Complete the wiring

The microscope must be completed by mounting the motor driver electronics and the Raspberry Pi, connecting the motors to the motor driver, and connecting the illumination to a power source. These instructions assume you are using a Raspberry Pi v4 and a Sangaboard v4 or v5. See the box below if you are not using these electronics.

Alternative electronics options

If you are using a version of the Raspberry Pi other than v4, you will need a different electronics drawer. The options are described in the customisation page. If you do not have a Sangaboard, you can make up a compatible solution from a microcontroller and separate driver boards. This is described in the motor electronics workaround page.

For this section you will need:

Printed Parts

Electronic Components

Mechanical Components

Assembly video

Step 1: Connect the Raspberry Pi

Step 2: Upload the Sangaboard firmware

You will need to ensure the Sangaboard has the correct firmware and bootloader before it can be used. This is often easier to do before mounting it.

Sangaboard v3 and v4 have two micro-USB ports. One is for power only, the other is for data only. You must upload the firmware using the "data" port.

Step 3: Connect the Sangaboard

Step 4: Connect the LED to the Sangaboard

Connect the LED to the Sangaboard

Step 5: Mount the electronics drawer

Step 6: Wiring Complete

To power up your microscope you will need a power supply.

The power supply may change if you have used a different option for the motor electronics, so check what is required by your motor driver board. Some motor electronics options (Sangaboard v4 and v5) will power the Raspberry Pi, others may require separate power supplies for the Raspberry Pi and the motors.


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