SO, having completed my holiday obligations, it's time for a little present from me TO me. I've been collecting assorted parts, and experimenting with Arduino code and have decided that pretty much everything I want to do with a robot base can be most efficiently, cost-effectively accomplished with a Rover 5, and it's at the top of my "Been a good boy" list.
The only thing I don't like about it is those rubber treads that seem to keep falling off. And since it's my intention to get the Rover 5 with 4 motors and encoders, I've decided to go with independent wheels.
SO, what fits best? I've seen the mecanum wheels, but the Fingertech wheels (which would be the only ones I could justify expense-wise) seem to be somewhat more trouble than they're worth--Tho I haven't completely discounted them yet.
Wheels seem to be unnecessarily complicated and expensive--I mean we're talking about a hobby where people are doing interesting things with under $5 microcontrollers after all.
I’ll probably start out with the existing treads. (Nothing says “robot” quite as obviously as treads.) My observations were concerning what seemed to be the only inconsistency in what otherwise seems like a great design–the treads fall off.
Actually, I was just wondering what wheels people are using in place of the treads. I’ve seen mecanum wheels used, and (I think) the large ones from the wild thumper.
Frankly OddBot, your designs have done as much, or more, than anything I can think of to lower the cost of entry into hobby robotics. I was just grumbling a little, about how the price of something so simple as wheels, when compared to processing power–orders of magnitude better than what landed men on the moon–can be cheaper than cigarettes.
I THOUGHT that was the Wild Thumper wheels. (Another great design, btw.)
It was my plan to use the mecanum wheels. I still might. But another reason I’m going to hold off is that somewhere I read a comment that mecanum wheels have a lot of dust catching projections and crevices. My workspace is also the critter hangout. Between my wife and daughters, we have 2 dogs, 5 cats and a very nervous cockatoo. I sweep up a pan or two of assorted litters and sheddings each morning, and I’ve already killed two roombas. But I digress.
And you’re right about mechanical arms. But I’m still researching the various mechanical devices that servos get attached to.
As you know, some members have decided to remove their content
Hi MEgg,
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