Hi, I’m new to this forum and kind of new to robotics.
I have this grand plan of world domination! Heh… Well, atleast I have this robot project and I’m wondering if SSC-32 will do the job for me…
In my robot I’m going to use air muscles as the main lokomotion device. To steer them I’m going to make a custom made valve that’s steered by a servo. The servo is going to position the valve from /closed to inlet or outlet. The valve together with two air muscles and a position sensor is going to create a servo system. I hope to steer this system with a SSC-32 and a ABB.
Now to my questions:
Can the SSC-32 do the servo positioning as a part of a servo system?
If so, can it handle up to 32 servos?
Another question is about ABB… How many SSC-32 can be controlled by it? (My robot in the end will maybe have more DOF than 32)
This project sounds very complex. Have you considered a solenoid valve to do the switching? With a solenoid, the abb can trigger a solenoid to open, close, etc. This would be less expensive than a bunch of servos doing the job. Are you building an arm? a humanoid?
Yes, the SSC-32 is fully capable of handling 32 servos.
It’s our #1 staple when we look to controlling servos.
How many SSC-32 can the AB controll?
Well, if the SEROUT (or equivalent) command in the BASIC languages is just a routine to bit-bang off of any I/O, then you should be able to control up to 16 SSC-32 with it.
This will be limited, though, by the quality of microcontroller that you stick into the AB.
Hopefully someone can chime in and help you out there.
I agree with Mike, though.
Servos are a bit of a hassle to use.
However, if you want precise control of how much the valves are open, solenoids would be just as difficult, if not more so.
But, that’s probably because I’m familiar with them, and not with high-precision feedback solenoids.
A while back a link was posted about a nice set of them that was supposed to be coming onto the market soon.
I’ll try to find that for ya.
You bring up a good point Nick, I did not think about precision control with solenoids.
Having worked with several machines in the electronics manufacturing arena, several of these machines use vacuum switches that have the manifold & solenoid as a single unit, with two wires coming off of it. They can be as small as 16pin DIP chip. The can be controlled via a microcontroller to turn on and off at set times.
Here is a picture of a common machine type of vacuum switch:
To answer Mike’s questions. Yes I have considered using solonid precision valves before, but due to both there aren’t any suitable control boards and they are acually more expensive than building the valve from scratch and fitting it with a servo.
Well, I could consider using solonid valves if they were cheaper and there was a suitable control board for them.
For his second question it’s easier to refer to this thread on another forum
Soooooo - You’re new to Robotics and thus your first project will be a 32 DOF servo powered, custom valve controlled, air muscled monster.
Love the ambition. Keep us posted and how bout some pictures.
Holy smoke I’m a sarcastic basta_d. My apologies. As Nick has indicated the SSC32 can handle 32 servos and the ABB should be able to handle the multiple SSC-32’s you would like to use.
Question - about this custom valve. Why not go with a commercial analogue proportional air valves already available and that uses electrical control directly?
You would not need a controll board to operate these solenoids. You need to build a circuit that can provide the power the solenoid uses, but the actual controal can be operated by the Stamp 2 or Atom. You would need to write the software to do what you want.
Now I’m back from my big depressive period from cwk’s comment dries tear If it wasn’t illegal in Sweden, I’d commit suicide now… cough or maybe not, I’m not THAT new to robotics, I do have a 3 year education in industrial automation in the swedish version of high school, though this means I am still pretty new to some areas of robotics.
Sure, I thank you for the advice and I think I’ll go with that… but first I need your billing adress, so you can pay for it. A bit expensive for me Often commercial analogue proportional air valves uses some straange steering signals like 2mA-20mA or 0V-10V signals.
Basically, there is two ways to steer an air muscle. Either by oscillating an open/closed air valve or by regulating the air flow. In the first method you use the open/closed air valve to either shut off the exit flow of the air or open it. The oscillating speed determines the speed of air leaving the muscle. The other method uses a valve that can be opened from closed to maximum opened and can be positioned in anywhere between. This means that the air flow is regulated in proposion to time and speed.
What I was thinking about was building a valve based on method nr 2,
Well, atleast I have this robot project and I’m wondering if SSC-32 will do the job for me…
I’m not THAT new to robotics, I do have a 3 year education in industrial automation in the swedish version of high school, though this means I am still pretty new to some areas of robotics.