Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

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peterwaller
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by peterwaller »

I have been looking at ways to improve the design of my tracks.
The existing tracks have a flexible 3D printed insert to stop them stretching too much and provide the drive pins but there is quite a lot of friction between the rubber and the side walls of the wheels and also small bit of rubber from around the drive pins shown below gets into the gearboxes.
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So I have changed the design so only the 3D part runs on the wheels.
Here is the insert, the insert in the mold and the finished track.
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Below is a close up of the insert showing how the rubber is molded through the three holes into the hollow drive pin area to ensure the tracks are held on firmly.
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peterwaller
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by peterwaller »

Here is the final track on a test setup with the new drive wheels.
https://youtu.be/u8IMARUlHO0
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by peterwaller »

I have been looking at the firmware in my controller and it appears I wasn't using the 16 bit timer anymore so as it can be configured as an 8 bit PWM timer I could redesign the controller and do away with the extra nand gates I had added to get it to work MX612 drivers.
I also decided to mount the tiny orange rx, the motors and power switch directly to the board to make a complete module that just needs a battery connecting (plus servo if required).
The board which came out at 38 x 20 mm is being made by Ragworm and I think I have redone the software ready to load only time will tell if it all works out.
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by peterwaller »

The boards arrived yesterday and all appears to function correctly.
Here is the finished unit which comes out at 27.3 gms.
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by Hogi »

This looks very good. Should save you a lot of room inside the robot for weapons and things. :-)
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peterwaller
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by peterwaller »

Cheers Dan,
Here is the finished unit with the second cover in place it comes in at 28.6 gms.
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I left the Rx exposed so you can see the lights for binding and receiver error codes.
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by peterwaller »

It just dawned on me that I could dispense with the flying lead on the battery connector.
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by peterwaller »

I have sat down and had another look at the controller brick idea and decided there were a few improvements needed.
With the connectors coming out on the side the were it put receiver and power switch at the rear where they were vulnerable.
The JST plug was too long and bulky and leaving the whole of the receiver exposed was a further danger.
So I have bought the servo and power connectors out on the other side of the board and replaced the JST connector with two board mounted pins and built the key-way that stops the power being reversed into the case. The receiver is now built in with just a narrow viewing slot for the leds.
Here is the new case lid showing the power and servo plugs.
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Here it is with the battery and servo plugged in.
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Shakey
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by Shakey »

They're pretty awesome little units!
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Re: Peter Wallers Robot Ramblings

Post by AntRoboteer »

That's looking really neat. How well does it fit inside machines generally?
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