plate (#10 screws).

1.3 The shaft should press-fit snugly into the 3D printed connector.

1.4 Use the retaining rings to hold the shaft in place.

2. Bolt the first arm to the assembly.

The arm should swing freely. There should be very little friction on the shaft.

3. Motor assembly

3.1 Bolt the 3D printed motor mount on the arm (M5 screws).

3.2 Bolt the motor onto the motor mount (M4 screws).

3.3 Install the encoder mount over the motor (M3 screws).

3.4 Install the encoder on the encoder mount (M3 screws). The encoder kit comes with several adapters for different shaft diameters - use the 8mm shaft adapter.

3.5 Install the 3D printed arm mount on the motor's larger (10mm) shaft. It should press-fit snugly into place.

3.6 Install the second arm on the arm mount (M5 screws).

3.7. Use the low-profile clamps to clamp the base plate to a table (the Acrobot is less than 3 feet long, so a 3 foot clearance between the table and floor will work).

Mechanical Test

Both arms should swing freely. Rotate them 360 degrees to check for clearance issues.

Here's a video of our Acrobot swinging without power.

Electrical Assembly

1. Connect the 3 wires to the ODrive motor.
2. Assemble the ODrive encoder, which comes with a sufficiently long cable.
3. Route the wires to the base, leaving enough slack for the arm to swing fully around.
4. Connect the ODrive controller to the motor and encoder.

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