Thursday, January 8, 2009

Treadmill Test


Unfortunately the battery was running low so I could not get the wheel to stay vertical. Also, the treadmill's belt still needs to be tightened to eliminate the various bumps and folds along it.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Finished!!!! (for now)

Here's the completed chassis with rider attached, all wires hooked up and gear cover visible

The rider in the leaning position, preparing to make a turn

Close-up of the gear cover installed

Due to the sudden torque delivered by the motor, the clutch ring kept on detaching from the main shaft (due to the glue's bond being overwhelmed), disengaging the transmission frequency. Therefore, the yellow spur gear is now simply glued to the drive shaft altogether.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Gearbox Cover

The gearbox cover is made from a clear Ipod case, it not only acts as protection but also prevents the gears from slipping out while making the whole gear train visible.

Rider

Here is the "rider" or the battery pack, wrapped comfortably around the seat.

A view of the back.

The seat and rider attached to the steering servo.

Rider's Seat

The seat is made from a piece of thin wood, a hole is drilled in the lower portion to allow the servo arm screw to be threaded through.

The bottom of the seat is made from a spare plastic part from a Tamiya monster truck.

Finally, a styrene sheet with Velcro tape at the ends is glued onto the wood.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Electronics installed!

Here is the overall setup with electronics installed, doesn't she look pretty with all the wires? :D

A rare view of the right side of the vehicle, showing the motor cables' hookup to the ESC.
Publish Post

Switches

Visible here is the main switch connected to the speed control. It is also attached to the main frame, above the steering servo with Velcro.

This is the auxiliary switch, located just under the rider/battery and in front of the motor. For the most part, it will be left in the ON position.

Electronics... (cont'd)

The speed control used here is the Tamiya TEU-101BK. It has proven to be a reliable ESC (Electronic Speed Control) for hobby RC cars. Since our prototype also uses a standard 540-sized motor (27 turns), this ESC is the perfect choice.

The ESC is held in place again by Velcro tape fixed to the front suspension box. Additionally, a metal bar (dark gold piece) envelops the ESC to provide extra support.

Electronics...

Here you can see the receiver mount which has been made, to cover up the space between the two frame halves, a triangular piece of wood has been inserted in-between, and styrene sheets glued on top. The triangular wood piece in the picture is then glued onto it, along with the Velcro tape that will hold the receiver in place.

The receiver used for the prototype is a 7-channel Futaba FM receiver on the 75 mHz band (the standard surface frequency denoted by the FCC).