Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Mechanics and Construction => Mechanics and Construction => Topic started by: Parth on June 04, 2008, 01:29:21 PM

Title: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: Parth on June 04, 2008, 01:29:21 PM
Hi all! I was just wondering if the $40 robot needed some type of caster or if it works just fine on its 2 wheels. Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: $40 Robot Castor
Post by: pomprocker on June 04, 2008, 03:14:48 PM
it would not be $40 if it needed a castor  ;)
Title: Re: $40 Robot Castor
Post by: paulstreats on June 04, 2008, 06:35:47 PM
Also, i suppose its up to you. If you want to improve on the $40 robot then add a castor and tell us all what you used
Title: Re: $40 Robot Castor
Post by: Parth on June 04, 2008, 06:54:27 PM
Will do! If I ever find the time and the materials needed, I will definately test out the caster idea. I'll post my results! Thanks paulstreats, you've been a big help with all of my other questions too!
Title: Re: $40 Robot Castor
Post by: bens on June 04, 2008, 08:06:52 PM
Not to spam, but Pololu makes a line of fairly inexpensive ball casters designed specifically to serve as a third point of contact for small robots:

http://www.pololu.com/catalog/category/45

I have no idea if these would work with the robot you are building.


- Ben
Title: Re: $40 Robot Castor
Post by: pomprocker on June 04, 2008, 08:40:59 PM
it's been suggested by some experts to use a drawer handle as so:

http://members.cox.net/rbirac2/Ebot/casters.htm (http://members.cox.net/rbirac2/Ebot/casters.htm)
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: Parth on June 06, 2008, 06:30:32 PM
Alright, thanks for the replies! I'll try out the Polulu idea, but first I have to get some money to build the darn thing :) Once I build it, I will post my results (if it needed a caster).
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: Pratheek on June 07, 2008, 12:13:25 AM
The robot doesn't use any castor wheel. But it uses a LED as a third wheel.
The LED is soldered to the sensor module.

(http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn236/pratheekn/image013-1.jpg)

You can see the LED clearly in the above picture.

Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: Parth on June 07, 2008, 06:04:52 PM
Yeah I saw that pic with the LED and that's what gave me the idea of having a caster
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: jman571 on June 09, 2008, 04:48:20 PM
I just went to my local Home Depot, and they have a good selection of "shopping cart wheel" style casters in various sizes. They range anywhere from about 4cm in height to massive wheelbarrow size ones. They have 4 pre-drilled holes in the corners so you can attach it to something. It didn't take too long to find the correct bolt size and I was soon good to go. It works well, although it did need a good spray of WD-40 onto the ball-bearings to allow it to rotate smoother.This didn't cost me more than $2 CAD.

Although you can't find the products on their website, when I went there was tons of them sitting in different bins.

Note: I live in Toronto, Canada. I also found identical casters at a local Canadian Tire. Lowe's might have them too, but I can't confirm that.
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: Admin on June 16, 2008, 12:09:30 PM
Quote
they have a good selection of "shopping cart wheel" style casters in various sizes.
The problem with these casters is that they are really heavy - they are rated for hundreds of pounds, yet your robot weighs less than one pound typically :P

Look around for lightweight plastic types.
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: izua on June 16, 2008, 07:39:40 PM
get these (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/174)
cheap, small, inexpensive, translucent :> you really can't ask for more. and you get three!

i bought some and they're pretty cool.
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: Admin on June 16, 2008, 08:09:46 PM
Oh, I don't recommend ball casters because of clearance.

If the ball is 1" diameter, your clearance will be about ~.3". Less clearance for smaller balls . . .

But for flat floors, they work great . . . ;D
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: Centaur on June 16, 2008, 08:49:33 PM
1/2 ping pong ball works well
Title: Re: $40 Robot Caster
Post by: bens on June 17, 2008, 12:41:03 AM
If the ball is 1" diameter, your clearance will be about ~.3". Less clearance for smaller balls . . .
This 1" ball caster (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/956) can actually give you the full 0.5" clearance because of the the way caster's housing is designed, and it has the benefit of being both light (all plastic) and low friction (due to the three delrin dowel pins).  In general, the various size ball casters we offer aren't for heavier duty applications but rather for increased or decreased clearance.  They're definitely not intended for outdoors applications or robots that will encounter rough/rugged terrain.

- Ben