I'm thinking of using hacked servos for my first robot. The advantages really outweight the flexibility if you build your own gearbox, wheel mounts, power and control stages, and so on. Plus, servos are widely available and cheap.
But what would the final speed be? I played with a friend's servo at 180 degrees (yes, from .5 to 2.5 ms pulse width
), and it took it about half a second for a half rotation. So, if I get a second for a full rotation, and at 60 mm diameter wheel, I'll get like, 6 cm / second speed. I don't think that's really fast, but then again, it might be even low, if they won't put out the required torque.
So, I'm asking you out there, who hacked servos, how fast are the hacked servos spinning compared to the original, angular, speed?
I'm also thinking, I could just use the gearing, overvoltage the motor and make a small power level inside the enclosure. I heard the hacked servos don't offer a speed ramp, either, so it's either full speed or stop.