****8/1/2012****
Hello all, just updating my LMR projects page with a test run of my As Of Yet To Be Named Robot's chassis build. I really wanted something mars rover-esque, that had independent suspension and was different than your run of the mill two wheel + caster chassis. It had to be lightweight, as its locomotion comes from two regular sized Parallax continuous rotation servos. Considering I had a lot of unused Technic LEGO laying around, I decided to use it as an easy prototyping medium.
At first I tried mounting the servos at the wheel itself, and while it looked plausible, there was a stability issue at the leg linkage where the shock absorber connected to the main platform. It took me a few days to come up with the gear system that would allow me to power the wheel from a servo placed further away.
I knew I could use a chain belt, but I didn't have any available. Thus, the gearing system you see in the video was born of necessity. It has a strong torque, and it looks to me to almost be a 1:1 ratio once you reach the wheel from the servo. Now that I have a working locomotive system--albeit just a piece--I'm able to realize the complete chassis for the bot. It's definitely far different from my original visualization, but nonetheless I think it will look great :).
Immediate project goals:
-Construct rest of chassis, implementing single servo turning system
-Run chassis diagnostics (terrain testing, gear torque testing, stability testing)
-Mount electronics, sensors, batteries etc
-Complete the wiring system
-Run test code
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/untitled-robot-project
I like that.