What should i do to start building a robot?

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:38 am

I Have 2 18v drill motors and a parralax basic stamp 2 board
and some other motors i dont no how to use (stepper)

Is there any cheap robot project that i can build from this?

Drill motor

JPKNHTP · Post by **JPKNHTP** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:19 pm

-JPKNHTP

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:18 pm

Would i be able to control the motors with my BS2?

Sambuchi · Post by **Sambuchi** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:06 pm

sure you can.. looking at a data sheet I see that BS2-IC BASIC Stamp has

Processor Speed 20 MHz
Program Execution Speed ~4,000 instructions/sec.
RAM Size 32 Bytes (6 I/O, 26 Variable)
EEPROM (Program) Size 2K Bytes, ~500 instructions
I/O Pins 16 +2 Dedicated Serial
Voltage Requirements 5 - 15 vdc
Current Draw at 5V 3 mA Run / 50 ÂµA Sleep
PBASIC Commands 42
Size 1.2"x0.6"x0.4"

So... what you would do is setup your I/O to a H-Bridge.. As JPKNHTP stated the H-bridge will be used to make the motors move forward and back ...

The micro is used for control... to control the motors you use PWM(pulse width modulation) for speed control.

Look at this setup.."this was a quick search"
http://www.bobblick.com/techref/project ... ridge.html

but it looks like he is also using large drill motors like you...

Hope this gets you started.

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:09 pm

thank you
i was searching for a motor controller
but most were for motors up to 12v
And any 18v range one were to expensive
like tripple the cost for both the drills

I hope ill be able to build this controller
Im still a beginer in robotics

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:35 pm

oh is there a way to remove the drills adjustable clutchs outside (to make it skinier) w/o destroying the slip clutch or the gear box?
when i tried all the ballbearing fell out and the drill wouldnt work untill i found them all and put them back

JPKNHTP · Post by **JPKNHTP** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:41 pm

-JPKNHTP

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:44 pm

i already removed the chuck (picture on top of page)
and once i removed the 2 screws underneith their was a spring ontop of ball bearing
this was when all the ball bearing poured out
kind of funy if you think about it

So what i was trying to say was, is there a way to slim up the clutch without messing it up

JPKNHTP · Post by **JPKNHTP** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 7:04 pm

-JPKNHTP

Sambuchi · Post by **Sambuchi** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 6:56 am

compwiz575,

Have you decided what you wanted to do with the motors?

Drive wheels?

Or how big you want your first robot to be...

You might want to check out your local hobby store... you will end up there eventually if you are interestested in robotics..

You will find cheap motors that are half the size of your motors that can drive a robot... pretty cheap. Plus, it wont involve hacking a motor to pieces.

Ive seen people use drill motors in the past... they used them because there robot was 10 pounds and needed torque.

Might want to keep it simple and have a clear idea what you want to accomplish with this robot.

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:35 am

i was looking for motors for a linear actuator originaly thats why i tried such hight tork motors but they turned out to be to big but looked great for a good robot so i got another drill, they were selling them realy cheap ($20ea) and started planing a med sized robot thats where im now

so im thinking of using a slab of wood for the base
the drill motors conected to bicicle training wheels as the drive
a caster wheel in the front
and a BS2 education board as the brain
now all the things should be relatively cheap (i hope)

Also im planing this as my first home made bot so it doesnt need to be driping with sensors just anought to practice programing and basic functions (like a moving table)

Should i have a have a wheel incoder to synce the motors together?

Sambuchi · Post by **Sambuchi** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:17 am

I dont think you are at the point yet where you need to worry about wheel or shaft encoders.

You need to build a body mount your motors...
design the required hardware to run the motors...
Devolop a simple source code to run your motors.

I would like to see your next post with a picture of this

You should worry about your POWER SUPPLY! Its a big part of robotics so start looking for deals or old toys. Should be a big one for those motors

Stick with the moving table idea .. then who knows... toss an arm in that could hand you the TV remote!

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:19 am

k im still iffy on exactly what i need a power suply for

as for the arm idea ill try that once i get better at building robots

also i was thinking are DC motors beter than a servos?

I figured dc motors have more power for price and im looking for good tork

Ill try to put a drawing of how i think the basic robot should look like in my next post

Also is there any tools that i specificly need for creating this robot other than basics like a screw driver?
im thinking more like a drill press,...?

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:00 am

this is how the base and wheel setup should look

(later) i changed it alittle so it can support the motors shaft
also it might have multiple layers

compwiz575 · Post by **compwiz575** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:53 pm

im having a problem with building the power supply
im not sure how to choose which resistor to use for instance to change the voltage from 18v to 5v, 9v, 18v(might need to lower the amps for the motors bc imusing the bateries in conjunction), and other
i know the formula V=RI but im not sure how to use it

can someone tell me how to figure out which resitors to use, please

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What should i do to start building a robot?

What should i do to start building a robot?

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