After looking through some of the robots on this site, seeing the videos of Trata, and then looking out of my office window to see the dwindling remains of 4' of snow, I decided to take action. On Sunday, intending to do something productive in my workshop, I found a nice length of PVC and some bookshelf brackets, and this project was born.
I have been flying R/C for several years and have a few old planes that I can pull parts from. For better or worse, all of my engines are glow fuel powered...and so is my little snow sled.
Following the comments from Trata, I build this to be fully steered by thrust - no rudder.
Last night was the first test run. After 4 years of non-use, the little glow engine sprung to life and provided more than enough power to pull the sled along. After several adjustments...and then a couple more...the sled kept trending to the left.
I think I'll add a rudder to see what difference it makes.
As soon as I get a chance, I’ll run it down a hill and see. I think it will stop…so I’ll have to push hard. =)
Happy to repost here, but, it is on a path to becoming a robot. Once I am happy with the frame, I am going to mount a Xbee radio, an Arduino, and then see what good it does. That update might have to come next winter. Then again, they are calling for more snow this weekend!
Oh, and what do you mean - “pull down the left side”?
Okay, that’s what I thought you were referring to. Working on some code for another (real) robot. Once I get that working, I’ll switch back to the sled.
And thanks for the wax tip - I already have some on my bench waiting.
Every action [blah] reaction. Propeller and motor are pushing each other in opposite directions, by equal measures.
Air planes suffer from the same deal, but they don’t keep their skis on the ground for very long. Consider relocating the propeller off centre to compensate.
First of all, the wax made a HUGE difference. Thanks for the tip!
BUT…unpowered, it still tracks left. And it doesn’t take very far to see how evident it is.
The sledges are toed in just a little bit. Rationale? Well, with R/C planes, I was always told to toe in the landing gear just a little to help it track straighter. Plus, the “snow plow” is a pretty stable stance for skiing.
At this time, there are two things I am thinking of trying. One, add some weight to the right side since the left side has the battery pack. Maybe that slight weight difference has an impact? Second, the tubes do not bend straight up - I was not super careful when I mounted them. So, I was going to reheat them and straighten them out a little.
