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The Robot: Base, Wheels, Motors, and Sabertooth Motor Controllers

[ Thanks to Adam
Palmer
for this link. ]

“Here is the base, the insulation tape all over the
place is to hold down the connectors that I won’t be needing.
The motors all contain encoders which I didn’t just want to
rip out, so I’ve preserved the connectors for future usage,
and just cut the – and + cables in a way that they can easily be
reconnected to the connector if I ever want to. They were expensive
motors so I didn’t want to ruin them!

“If anyone is wondering why I didn’t attach standoff
cylinders to the controller’s super large heat sink rather
than attaching it directly to the acrylic base [which would
normally be a bad idea], it’s because I didn’t have any
standoff’s left, and the controllers are capable of 25A per
channel. I will never drive them at higher than 4A, and the motors
running on 4A for 30m or 2A for 2 hours solidly as a test
didn’t generate any noticeable heat on the heat sink at all.
At first I had also predicted the use of a fan to suck air in from
the base, but I’m not sure it will be necessary, as nothing
seems to get remotely hot so far..”


Complete Story

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