A hobbyist-scale motorized model of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers that reproduces their rocker-bogie suspension. Its frame uses aluminum extrusion joined by 3D-printed brackets, and ten serial bus servos handle both driving and steering. It was designed as a cheaper, simpler alternative to the JPL Open Source Rover.
At a glance
| Parts cost | $500 (2018) project · The project's budget breakdown for the rolling chassis at US prices, written around 2018 source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 3/5 Intermediate · Needs a lot of printing and some metalwork on steel shafts, but uses off-the-shelf servos with no custom PCB. |
| Build time | Not stated |
| Tools needed | 3D printer with at least about 200x200 mm bed (about 3 kg of filament budgeted; PLA or PETG), drill, 8 mm reamer, M3 tap, soldering iron for heat-set inserts, metal lathe or drill + Dremel and file to cut 8 mm steel shafts |
| Motors | 10 LewanSoul/Hiwonder LX-16A serial bus servos (6 drive, 4 steering) |
| Controller | Raspberry Pi 3 (alternatives include Arduino wired control and an ESP32 build) |
| Sensors | Servo position feedback only in the base build |
| Published | ✓ Parts list✓ CAD/STL✓ Assembly guide✓ Wiring✓ Software✗ Video GitHub markdown docs folder + Onshape CAD + Hackaday.io build logs + author's blog |
| Activity | Last update 2025-09-21 · 511 GitHub stars · Hackaday.io project with 466 followers and builder logs; 87 GitHub forks |
| Kits | None; parts sourced individually (some via the author's Amazon affiliate list) |
Licenses
| Design files | MIT (repo-wide LICENSE; STLs are in the same repo, no separate hardware license) source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Code | MIT source ↗ |
| Documentation | MIT (repo-wide; Hackaday.io project page shows no license) source ↗ |
Builder notes
Practical points from the project's issue tracker, forum and docs, each linked to its source.
- The LX-16A servos and their USB bus-linker board have gone out of stock on Amazon several times for weeks at a stretch, and the price has crept up from the $15 each in the budget. Ordering early avoids a stalled build. source ↗
- The 8 mm steel shafts need retaining-clip grooves and flat detents for set screws. A detent cut too shallow lets the set screw stick out and foul the wheel, while one cut too deep leaves few threads engaged, so 8 mm set screws are now recommended. source ↗
- The 608 bearing count (about 22) is easy to miss since it appears only in the master parts list, not in the Amazon list or the per-part print pages. source ↗
- The repo docs describe Sawppy V1. The author has since worked on a smaller Micro Sawppy and a planned V2, so V1 is effectively in maintenance mode with occasional community fixes. source ↗
Other rovers plans
- ExoMy · $280–$560 (2020) · difficulty 3/5
- NASA JPL Open Source Rover · $1,400 · difficulty 4/5