Skipdiving Robotics

[Flag Captured]

Looks pretty cool! And I have to agree with Matt as well, 4WD would suit this so well! Wouldn't take much in the way of modification from your original designs too I'd imagine

[daveimi]

No I think you're right, I'm just on the hunt for some motors and gearboxes as it seems a shame to put wheel chair running gear in after so much design and thought has gone into it. Trying to decide whether to use 4wd or 2wd, and if 4wd whether to use 2 gearmotors and chain them together or go with 4 seperate motors.

[Flag Captured]

I think it depends on how much money you're willing to sink into it really. I think a set of 4 wheelchair motors would work, but if you have the money to stick a pair of Bosch 750 equivalents in there, that'd be a lot more powerful! Of course, you need the motors as well as the ESCs/batteries to cope which both aren't cheap I'm led to believe...

[daveimi]

Money's not a problem. A lot of the robots with several axles run a motor per side and chain each side together.

[Flag Captured]

In which case then, I'd go for it! Maybe the Iskara 800s I think they're called, have a look at those - heard good things about those. Don't think they make Bosch 750s anymore...

If you chain drive it too, I'm sure that'll work pretty nicely - seems to work well for the ones that do use it!

[daveimi]

Yeah it's just a case of using something that's easy to get hold of if it breaks.

[mattsdragons]

As a general rule now, I try and buy 3 motors so I have one for screw up's. Look at some of the mid-range mags for what you need

[maddox10]

Iskra. Some UK robots use those.

Bullfrog does the task with the 24V 1.2kw.

More rugged and a tad heavier than the Bosch 750. Also, any serious hydraulics shop should be able to supply them, as those are used a lot in hydraulic groups for tailgates or small forklift/pallettransporters.

[daveimi]

Oh ok that's cool. I'll look into them The big worry for me is making gear boxes lol.

[daveimi]

Spent some of today getting my heavy weight stuff together. Went and got the heavy body from where I'd dumped it and found it a spot in the back room to live. Also found my other heavy bits and started a stock pile. Thought I'd also put something up of the insides of the shell, obviously just an empty shell at the minute. I'm tied up paying for Christmas at the minute but come January I'm going to carry back on. Not pictured is a charging pack for the SLA's and a load of bracketry and bolts I've gotten together. Just deciding whether to have a go with the wheel chair running gear or get something made with Mags and stuff. The whole thing is suppose to be on a budget and keep telling myself mags will take months to sort out. The entire thing stands me at around £300 so far including motors, batteries and body shell fabrication, as I cut a lot of it myself and then got a friend to weld it all together. I'm thinking about getting some propper brackets CNC'd for the wheel chair motors and building them up as a pair of "pods". They could be unplugged and swapped in a hurry with say four big bolts into the chassis. I'm also in the process of organizing bulkheads and deciding where the axle line will be. Sorry for the long winded description, thanks for reading and taking an interest as ever.

[Rapidrory]

If you're gonna be running wheelchair motors in there, you should be fine running them off a pair of hacked TZ85s, which'll be by far the cheapest option for the motor controllers (£25 each).

[daveimi]

yeah been thinking about using them with a good mixer and a dx6i or something similar. Need to nag you about an antweigh esc after I get paid

[daveimi]

Well it's been a while dear diary but I have info and a rubbish picture. Decided to dip my toe in the water with a beetle, 1000rpm motors, sabertooth, 12v nihm, 2wd pushy thingy all sandwiched in an ally angle and hdpe cocktail. Everything should turn up soon, I'd put up pictures of chassis so far but would be laughed at. Getting it all under a kilo hasn't been easy! Heavy is still a shell, starting again in march in to finish in time for the summer, have sketched up all the bracketry for the wheel chair motors which has been hard given they usually bolt to a frame and not a flat plate. Thanks for reading as ever.

[harry hills]

You do realise the weight limit is 1.5kg not 1kg?

[daveimi]

Is it 1.3kg or somewhere round there? Sort of meant metaphorically about 1kg, its a fair bit lighter than a feather lol. Mindset took a bit of adjusting. The ant came as a kit and I randomly cut some plastic out n taped it together and it somehow ended up about 120grams. I'm having to actively build this using all the same off-cuts and donations that I usually find lying around and it's all so heavy! Is it really 1.5 n not 1.3?