Hey Community , i really don't do enough fun projects. As you may notice many of my projects have a utility function. Squeegee mops, jarvis vacuums, smart marine fish tank is... well smart lol. So this is just for fun and I hope others enjoy it. I have already contemplated using it as a demonstration tool to get kids interested in technology. . Dang it! This is just for fun , ok I'll try not to get to serious with this. My friend Marty was talking about being able to drive the power wheels around while his kid was in it around the neighborhood. Or if his kid was driving and got to far he's just a button click away from stopping it. We found a free power wheels that had seen some rough years and we gave it a complete makeover. It looks better than new, new Gel cells from power sonic , smart charging and more. I gave it a cool high grass stripe camo.pattern and gave it to his son for his birthday. I'll post a couple pics. He's on the fence about doing the further mods so i searched craigslist.org for another power wheels that had been loved a little too hard. Searching for something with space and power I wanted I set my heart on a f150 , Toyota 4x or jeep 4x4. I didn't find a 4x4 model but f150 was the next best as it had dual gearboxes with rs585 motors. Also a good gel battery and charger was included. Here come some pics...
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Electrical needed some love. Take it from 6 volt standard to dual 12 volt gel cell power sonic batteries. Turnigy XT 60 gold connectors were soldered onto 12 guage wire and covered in heatshrink.
Ok so here's a sneak at marty's machine, I will update this thread when we start adding electronic hardware like motors controllers ect.
Yup I'm pretty sure we are gonna ignore that warning , safety first! .... well ok maybe second.
Something I realized is that the fake headlights and fog lights looked very convincing. I held a flashlight bulb in the reflector and found they worked pretty much like a standard round headlight. So while I had them out I'm drilling holes in all the reflectors so i can fit 300 lumen led. Led 1891 bannet socket bulbs. Just for testing I have some 25 lumen standard filament bulbs. Because I already know I can mod one of my cams to see excellent at night I am tempted to find a reasonable location for IR Illuminated strip or circle. So with one button press I can go dark and run around with very little light. This sounds like fun. The tail lights also look like they could be functional. It will never be a road vehicle but being able to turn the running lights on will make it easier to see if it gets out of sight or stuck and needs some manual assistance.
maximum recommended rider weight 130 pounds
1 Year manufacturer bumper to bumper warranty and box dimensions are: 35.875 x 29.875 x 51.5; weight: 92.1 lbs
The vehicle drives 2.5 and 5mph forward and 2.5 mph in reverse
Dual Independent DC motors with gearbox on a solid galvanized steel axle in the rear
Front Rack style steering with galvanized steel spindles and steel tie rods.
Background of Power wheels modifications and competitions
I will also be posting the Power wheels awesomeness on a power wheels forum. Apparently its a lucrative hobby. Maybe people mods these things for competition, racing and even just for fun at car shows. I have seen many RC versions so EZ robot can bring a different angle to this "sport".
There are even clubs and competitions where power wheels are modded to be controlled from a computer and have a "gun" mounted on them to play a sort of laser tag with other competitors. Two man teams with one driver and a gunner portray a scenario of driving a HALO Warthog ATV. If anyone already didn't know HALO is a popular video game that has spanned more than 6 game releases for Xbox branded consoles worldwide.
Makerfaire Detroit has modified races
http://makezine.com/2010/03/26/power-wheels-racing-competition-at/
Generator Stalwarts
http://ithacagenerator.org/generator-stalwarts-to-compete-in-power-wheels-competition/
http://jalopnik.com/5601754/power-wheels-racing-fat-men-on-souped+up-toy-cars
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/modified-powerwheels-racing-fun-12957.html
(by the way there is a banner at the bottom of this website for Ez Robot, first ad i have seen)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJDjQKR0kpg
PDC09 Makerspace coding for fun
I thought this was cool, we already have two, now im wondering if there are any maker spaces or hacker spaces have modded Power wheels they can operate remotly. It also would be cool to try to do some point a to point b autonomy but lets get it manually controlled remotly though wifi and then we will go from there
I pulled out the sawzaw ryobi and cut out the center console as it will never hold a drink for a 5 yr old agian! More importantly it will give a good low center spot for the 63cc generator.
OK , here is the switching power supply that brings the 120 volt down to a manageable 12 volts to work with. I imagine I will be hacking most of this wiring harness off unless I install a desktop style PC in this thing...... not happening lol.
This pic shows measurement's for a replacement fuel tank intended for a 4000 watt generator. It is a 5 gallon tank with petcock valve. The top has a vent and fuel guage as well. Given the comparison of the existing tank the new larger one could fuel the generator at 1/2 load 400 watts for 50 hours continously.
I believe I will completely unbolt the existing one and mount this one over the top instead.
As you can see there is a great deal of open space. Obviously there will be a single cord wrapping around to the front. I could hard wire the 110v but the obvious ability to unplug it gives me a manual safety feature to disconnect from the generator.
*offtopic* anybody have TL-files (for 3D Printer) for the NAO? *offtopic*
As far as 3d files.... Anthony is good at 3d design. If you need a part he can probably draw it for you to 3d print. Xlrobots.com
Here is the new petcock valve that screws into the new tank. The tank arrived but a couple mounting tabs were bent. I have two options , I can either mount the tank directly above or slide it forward about 16 inches and mount it there where it can be mounted lower to the center mass of the vehicle. Anyways those are my two options for mounting.
I have a
-600 watt psu
EZB v4
Sabertooth controller
1500 watt power conditioner
Zotac mini pc
4 gallon gas tank
63cc generator
I would bump up the distance the reversing gets triggered at so it's further from the obstacle in case it slides more on different terrain.
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