Autopilot Behavior Box

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Autopilot box assembled.png

A modular box for training mouse-sized animals

Modality Enclosures
Build Guide Type Construction Build Guide
Creator Jonny Saunders
Version 2
Submitted Date 2021-06-10

Ingredients

Materials

Name Quantity Dimensions Manufacturer Product ID Price Page Datasheet
80/20 - 1010 8, 4 10", 8" 80/20 1010
Cast Acrylic 1, 5 10x10", 8x8" EPlastics [1]
Neodymium Magnet 16 3/16" x 3/8" K&J Magnetics D36 0.54 [2]
T-Frame End Fastener 16 1/4-20 80/20 3682 2.3 [3]

Tools

NameTool KindDimensionsManufacturerProduct IDDatasheet
Drill PressDrill
Laser CutterLaserUniversal Laser SystemsVLS4.75
Miter SawSaw
Thread TapperHand Tools Etc.1/4" - 20

A modular behavior box made of 1" 80/20 - 1010 extruded aluminum and 3/32" thick transparent acrylic sheets. Every panel except the bottom is removable, attached with a combination of slots in the acrylic and magnets. This box is 10"x10"x10", but is adaptable to any size by scaling the cad files

Prepare 80/20

Cut to Size

Cut a length of 1" 1010 size 80/20 (or order to size) into lengths

  • 4x 10" - for the vertical beams
  • 8x 8" - for the horizontal beams

You can either have the pieces cut to order, or else a mitre saw works just fine. Set a block on the saw to get consistent lengths across cuts, line the piece up on the saw, measure the cut piece, and repeat:


Drill Access Holes

The horizontal beams are connected to the four vertical beams using End Fasteners, which need an access hole to tighten.

Drill holes from both faces (through all four faces) 0.5" from the end of all four vertical beams. The position and size of these holes do not need to be precise, they just need to allow you to reach a Hex wrench through it to tighten it while the horizontal beam is flush with the end of the vertical beam.

I recommend using a drill press with a clamped jig to position your beams, but doing it by hand with a handheld drill works too ;)

Autopilot box holes.png

Tap Ends

To attach the end fasteners, both ends of all the horizontal beams need to be tapped (cut threads into the inner cylinder). Since we are using 1/4-20 screws in this build, you should use a 1/4-20 tap (but substitute as needed)

This can be done with a tapping stand, but because the 80/20 beams already have the center cylinder extruded through them that guides the tap quite well, so in my experience a handheld tap was perfectly fine. When using a handheld tap, add a drop of cutting oil on the tip, and check from two 90-degree angles (eg. top and side) to make sure the tap stays square through the first few turns. Once the tap catches and starts to cut, the resistance will increase. Turn the tap slowly and consistently, and make sure not to apply any lateral pressure to/bend the tap while turning it or else you will shear it! If the resistance is too high and you are worried about snapping your tap, you can always back it out, clean it off, and go back in.

You only need to tap 3/8" or so, just enough to let you screw down the end nuts.

Autopilot box tap.jpg

Prepare Acrylic Panels

Score & Snap Raw Panel

If you are making the acrylic panels yourself, you probably have some huge sheet of plastic that you definitely won't be able to fit inside of your laser cutter. There are plenty of ways to cut acrylic, but one simple and quick way is to score a groove in the surface of the acrylic and then snap the piece off. I like to use an Acrylic Knife and a swift karate-style chop, but any blade and percussive motor pattern should work.

The main advantage of the acrylic knife is that it has both a sharp blade for making the initial line, and then if you invert the blade as pictured below the backside can be used to scrape the plastic out much more quickly. If you are having trouble cutting the acrylic, your blade is dull! Don't waste your time struggling, they're very cheap.

Autopilot box panel cut.jpg

Laser Cut the Panels

Find your nearest laser cutter! These are usually found in "makerspaces," which tend to be cheaper to access than machine shops. You'll need:

Every laser cutter works differently! For the one we have, we load up the .dxf files in autocad, set the lines to a particular weight and color to indicate different colors, and then let er rip.

When cutting the hex panels, you'll want to adjust the laser power and speed to where it just cuts through the acrylic --- if you go too slowly then you'll end up melting the acrylic a bit and getting brown smudges on it (which aren't too bad, and can be cleaned off, but to be avoided if possible)

Attach Pegs & Handles

  • Print the relevant parts!
  • We just use superglue!
  • Insert magnets

Assemble Boxes

Next Steps