Society of Robots - Robot Forum
Mechanics and Construction => Mechanics and Construction => Topic started by: ashour on August 21, 2010, 11:47:57 AM
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Hi, i'm trying to build the 40$ line follower robot , i've finished the electronics part , but i'm having so hard times with the mechanical part because none of the parts metioned in the tutorial are available with the same specs in where i live so i have to improvise , and i have a question about DC motors : i found a 6v DC-Motor but i think it have a very high RPM than the 100 rpm mentioned in the tutorial , i can't buy gearboxes even here , because that would be very expensive for me and geared motors available only as used parts from old copy machines !! so they are very big and miss axes usually !
So someone have any method to decrease the motor speed?
I've tried before adding resistors of 6.8 Ohm to the circuit and its not very nice idea
thanks
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This will be difficult to do electrically. I'll guess that your motors have a shaft about 5-10mm long and less than 1mm diameter. You can get a mechanical reduction when driving the wheels by having the motor shaft against the tread of the wheel. A little more description:
1- mount the wheels on an axial so the wheels are free to rotate.
2- mount the motor so the the motor's shaft is parallel to the wheel's axial and the motor's shaft is pressing against the wheel tread.
3- this gives a reduction ratio of motor shaft diamete divided by the wheel diameter.
Her's a picture of my first Bot's motor drive:
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^^ cheapest and simplest way.
A gear box doesn't simply slow the motor down, it transforms some of that speed into torque, which is necessary to move anything, without torque your robot wouldn't move.
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Thats a good idea Waltr,
I've got lots of those little 6-7.2v motors from toys I've "examined", but all hope of using them in a proper robot failed when I tested the tuque...
Mind you, if you are willing to pull apart a VCR or too you can get a pancake motor with lot's of tuque for it's size.
I wish i had sudden brain bursts like that....
Voyager
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I can't take credit for the idea since I borrowed it from someone else many years ago. I did think it is a great idea for getting something working with junk box parts.
Have fun.
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Hi,
Velo Solex has used a similar method for transferring the motor power to the (front) wheel - a roller covered with something akin to sanding paper for grip (needles to say that the tires wear out relatively fast - and that it steers like *Censored* due to the front hinged motor that you lower to the tire for starting).