And do you guys have a robot/kit that could carry a 70 pound payload? (Im hoping it will be under $3000)
Does this robot come with a battery and does it require delicate soldering?
I can do basic soldering but I cant do anything like solder a xbee to a arduino board.
In order to move an 80 pound turret, the robot will need to be ~100 pounds.
That’s going to be a massive robot. Keep in mind that an ATV or snowmobile weighs around 300 to 500 pounds. To give you an idea of size, the Rescuer Remote Controlled Tracked Platform weighs 187 lbs. The widened HD2 with batteries weighs about 100 lbs.
At this time we do not offer any track systems which are strong enough to support that weight - the systems we offer are intended for lightweight to medium sized robots (<30 lbs for example).
We do offer motors which can move this size robot, the best of which would be the CIM plus P80 gearbox. We also offer a selection of other gearboxes intended for use with this motor. You still might need four motors and we suggest taking a look at our Drive Motor Sizing Tool. In order to control this motor, you’ll need a fairly powerful DC motor controller.
The microcontroller you choose has very little to do with the size of the robot. Each CIM motor can consume up to about 40A continuously, and if you use four motors, you’d need either two 50A+ dual motor controllers, or one ~120A dual motor controller, so a few 2A motor shields is out of the question. You would only need one Arduino Mega to communicate with the motor controllers, and you should not be using a 9V battery but rather a voltage regulator being fed from the main battery pack.
Most DC motors don’t come with leads, which should be soldered to the tabs - using very thick wires (to carry the current). If you’re planning to embark on this project, you’ll certainly need some experience with soldering.
Is there a particular reason you want to start with a robot of this size?
Yup - that should work well.
Here is a rough idea of the weight of the robot: Each CIM motor weighs 46oz (2.875 lbs), and each motor will need a gear-down which itself weighs 50oz (3.125 lbs). Each controller weighs 0.5 lbs. So the weight of four geared motors and two controllers would be 25 lbs.
Next, you need four wheels which can support 100 lbs (6" Plaction wheel as just an example) which is 0.66 lbs each (plus weight of the hub at 0.15 lbs). Next, you’ll need the frame itself, which should ideally be made out of Aluminum, and could weight ~10 lbs.
Last, the heaviest item will be the battery, and in order to get a decent run time (say, around 20 min), you might consider lead acid, which would be 20 lbs+. The total weight of the robot which would move the turret at a decent speed would be ~50-60 lbs.
You can control it directly via R/C, but the connector is not ideal - you can either push the wires directly into the port (not great), or use a breakout board with the matching connector. Refer to the user guide pages 53+. You can likely find the mating connector on Digikey.
We currently do not have a battery which is powerful enough to run the CIM motor. You would need a 12V, 10Ah or more. If you want to operate it for a decent time, you’d need at least 30Ah, and have a spare ready to go.
You would need to make it or contract out. You can consider starting with a dense wood.
This confirms that the paintball mini gun used in the show “Community” at the end of season 2 was real.
Yes, that would work. Notice that the weight is ~32 lbs. If each motor consumes around 10A continuously (for a total of 40A), and the robot has a total efficiency of ~45%, then that battery should last for about 20-30 minutes.
When you design the base, make sure to do so such that the robot can turn properly with as little resistance as possible. You may even want to consider only two motors (with a higher gear ratio) and using swivel casters in front and in back.
You’ll need RB-And-09 (0.5" bore, mates with Plaction wheel), as well as a key and two 0.5" bore shaft collars per shaft (McMaster is a good source). The wheel would need to be mounted very close to the motor, and ideally have the shaft supported at the end as well.
For two motors, using the Drive Motor Sizing Tool, you would need about 3000 oz-in of torque. The CIM motor provides 345oz-in, so you would need at least a 10:1 gear ratio, perhaps a bit higher to be safe. If you use four motors, they would each need a 5:1 gear ratio. Consider 2x RB-Ban-79 which is a 12:1 gear ratio. You would need a pair of casters at the front and at the rear to help support the load.
That one is a bit small. You’d need a caster which is capable of supporting much heavier payloads like:
You don’t actually even need the Arduino MEGA if you plan to control the robot via R/C. You can certainly do gradual acceleration without the motors. Here is an idea of the setup:
Handheld transmitter -> Receiver -> RC Motor Controller -> Motors
Handheld transmitter -> Receiver -> Servos
Note that the Arduino cannot provide enough current to power normal lights - each pin can provide 40mA, which is enough for a small LED. If you want to run larger fans or lights, you’ll need to use relays. Cooling fans should be directly connected to the power supply, and you can connect all lights to one R/C relay (again, no need for a microcontroller).
If you really want to use an Arduino MEGA, you can certainly use an XBee, though communication would likely be from a computer. We offer the 785HB servo which can rotate continuously - but not all remote controls can send the right signal. Note that you can control the speed of a DC gear motor via R/C signal using an R/C DC motor controller.
Pretty much - the command protocol is all detailed on page 93 and up in the user guide. You should not power the flashlight from the Arduino - use a relay.
The battery does not seem to be included with the kit (AM-2229), but we are checking with the manufacturer just to be certain and will get back to you here… The vast majority of the connections use screw terminals, and no “delicate” soldering" is required.
The kit includes:
]One - Toughbox Nano Tube 20" Chassis, 4 gearboxes, 4 - 500 key shafts/:m]
]One - Cross Link RCS (comes with 2 CAN cables, 1 needed to connect to RCM)/:m]
]One - Power Distribution Board/:m]
]One - Robot Power Cable Red 9"/:m]
]One - 120 Amp Circuit Breaker/:m]
]Two - 20 Amp Snap Action Breakers/:m]
]Four - 40 Amp Snap Action Breakers/:m]
]Two - Battery Cable (one used on Robot Side, one used on Battery)/:m]
]Four - Talon Bundle/:m]
]One - MK ES17-12, 12 Volt, 17 Amp-Hour Sealed Lead Acid Battery (half of am-0844)/:m]
]One - Battery Base Package/:m]
]Two - Encoder Packages/:m]
]One - Logitech Gamepad F310/:m]
]One - Power Converter 12/24V to 5V (used for Bridge)/:m]
]One - WAGO Connector (used for connection to Power Converter)/:m]
]Associated Fastening Hardware/:m]
]One - 10" Mecanum Wheel Set, Aluminum Body/:m]
]Four - 500 Key Hub/:m]
]Four - Hardware Kit 13 (to attach wheels)/:m]
We have confirmed with the manufacturer that the robot’s battery is indeed included.
We do not carry chargers for such big Lead acid batteries, although it would be appropriate for your design. You can find such charger as automotive accessories in a local hardware store.
]The connections to the motors controller and the microcontroller will depend on your program and the specs of both modules. We recommend reading their manuals and getting a full understanding of them./:m]
]A 1:10 gear ration means the torque will be multiplied by 10, while the speed will be divided by 10./:m]
]A Lead-acid 12V battery should have enough capacity for your application/:m]
]You can input the number of motors you are planning to use in the tool. The results will be per motor./:m]
]The following platforms can carry about 70 kg:
[list=1]
]RB-And-49/:m]
]RB-And-58/:m]/:m][/list:o]