Rc tracked giant robot

frenchguy · June 1, 2011, 5:46pm

Hi, after building my 20Kg tracked robot, I would like to build the same kind of thing, but tougher. I would like to find tracks from a snowblower(I can't find a dealer that would send to France yet), motors and electrics from a wheelchair and strong chassis. It would be nice if it could run after it flips over.

pull a small trailer or a car, climb hills, be unstopable and unbreakable

Control method: Radio controlled
Power source: 2 12v Batteries in series
Target environment: outdoor

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/rc-tracked-giant-robot

hardmouse · June 2, 2011, 12:38am

Glad to see you ready for new projects!

Haven’t got a chance to say “thank you” for your inspiration from last project and I kinda build a similar machine. [HERE]

So, thank you~

There are not many tracked snowblower these day(at least in my area). Where did you get those?

bdugh · June 2, 2011, 7:53am

Tracks

I have been looking for one of the tracked snow blowers here in the U.S. for about 6 years now. The major companies don’t make them any more because people had a hard time keeping the tracks on while turning. best bet is try the scrap yards and used equipment dealers. Good luck with your project and always think bigger.

ignoblegnome · June 2, 2011, 9:37am

If you can’t find the

If you can’t find the tracks, I’ve seen some people use car or truck tires. They cut off most of the sidewall, and stretch the tires over a smaller set of wheels/tires.

frenchguy · June 2, 2011, 12:30pm

Hi ignoblegnome

Hi ignoblegnome, it was a long time!

Yes, I have seen these kind of “tire flatened tracks”. It can still be an option since I’ m not sure of what I’ m going to use yet.

ignoblegnome · June 2, 2011, 12:31pm

Your last project was very

Your last project was very fun to follow. Best of luck on this one!

frenchguy · June 2, 2011, 12:38pm

Nice project hardmouse.I

Nice project hardmouse.

I have never seen a snowblower in my life! (I live 30 minutes from Spain) its quite hot here.

These are Ariens track conversion kit you can easily find in the US from dealers or here:

http://www.snowblowersdirect.com/Ariens-72600500/p829.html

Its a shame they don’ t want to ship me a pair.

hardmouse · June 2, 2011, 2:31pm

Double sided belt

Have you ever tried double sided timing belt? I might use a pair of this but I always find it tricky to have those tracked machine to make turn.

I have done a little research on this double sided belt and they come with any lenth in 1",2" or 3" width. Since they are not very pouplar and hard to find in stores I have to call the hardware shop to make special order.

korel · June 2, 2011, 6:19pm

Nice project my friend. I

Nice project my friend. I know that Honda made or still do track snowblowers and they were almost double the price of a wheels one.

lumi · June 2, 2011, 9:42pm

Mini digger tracks

I am not sure what kind of gear and motor power you will provide but take a look here for inspiration:

http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&q=minibagger&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1680&bih=921&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Maybe you can find these.

canadianrobot · June 2, 2011, 10:32pm

Bonjour

Salut, je travaille actuellement pour construire un robot sur track et moi j’utilise des TRACK DRIVE ce sont des ponts de soufleur a neige de la compagnie NOMA ou SEARS ou MTG elle sont vraiment idéal !

Regarde la photo

Merci

Michel, Canadian Robot

ignoblegnome · June 2, 2011, 10:44pm

With respect for the French

With respect for the French language, could you at least post in English as well? We have members from all over the world, and of course it is a challenge to make the site accessible to all. We try to keep everything in one language. Site features like search only work in English so please (s’il vous plaît) use English in your posts.

canadianrobot · June 2, 2011, 11:08pm

english version, excuse me for the french version !

Hello, I’m working to build a robot on track on my project I will use TRACK DRIVE system from a snow blower made by the company or NOMA & SEARS it’s really perfect!

Look at the pic’s

Thanks

Michel

frenchguy · June 6, 2011, 3:31pm

Still no tracks…

I’ d love to find these “allready made” tracks, i’ ve seen a few but there is no shipping to France…

I’ ve sent mails to 10 Ariens dealers, but no result, I’ m wating for an other robot builder to send me pictures of his second hand tracks.

Otherwise I think I’ m just going to build my own…

frenchguy · July 15, 2011, 5:42pm

many parts at home!

Hi, I received my track from Mississippi, so I started to work on my project.

I also bought a Sabertooth 2X25, an old wheelchair, an axel, bearing, I spent quite a lot of money…

Well, here are some pictures of pieces I made to start building.

ALUMINIUM MOTOR SUPPORTS

BEARING SUPPORTS

HAVE TO MOUNT THIS PULLEY ON THAT MOTOR AXLE

SIDEWALL CUT IN WOOD

MACHINED AXEL WITH GEAR FIXED WITH ELASTIC PIN

MOUNTED ALUMINIUM SIDEWALL

SEE THE TRACK TENSION ON THE RIGHT

TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

salvage · July 15, 2011, 10:01pm

Another approach

You might also want to think about tabletop conveyor belt. I bought mine off Ebay for about $35.00 US, it’s 3 1/2" wide and about 12’ long and actually has a drive chain down the middle. The brand was Rexnard or possibly Rexnord. They have a complete catalog on-line and you can get the drive sprockets, idlers, and extra links. This picture is from one currently for sale on Ebay.