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I have looked and couldn't find a similar topic, if I've missed it please shove me in the right direction :)
I'm looking into putting car type steering in my featherweight. I have very limited fabrication skills, and wondered if anyone knew of anything common and pre-built that I could use to make up a steering assembly. I'd use a big servo to shove it around.
Dave
Actualy, if you can find an old 1/4 scale car like this, you can go a long way.
Onslaught , a real competitor in the heavyweight class, and demonstrated that car style steering isn't as nuts as some tought.
Aonther idea, equaly strange and exotic, is the backwheel drive/steering as used in Sumpthing II, and Project Oneand Two.
well there is only one person that uses car steering as far as I'm aware nowadays and if i remember right, for the featherweight Trevor uses a BIG servo for the steering.
It has it's plus and negative points. As for setting up in a machine ask yourself why the vast majority of machines have tank skid steer style drive systems?
Trevor is the Guy for this but I would say the servo route is the way to go for a feather.
But make sure the linkage has some shock absorbance as you could get through a lot of servos otherwise.
Also make sure the drive wheels have lots of power for skid steering. I don't think you nee to bother with a differential.
I am told these types of robots are a lot easier to control. Go for it. :proud:
That's awesome! Thank you for all the replies. I know tank style steering is normal, but I've been racing RC cars for about 15years and am really used to the way they handle etc. I wasn't really sure if car type steering would make the robot a bit unmanouverable in a small arena but thought it was something a bit different. I knew of Onslaught and Spiny Norman but hadn't seen the others.
Dave,
Buy a sabretooth and 2 Gimson motors and boxes and save yourself a lot of grief.
Mini mighty mouse has steering wheels but also differential drive and took years to perfect. The only reason the front steering wheels are still on it is because it gives precise steering, and it is there. The servo used is Titanium with Titanium gears, output spline and connected to a belt drive sprocket that has a separate overhead support. Cost well over £100. If it goes wrong the wheels will sit at 90° and you are dead in the arena.
If you can race RC cars then you will take to differential steering in no time at all.
Trevor
Hi Trevor
Thank you for the reply, I'll go with the tank style steering. As I'm getting through the build diaries in my spare time I'm catching on to why a lot of the robots are build like they are. Why make all the mistakes when most of them have already been made I suppose. I've looked into it properly since I posted and I've realised it's going to take a big servo and a lot of trial and error to get right. I'm computer/electronics based so will play to my strengths with the ESC and tank style steering and leave the complicated fabrication for now :D
Thanks again
Dave
As stated above go with a sabertooth if funds permit it will mix for you, so all control is on one stick, forward/backward and left/rite, piece of cake to set up
sabertooths are too easy to blow if you go anywhere near the limits. I would recommend the new converted speedos from australia that a good few machines are using to great effect now. I plan on selling up all my electronize and converting soon enough.
I imagine you have a decent transmitter if you have driven RC cars for years so setting up mixing with various control laws should be easy.
Are you allowed 27mHz transmitters or do they still have to be 40mhz
27mhz and 40mhz are banned i'm afraid
Guessing it's 2.4GHz aircraft stuff then
I suggest you read the build rules found here:
http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/rules-safety
Only 2.4Ghz is allowed for FWs. Most people use Spektrum Gear, DX5Es and DX6Is.
Others use Planet5 and RadioLink.
Spektrum has the advantage of using DSM2 or DSMX tech for which Rxs are abundant and cheap!
DSM2 Receivers from about £5 and a playstation controller style transmitter for £20. Not bad. Used to cost 70 for a radio kit.
You can get a 2.4gig conversion kit that is cheap and will convert any 40meg or i'd imagine 27meg transmitter
Yeah that's cool, I'll get a new radio and receiver. I've been using the same lot of radio gear for ten years and it'll need changing so that I have more than two channels anyway. Especially if robots down the line have active weapons etc.
Thanks again for the replies.
Dangerous Dave