To mount motors

[daveimi]

Hi

Me again. I've had a look through several threads, but can't work out how people are mounting their motors, ie what they screw them to and stuff. I'm dyslexic and my reading isn't the best and the mass of information is a bit overwhelming that the search engine kicks back. If people have a second, is their any chance of explaining how you mount your drill motors/gearboxes, specifically how you fix them to the base plate / mountings. Pictures would help also if you have any.

Thanks

Dave

[typhoon_driver]

Dave,

Depends on the motors you are using. If using the gimson brand of motors these come with screwed inserts that allow you to bolt the motor to the base. If using drill motors there are two main options available to you. Either you can use robochallenges drill mounts or take a thick piece of plastic (20mm nylon is perfect) and cut a hole in it that fits one of the profiles of the drill gearbox. You then use the large circular face plate that comes as part of the gearbox assembly to fix it into place. You are then able to bolt this to a base.

Take a look at Jamies drumroll build thread to see how this one works. I have used this method but am terrible at documenting what I do.

One of the best things you could do actually would be to get along to an event in the crowd if there is one nearby and take a look for yourself. There aren't any roboteers that would turn you away from asking questions from the edge of the pit area and show you some of the ways in which various things are fixed and attached.

[PJ-27]

I second Jamies drumroll build thread. It's the technique I use.

[plargen]

http://teamorr.com/how-tos/how-to-build ... ght-robot/

have you watched the 3 episodes it shows you how to build a feather and make drill motor mounts

[archie2000]

ok David
firstly I think Johnny was selling two motors in mounts for £15
secondly if there wasmy attachment problems I could give you pictures

[RogueTwoRobots]

The board attachment issues are fixed now.


Hi Dave,

I can't find a decent section of my build diary that has suitable pictures of how to mount drill motors, but they're on my Photobucket page. As Gary has said, one of the ways to do it is to cut a hole in a piece of plastic such as Nylon or HDPE that accommodates the shape of the front section of the drill gearbox.
The easiest way I find to do this now is:

Firstly, cut a rectangular hole of approximately 30mm x 25mm in your chassis/bulkhead material:


The profile of the front of the drill gearbox is like two of the letter 'D' back-to-back. This fits nicely into the hole you've cut:


When you buy a cordless drill and dismantle it, one of the parts you are left with is a black metal faceplate that has two screws going into the drill gearbox. You can usually see the faceplate once you have removed the chuck. Once your drill/gearbox is inserted into your chassis/bulkhead, you put the faceplate and two screws back on to hold everything in place:


The white piece of plastic is a spacer I had to use, as my material was only 15mm thick and the depth of the gearbox is at least 20mm.

In these pictures, the piece of plastic I've mounted the drill motor on is part of a chassis that gets bolted together:


So the drill motors aren't fixed to a baseplate, they're effectively 'floating'. This means that if you get turned upside down and an axe hits your baseplate and bends it, there is less chance of your drive motors getting damaged/knocked out of line.

If I get time this weekend, I'll try and make a video of the method I've just described, as often it can be easier to understand when seeing it in real time.

[daveimi]

That's really really awesome! Thank you! Off to procure motors and a base plate Monday!