Controller Housing Assembly

Build the electronics enclosure with buttons and LED

6 min read
30 min work

What You Will Build

The controller housing is a protective enclosure for the Raspberry Pi Pico 2W and PCA9685 board. It includes the control interface (4 push buttons + 1 LED) and cable management features. This assembly brings together all the electronics in one neat package.

Parts & Tools Needed

Parts

  • • 1× Housing base (3D printed)
  • • 1× Housing lid (3D printed)
  • • 1× Button panel (3D printed)
  • • 4× Push buttons (tactile, 12×12mm)
  • • 1× LED (5mm, any color)
  • • 1× 220Ω resistor (for LED)
  • • 8× M3×8mm screws
  • • 4× M2×6mm screws (buttons)
  • • Raspberry Pi Pico 2W (with headers)
  • • PCA9685 PWM driver board

Tools

  • • Phillips screwdriver (PH0, PH1)
  • • Soldering iron & solder
  • • Wire strippers
  • • Small flat-head screwdriver
  • • Hot glue gun (optional)

Assembly Steps

1

Install Buttons and LED

  1. a.Insert 4 push buttons into the button panel holes from the front
  2. b.Buttons should snap into place or be held with M2 screws from behind
  3. c.Insert LED through dedicated hole (long leg = positive/anode)
  4. d.Solder 220Ω resistor to LED cathode (short leg)
  5. e.Secure LED with hot glue or friction fit
2

Wire Buttons and LED

⚠️ Reminder: Refer to the Hardware & Wiring section for complete wiring diagrams. This step assumes you have already prepared the wires.

  1. • Button 1 → GPIO 2 (GP2) + GND
  2. • Button 2 → GPIO 3 (GP3) + GND
  3. • Button 3 → GPIO 4 (GP4) + GND
  4. • Button 4 → GPIO 5 (GP5) + GND
  5. • LED anode → GPIO 6 (GP6)
  6. • LED cathode (with resistor) → GND
3

Mount Electronics

  1. a.Place Raspberry Pi Pico 2W in designated slot in housing base
  2. b.Secure with 2× M3×8mm screws or double-sided tape
  3. c.Place PCA9685 board in adjacent slot
  4. d.Secure PCA9685 with 2× M3×8mm screws or tape
  5. e.Connect button/LED wires to Pico GPIO pins
  6. f.Connect I2C wires (SDA, SCL, 3.3V, GND) between Pico and PCA9685
4

Close Housing

  1. a.Attach button panel to housing base with 4× M3×8mm screws
  2. b.Route servo cables through cable exit ports in housing
  3. c.Place housing lid on top (leave open for now—final assembly step will close it)

Quality Checks

Controller Housing Complete! ✓

All individual components are now built. Next, integrate everything into the final robot assembly.

Continue to Final Assembly →
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Assembly: Center Panel
Assembly: Final Assembly
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