I wanted to see what I could build from off the shelf components. This bot is 19.00" long by 14.75" wide and weighs 6lbs 8 ounces as pictured. The center motor mounts could be shimmed to make turning in place easier.
Hey looks good…!!
need to set up a way to let the wheels “float” and the electronics carrier to stay level…
or mabe run three wheels as a hub with the motor running the center…
keep up the work. 
Looks good, Jim. However, a six wheeled rover really needs independent suspension on all wheels. 
This might be another use for those new shocks, or you might need stiffer shocks for this. I have designed a way to make the wheel suspension, but have no way to attach shocks. With the new MMT-03 motor mounts, my suspension would work well, and I need to update my Hex Rover model to use it.
8-Dale
you need independent steering axis on each of the 4 end motors, and then a double bogie suspension… differentially couple between the sides… mmm yeah… then we can put it on a rocket and send it to mars.
This was merely a test for me to see what was possible to build with off the shelf components. I’m sure an articulating chassis arrangement could also be implemented. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say a 6WD rover NEEDS to have independent suspension, but it would be an improvement if the environment required it.
As for options on this simple idea I want to try this. Visualize the U channels turned over so the opening is facing in. Remove the hubs and tubing. Then they could be attached to (wrapped around) a piece of 7/8" plywood (painted flat black of course) as the main chassis. The U channel attached to the front and rear as well. A nice plastic tub could be used to hold all of the electronics. It’s not the end all by any means, just some ideas.
I do like the look of the chassis being open. It’s got a bit of coolness to it I guess.
I sense a joking tone, but it may actually be possible to some degree. It’s going to require some strong servos on the motor mounts. I dunno, needs more experimentation.
Heh, it is how the suspension of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity operate. What is ironic is this is sort of full circle for me as research on building a rover suspension type robot is what initially led me to Lynxmotion and the SES bracket system… that project still lies in its infancy while I have since built my tracked ROV, a BRAT, a Scout, and a 3dof leg mini-hex in preparation for your release of the phoenix chassis.
Oh look at the pretty lights… 
IMO, if a new Rover is going to be released it has to be something never done before. You recently said you would be stocking RC suspension springs, I’d love to see a rover with shocks on it and an actual suspension system rather than wheels straight mounted to the output motor shaft. I don’t know how possible that is, but its an idea I would like to achieve after im done with the MARC robot either on a tracked vehicle or 4WD rover.
I know this is just an experiment to see what you could do with those wicked motor mounts. Its a good bot with an inexpensive chassis. I also like th open look, but it could also be used as a structure for plywood to mount to. Very niiiiiice 8)
Soft suspension arms could be hung/sprung from opposite sides of the frame. Shocks probably wouldn’t provide any useful function to the suspension on a small bot.
I have designed a set of brackets that would allow the motor and wheel to have a suspension. Think of the normal RC truck rear end with IRS, but lose the dog bone and install the gearhead motor where the where the axle would be. I design stuff all the time, some will be products, some well, so little time. lol
Thanks Joe
Efficient stearing will be interesting. Both the front and rear wheels will probably need to be articulated such that they somewhat circle the center wheels while turning. Otherwise stearing might be difficult dragging the center wheels sideways during a turn.
Without having access to Lynx candy store, what about using an asb-18 and some of these:
Then you can mount the motor mout to the hub for independent suspension, OR use the BB hubs with 3 section channels for stronger control arms. This might make a good independent suspension. Oh, and throw some RC shocks on there. 
Making a SES suspension seems easy…
Take 2 ASB-12s, so that the channel part faces each other. Connect four corners using threaded rod and ball links, to form a parallelogram. Raise the ‘exterior’ ASB-12 so that its bottom hole is level with the ‘interior’ ASB-12’s top hole. Across these two holes that are now level, mount a pair of RC Shocks (one on each side of the ASB-12s).
Connect the ‘interior’ ASB-12 to the frame, the ‘exterior’ ASB-12 to an ASB-06 and then the ASB-06 to a MMT-03, and viola! Suspension made from SES brackets off the shelf.
You can have direct drive motors and a suspension. The two things have nothing to do with each other.
If people want suspension, why re-invent the wheel? There are a ton of very well-engineered fully-suspended chassis options out there. Just put a micro in it and voila- a capable off-road robot!
There’s just something about DIY, especially when you’ve accomplished something you didn’t know anything when you started.
For an SES rover, suspension would help it get over obstacles it might get stuck on otherwise.
I can visualize that, for sure! There are lots of options for the base plate. You could choose different widths to create rovers for different purposes. You can do that with the tubes and hubs also to some extent. It would be nice to have a version of the A4WD1 chassis to fit a six wheeled rover also.
I think it’s really cool also. You could also use a third U channel and shorter tubes to get more strength in the chassis as well as more places to mount stuff.
8-Dale
Sure, good point. And there are not many 6-wheel platforms out there.
This type of bot really does need a suspension though. Otherwise there’s no benefit to having 6 wheels. I don’t buy that it “looks cool”. To me a bot looks cool if form follows function (and it actually works).
That’s basically what I was planning, except the outer ASB-12 would have the motor mounting holes in it. 8)
I guess people have different definitions for “works”. If the rover is only going to be used on even terrain, like asphalt, concrete, tile and carpet flooring, it does still benefit from the weight distribution of 6WD, and it works.
An articulating chassis with rigid sides would help with terrain adaptation for uneven terrain. And of course full independent suspension would make for the best terrain adaptation for rough terrain, so it depends on the goal.
It might be interesting to connect the three drive sections with universal type joints instead of being rigid. This would allow it to move over mixed terrain a little easier. It would also stimulate some different bot thinking and engineering.