Power Wheels Robotic Tank M1

Let's Make Robots Robots
1

The Robotic Tank you see here was capable of speeds approaching 10MPH With myself on it. Powered by 2 250W electric Scooter motors, it was a very large project. The tracks were steel conveyor track, drilled and bolts inserted. 3 Pneumatic tires provided suspension and the frame was constructed out of Aluminum T6061T6 and Steel frame. I could never get the mechanics to work long enough for more than 5 minutes of ride time before it threw the chain or a sprocket slipped. I will revisit this project in the near future, but for now it sits in pieces, in a few boxes. No video exists of it in operation.

The Motor driver was a 24V DPDT relay, one for each motor. It also had a opto isolator that allowed for control of the relays coil, so It could be controlled by a 5V signal. There were going to be electronics mounted to it to allow fully autonomous operation, but It was never in a state where it was able to work, unfortunately.

  • Power source: 2x 12V SLA Batteries
  • Target environment: outdoor
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/power-wheels-robotic-tank-m1
2

Uhhm, please revisit!! Looks

Uhhm, please revisit!! Looks great though. Finish it so we can see you driving on your treads there.

3

This is really cool. I like

This is really cool. I like the design, but if you don’t mind me asking, where did you get the motors from? Are they recycled? Just wondering because I’m looking at making a tank-drive robot, but motors seem to be the weakest link.

4

Motors werent the weakest

Motors werent the weakest link at all and these were recycled 250W motors.

5

It’s hard to make tracked

It’s hard to make tracked machine in large scales. Especially when it make turns. Seems like you are using middle wheel as driving wheel. But the front and back wheel also interlace the track. It might still running straight but it’s difficult to make turns because ratio has to be flexible. I am not expert here but it was my experience.

6

It was only able to turn

It was only able to turn when both tracks were running in opposite direction, so it was still able to skid just fine.

7

Motors

So where did you find the motors?

8

You could try ebay and

You could try ebay and search for “scooter motor 300” and you could find something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/24-Volt-300-Watt-Motor-Electric-Scooter-24V-300W-/190542859628?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c5d3d4d6c