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Unread 22-11-2013, 16:06
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Mark Sheridan Mark Sheridan is offline
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FRC #3476 (Code Orange)
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Join Date: Mar 2010
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Re: Battery Charging Station

Quote:
Originally Posted by yash101 View Post
What do you think about BAG motors? They have a nice torque and their RPM is high! Gearing it down shall allow it to do weight lifting, shoudn't it?
What's wrong with pushing a battery cart? Seriously our teams costco runs for snack and drinks is way more then 200 lbs. Pushing that stuff is not hard. yeah a bag motor may work with the right gearing but is it worth it? I much rather investing that time to make sure the ergonomics of the rack nice.

Kinda steering this back to the original poster's question. We are tinkering with a battery rack this year that is ergonomic and organized. We want to have the charger display next to its corresponding battery and all the wiring tied to the frame. We will have a power strip inside so we will only have one plug to deal with. We may make it modular to the racks can be divided into smaller chunks. 3 rack with 4 batteries each may be more manageable.

I think its more better to go through a design matrix and hone the battery cart to practical design specs. I don't think self propulsion is high on that list. having good ergonomics, ease of battery removal, locking casters, durable frame and clean wiring are much more important features to consider. I think this is a good lesson for students to think about ergonomics, something I see often as an afterthought in manufacturing.
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