Society of Robots - Robot Forum

General Misc => Misc => Topic started by: rueben5 on December 20, 2010, 02:15:52 AM

Title: Axon II_Servo-battery issue??
Post by: rueben5 on December 20, 2010, 02:15:52 AM
Hi, I am using Axon II (with roborealm) to make an object tracking and following robot. the robot has 7 servos connected to the axonII. Sometimes, the servos do not rotate with enough torque/speed. Once i recharge the battery, it works fine for a while. Could it be a problem with the battery?
Title: Re: Axon II_Servo-battery issue??
Post by: Joker94 on December 20, 2010, 03:35:29 AM
From what you are describing it sounds as if the battery is not a high enough capacity.Seeing as you are controlling 7 servos.

Just a few more questions to allow us to provide a better answer,

What is the mAh capacity of the battery?

What is the voltage of the battery?

What is the size of the servos(micro, mini, standard, x-large etc)?

it sounds like a battery size problem but once we have the finer details of your set up.
Title: Re: Axon II_Servo-battery issue??
Post by: rueben5 on December 21, 2010, 09:39:45 PM
hi, thanks, the servos are all futaba 3003 series. the battery is 6V DC 1000mAh. What happens if i use a 12 V battery? would that damage the servos? :S
Title: Re: Axon II_Servo-battery issue??
Post by: Joker94 on December 21, 2010, 10:25:07 PM
Yeah 12 V will defiantly damage the servos. most servos are designed to operate at 4.8v to 6v, any more and you are risking the servos.

How old is the battery? if it older there is a chance that it is the age/ware of the battery. especially if you are using  NiCad, even NiMH batteries are affected just not as bad.

What chemistry is the battery?

As it sound as if it is a battery problem i would get a new battery 6v at around 1500mAh or higher. this should be enough to sustain the power for a longer period of time. if you can get something like 2200mAh as that will be better for you in the long run. I have a 2200 Mah 6v in my 25% aerobatic rc plane and it has no problem powering the 8 servos for many hours before a recharge is needed!

What charger are you using to charge the batteries?
Title: Re: Axon II_Servo-battery issue??
Post by: Admin on December 23, 2010, 10:12:47 AM
Energy stored in the battery, measured as mAh, has nothing to do with the batteries rated supply current, measured in A. :P

7 of your Futaba 3003 servos will drain no less than about 1.5A just by turning them on. You can expect peak current closer to 7A. If your battery (please link it here) can only supply 5A peak, than your servos will suffer in torque to compensate.

Also, as Joker94 said, 1000mAh is too low. If you're draining 3A on average, that means your battery will be dead in about 20 minutes (1000mAh/3A = 20 minutes).