The robot Im building is going to weigh about 100 pounds and I am kind of new to robot building so I have a few questions to ask.
The first question is what motors/propulsion system to use.
I had a tracked robot in mind and was going to use these track sprocket hub motor and a mount
but I was wondering if I should use 6 motors or 4 and if all those parts would be compatible.
the second question is what power source/micro controller I should use.
I was completly lost at this point and the only thing I could think of would be to use 2-3 arduino megas with a 9 volt battery on each and each with a 2 amp motor shield on them and all of them would be controlled by one controller with a xbee on it.
And I can not do any delicate soldering stuff (such as soldering a xbee to a arduino without a shield) and I was wondering if I would be able to build it without having to do much soldering.
“Is there a particular reason you want to start with a robot of this size?”
My friend wanted me to build him a robot that he could mount his 70 pound paintball mini gun on so the actual robot would weigh about 10 pounds or so.
I do know how to solder a motor to a wire and stuff like that its just soldering each of the pins on something like this or assembling a micro controller shield would be impossible for me.
And what battery pack should I use? Could you give me a link to one?
And a arduino mega should be able to communicate with the motor controllers via serial with the rx/tx pins?
And in the manual when it says microcomputer, is it referring to a micro-controller?
And should I be able to do gradual acceleration without encoders?
I was going to use the Arduino for stuff like headlights and cooling fans. (do you think it work better to control the arduino and the motors with a remote? or should I use a xbee?)
And does robot shop have a giant scale servo with continuous rotation?
I was going to use a couple of dismantled flashlights for the headlights. (Already tested them out with my arduino uno)
Although I might just use a camera with night vision.
And would the code for communicating with the controller be something like this?
I feel like a complete idiot for asking this, but if the ratio is 10:1 then it will multiply the torque by 10?
And will a single 12 volt battery supply 2 of the motor controllers?
And when the motor sizing tool gives you the estimated torque, is that for each motor or for all of the motors combined?
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.
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?
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.
