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Asked — Edited

Newbie With Questions.

Hello. I am new here. I am new to robotics as well.

I am building a large, heavy robot ("Lost In Space" replica). It will be driven by wheel chair motors. The rest of the movements will be made with automotive windshield wiper motors, or similar. They will all be wired to automotive Bosch relays wired for forward or reverse. Will this hardware hook up to relays? If so, what would I need to get started? I would like to incorporate sensors, perhaps feedback from the wiper motors parking switches, camera, etc.
This looks like a good starting point from what I can see. Any advice would be appreciated.


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#12  
I love how you did your torso, it looks really good. Especially compared the expense of the others on the b-9 site. How are you planning on handling the bubble and the collar?
#13  
The torso has come a long way since those pictures. We have the arm sockets in and have been working on the Bondo. We had to put that on hold until the spring because we were doing the Bondo outside.
The collar we will be doing with the usual club method. The acrylic was not too expensive. Another option that some of the early scratch-builders had, was to space out three Plexiglas rings (top, bottom, and a larger center) then wrap clear plastic tubing around them in the correct pattern. I do not think that would save any money though.
As for the bubble, I will be making a fiberglass mold (still have some left). I am debating the idea of making a DIY rotational mold, and casting it in clear epoxy resin. If that does not work, I can drill many small holes in the mold and put it in a box to vac-u-form some lexan. This will take all of the guesswork out of getting it the right shape.
We also found a pretty good looking cheap alternative to the neon.

There is no way to build one of these things on real short money, but I am trying to save as much as I can by doing all of the labor myself. Besides, without knocking those who choose to build with club parts, both my brother and I feel that when it is done, we do not want to step back and look at a collection of other peoples parts.

Is there some way to exchange email addresses on this site in case you want to discuss more B9 specific subjects? I do not want to hijack the "EZ-Robot" Board with "Lost In Space Robot" discussion. I know that most here are building other sorts of projects.
#15  
I am just weighing my options here. Would this controller plug right into EZ-B? The more I think about it, it would make things a lot easier in the long run.



Sabertooth
#16  
Signal will plug in and the ground to your power supply must also be grounded to servo ground pin. To be honest.there are cheaper motor controllers out there. Here is a 68amp http://www.ebay.com/itm/Double-BTS7970B-68A-high-power-motor-driver-module-servo-driver-module-/150750031974?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231966f066

Or lower amp one, I have one of these for Omnibot :). $ 28 10a -45a peak per channel http://www.ebay.com/itm/15A-DC-motor-Stepper-Motor-Driver-Controller-Strong-braking-exact-speed-control-/160738732872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item256cc66b48
Ireland
#18  
@ Danger
I use a wheechair base for my Robot controlled by two servos which simply move the joystick
Initially I took unit apart and attempted to make a direct connection but decided to keep it simple

Reason
1 The originall controll unit is probably one of the most advanced motor control units,why discard it ?
2 So simple to programme when connected to Ezb

very happy with results
Pat
#19  
Thanks Jstarne.
I guess that it pays to shop around. I wanted to keep the regenerative braking function of the wheelchair, but now I see that some motor controllers have that feature too. The more that I think about hooking servos to the joystick, the more complicated it seems. Two servos (one for forward and back, one for left and right) is not really compatable with most H-bridge applications from what I can see.
#20  
Hey Pat, do you have any pics of how you set that up? I want to do the same thing with my bot.
#21  
Pat,
I did not see your post until after I posted my last message. Any advice that you can give me on setting that up would be appreciated.
#22  
Those controllers support breaking , they connect directly to ezb and supports 24volts that most wheelchair motors use , some use 12v . Don't bother with the joystick thing , just the cost of wire and and two heavy duty servos you might as well get one of these 45 amp or 68amp controllers and have a simple direct interface. :)
Ireland
#23  
Photo of servos that drive the wheelchair joystick

User-inserted image


it may be difficult to see how it works but it involves no modifications except extend the shaft of the joystick itself

Both servos are placed 90 deg apart on the same level ,both are mounted on a small cabinet hinge as they move with the joystick movement.

Take a look if you need further info please let me know

Pat
Ireland
#24  
Oh I FORGOT Best part of All
Have great fun with Wheelchair base

Simply connect a two channell radio reciever to the two servos , add a 2 channel radio transmitter and you have one powerfull radio controlled Bot.

Zoooooom !!! Zooooom!!!

Pat

:P
#26  
Hey Danger,

Im working on a project like yours , I got 2 scooter motors working with a sabertooth 2x225 and another motor working with a syren10 all by using a wireless xbox controller.

Pm me if ya need some help
#27  
Thanks GotRobbed. I need to get my board and start playing with it, and figure out exactly which controller I am going to use, then go from there. I will keep your offer in mind if I get stuck (probably when I get stuck would be more accurate).


And Bret, there's your chance*eek*. Go for it! Even if it is not all there, those are all of the hard parts to get. I am allready comiited to srcatch building mine now.
#28  
Hi danger I made a post a few messages back for a 68 amp h bridge with regenerative brake that can connect to ezb , take in mind in that post I had two different ebay links. I've bought a couple 30a power supplies that work very well from them. Cheap but it will take a couple weeks to get them.
#29  
I saw that Jstarne, thanks. Help me out though please. It says "double" in the name, but it looks like it only controls one motor. There are two battery "wires" and only two "out" wires. Will I need two? I don't mind buying two. It would still be half the price of what I was looking at. I just want to know.


link
#30  
Hey yeah the 68 amp controller you would need two. But its half the cost of a sabertooth. Just make sure you install a excellent heatsink and fan. There are lots of p4 CPU heatsinks with fans out there that will easily keep these cool. That's how I'm cooling mine.
#31  
Thanks Jstarne. That sounds like the way to go. I'll order them this weekend.