jstarne1
Some of use don't want our robots loud enough to.get a noise complaint from the nieghbors if you stay up too late playing :). There are a few things you can do , first is excellelent lubrication. Greasing servo grease with lithium grease or graphite can reduce noise , using digital ball bearing versions are more quiet. Take this in mind when shopping. Some gear boxes are clam shell meaning the bottom is completely sealed. Much like cars you can add gear oil (or mineral oil which has no scent) about 1/3 full. This is call splash lubrication and not only gives a old gearbox new life and more power but the small amount of oil in the bottom will absorb much gear whine and grinding sounds. Lastly and maybe most important in sound deadening material. These are available in adhesive sheets that can be cut to fit and spray which applies thinner with each coat however spray is ideal for crevices of omnibots torso and gearbox. Spray 2 to 3 thin coats on outside of gearbox but avoid gears themselves. Coat outsides of servos 2 to 3 coats and use rubber servo gromitts. The gromits prevent vibration from spreading to your robots body which acts like a megaphone! Also coat inside of torso and any other interior walls that have a motor or servo inside. Grease all joints , wheel bearings , arm joints ext where parts may rub. Lastly if you can't fill a gearbox with a lol bit of oil the load up the gears all over and their axles with fresh lithium grease. When remounting the gearbox use rubber washers and on axles for wheels grease the inside and place a washer in each side of the wheel, that will create a dust block for your newly lubricated bearings. Sound comes out of any orfice so you can cut up tin cans , if you get lucky, a large tuna can to create a wheel well for each wheel. There must be a small hole for the gear to stick out but otherwise you can seal it up with epoxy resin and put a couple coats of sound deadening spray on it. If you do these things not only will your bot run better , with more power , with less noise.
Nice tip!
Fyi I'm told there are specialty lubricants for the internal gearbox of servos , so research your servo to see what's recommended. The pic is not great. It is Boom Mat from DEI that makes heat and sound resistant materials. It comes in 18 oz cans one can should offer two to three coats on insides if most robots but you may want to get a extra can incase you don't lay it up thick enough. The color is like a textured semigloss black. Thanks guys !
Ok I'm doing the sound deadening spray on the gearbox and inside walls is the base. This stuff doesn't go far because it sprays on thicker than any kind if paint and looks like truck bed liner. I even thought about glueing in acoustic foam if I can get it in 1in thickness
This stuff sprays on super thick like bed liner for a truck.bits rubbery. So this is great for covering areas that aren't flat but it takes 3 to 4 layers. I plan on also getting 4 to 6 sq foot dynamat and applying it over flat areas of inside the base housing and base itself . Combination of spray on and dynamat sound deadening I believe will make this quiet. Also I plan on adding a 2 or three ounces of lucid oil stabilizer. It's this enough not to leak out and will lube the gears well. Each gearset has a sump under it. 3/4 " deep which is where I'm putting the lube. Also I'm using some balsa sticks and epoxy resin and making a small splash wall on each side of the largest gear , this us just to reduce side to side running of the lube out of the sump if it falls over. Agian I'm putting in just a couple ounces so its just enough to puddle under each gear. I will use a flat piece of dynamat on the bottom and sides and flat area on the top!