Team Psyclone: The Uprising (Of Build Diaries)

I've found some 800w ones quite cheap, just that they're 36v, and I've found a few other high wattage ones. Are scooter motors valid for a choice of weapon/drive motors, if not direct drive, but as expected, chain and sprocket.

Should be fine and quite cheap with easy installation, search tomahawk to see them in action great machine which also drives well

Pm me I can show you photos of the motors etc

The ones I've found are £65 a motor, 800w, but due to the speed controllers, I can only put 24v into a 36v motor, so in theory that should output 3/4 of the speed, which would be something around 10~ Mph, hopefully.

http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-E30-150.html

Take a look at these, not sure if anyone has yet to have used them in a robot but ampflow stats are usually pretty accurate

Only problem is that it's from the US, and shipping takes a few months at least, in my experience.

Megga Mighty Mouse is using the 400 versions, they seem ok. I wouldn't use the 150 version, doubt they would be man enough.

It's about half a Bosch 750 on 24V, with the need for a bigger gearratio.
Where a Bosch 750 could get away with a 6-1 gearratio on 8" wheels, this motor needs at least a 12-1.

what about these they run on 24v

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unite-Bran...item2589225fc6

still only less than half the power of a bosch, and probably not built as well.

So, how much do these fabled Bosch's cost? I assume pretty expensive, is it worth the wait for those AmpFlows?

about £110 each

The Bosch GPA 750 is not fabled, just used a lot in heavies.
And if you want a comparable Ampflow, like suggested earlier, the E30-400 is a better bet.

I myself would opt for an Iskra AMG. More rugged than a Bosch 750, a tad more torque but a bit heavier.
Added benefit. EU manufacture. Iskra is a Chzech brand, and it means lighting or spark.
Used for hydraulic pumps on lorries and such. So sourcing them can be easier. Can...

So, is there anywhere to get these Bosch 750s, Iskra AMGs or Ampflow E30-400s in the UK? The last time I ordered from Robot MarketPlace, the order took around six months, and I can't remember, but I think one of the orders didn't even come! I just don't trust the place personally.

You can order direct from ampflow: http://www.ampflow.com/three_inch_hi...nce_motors.htm. I have been using the RMP for almost 10 years and never had a problem with deliveries. Sometimes they are out of stock of Ampflow motors but contacting their customer service always gets me a quick answer on my order status.

Check their stock status carefully: if it says 'Available' it means they don't have the item on site but its available at the manufacturer - it can take some time to arrive. If It says 'In stock' then its in the RMP warehouse and will ship quickly.

G43-500... Would that be an alright motor? I'm quite happy to go with the E30-400, but at 500w, the G43-500 seems like a viable option.

The G43-500 is a re-badged scooter motor. For about $40 less you get 1/3 the power and a much weaker output shaft & bearing. If you were planning to use chain or belt drive to the wheels, then this motor could be interesting - as long as 500W is enough to get the bot moving. I would use a simulator like the Tentacle Torque Calculator to check it. The calculator doesn't have all the exact motors you are considering, but there are some similar ones to give you an idea. Without knowing much about your design or crunching the numbers on the G43-500, I think its rather underpowered for a heavyweight.

You can use the scooter motor. If you gear down a lot, resulting in a slow machine but steady machine. You could think about using 4 off'm

The build quality ain't so bad, but for RW, we need tougher stuff than what a cheap chinese electric scooter offers.

After another quick scour of eBay, I have come across the same motors Krissy Knee on Facebook Robot Wars was talking about. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24V-ELECTR...item2ece44cb47
Would these be suitable, or would they be too big etc...

They are very large and heavy compared to the E30-400 and adapting that 22mm output gear to hold a chain sprocket would be a PITA. I would still go for the E30-400 or the GPA motors.

The golf buggy motor might actually be an OK choice for a Sewer Snake style weapon motor; it would have huge torque and it's relatively low RPM means less gearing. There is still that 16Kg to deal with though.

Big problem with this motor is the hardened gear for output shaft. Mounting anything else on it will involve very creative thinking.

Bigger problem, finding a replacement when it fails.

Biggest problem, weight. This motor is ment to be used the whole day, under constant, meaning everything is oversized and underpowered.

So, in basic terms, either that american motor, or a decent scooter motor with ruggedization. Or beg on here for some wheelchair motors, since I have no local places to buy any, and ebay's not being friendly.

Actually, are mobility scooters too slow for this? If not, I may have a plan.

Are mobility scooters and wheelchair motors the same thing to you? All the wheelchair motors I have seen are around 200 rpm at their rated voltage, which seems slow to me. Unless you over-volt them and use large diameter wheels, they will probably be too slow. As Maddox already said, the other problem with eBay motors is finding replacements.

I looked at US heavyweights (which I am more familiar with) and they all seem to use at least 1HP motors. Using that as a baseline, you need at least a 750 watt motor and that G43-500 isn't up to it. When I started looking for larger scooter motors on eBay they were nearly all close to the price of the E30-400 Motor. As the scooter motors were all lower power and weaker construction than the E30-400, it seems quite a bargain to me.

What controllers are you planing to use for the drive motors? I seem to recall you saying that 24V was the highest you can go.

As I said, the real killer on the Ampflow motors is the postage, and the time it takes to post them. It's £150 odd to get them posted, for a pair, whereas it's only >£100 for some pairs on Ebay, although as you and maddox say, replacements are are painful to source.
As for the controllers, I'm using some 4QD NCC70s, supplied by another forum member. IIRC they handle 24v, max.

On an interesting note, a 36v 1000w scooter motor is rather cheap, and on 24v still seems to be pretty quick for what it is, and to survive people going over allsorts on those types, I think it may be suitable for chain drive on a heavy... Although they are £90 each, so quite painful on the wallet.

Are you just looking at the postage from the Robot Marketplace? Its very steep so you might buy direct from Ampflow.

If you can get the 1000W scooter motors cheaper than the Ampflows + postage, then they will probably be fine. Buying two motors direct from Ampflow is $305 USD or about £182.

THE UPDATE OF UPDATES
Just received a nice pretty Birthday (Sadly one day late, but I don't care) present, a certain heavyweight robot Chassis. The beast is bigger than I expected, but I will put so much effort into making it run again. I'm terrible at making the shells, but I know how to (For the most part) get some of the insides done. Not quite sure on Pneumatics, however my school and friends/team members should be quite helpful with this.

Told you it was huge lol. You can probably shorten it by cutting out the back end and welding the frame up. With a school/college behind you and more pairs of hands it should be easy.

I think it should suffice for now, but I'll keep note of the advice. Currently, I'm bolting up the sides of the robot, so it looks in some from of shape.

So, with everything I currently have nice and bolted down, I shall move on to drive, or basic thereof, where would I be finding good motors for the sport. I've already mentioned Ebay scooter motors, and there's no wheelchair motors on there at a suitable price. Where would I get them from? All scrapyards in the area are automotive, mainly. Is it worth going to a mobility shop?

Okay. After a long winter hibernation from robots, I am back again, and ready to ask my dad for some money. I've lately been busy programming a game, along with all sorts of stuff, but if I can, I will work on the robot. Anyway, a plan of action:
- Buy some scooter motors around 350-500w, and chain them up to the wheels, with appropriate shock absorbment
- Buy some other bits, and find someone who will kindly sell me a LP Ram for a HW
- Sort that out
- ???
- Profit (Of a hopefully functioning HW)

So, in the meantime, of building a heavy, I plan on building a cheap-ish feather too, just to keep myself building, and to get back into this. I've already sketchup'd a design (Since I can't find my copy of Solidworks) and it looks alright ish, I already have the necessary materials to build the outer frame, but no way of controlling it. Has there been any new ESCS for feathers, beyond the TZ85a's and such?

For the motors you mentioned, the TZ85 is still the best value for money.

That may be, but just in the nick of time, I've been offered some wheelchair motors, from a nearby mobility shop. Perfect. I don't know what they have in stock yet, but next time I pop up, they'll have something for me. Well, when we get a text through, that is.

So, step one done. Sort of.
Step two. I already have half a speed controller, can anyone tell me if I do actually need the £40 radio thingy from 4QD (I have the 4QD NCC) or if I can use the cheap, £8 same type of thing. Links below.

The expensivy one
The cheapo one (at the very bottom of the page, I assume the second board would work)

Thanks for any help.

you would need 2 of the cheapo ones and 2 servos to control them

Could I possibly unsolder the pot, and replace it with a servo pigtail into a receiver, since the pot gives off a signal, and receives two power inputs? Or atleast I'd assume that. I also believe that there's another one, for remote pots, would that work?

Not a chance; The pot varies a a voltage level into the controller, while and R/C receiver sends a string of pulses. They are completely incompatible.

So, the servo seems like the easiest way. Well, in a budget, it does. I don't have the budget to pay £40 for part of an esc, along with the other components. I may at some stage, but I also need weapons (Could anyone recommend an actuator capable of lifting heavies? I can't really afford pneumatics quite yet. And I'd rather try it on a feather first.)

Oh, and completely off the topic of heavyweights, I have a little Sabertooth 2x5a, and when I plug it in, a blue light flashes in two set bursts. I'm not sure why, I'm certain I set everything up correctly, all the wires in the correct places the right way round. Any help?

EDIT: I fixed it. Not sure how, or what was wrong, but it suddenly decided to work. Weird.

Blue light is supposed to flash. Its counting the lipo cells.