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Originally Posted by TheAnsweris42
Some members of the drivetrain team went down to a company that makes motorized wheelchairs a while back, and came back saying that we can't run four CIMs on the battery, alone without electronics, and still have enough battery life. I contend that last year, several teams ran more than four motirs, plus electronics, the compressor, etc, and still ran it. And since the battery is pretty much the same 12v-18a power supply ((Can anyone clarify the difference between the ES-18-12 and this years EX-18-12?)), we should be able to run ours. DOes anyone have any adivce on this? I think we should at least run two motors for each transmission on a RWD system, but they keep saying it wont go...
Also, what motors do you recommend for the drive system? On a RWD I mean.
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Ken,
The answer to your questions...
The kit batteries are more than enough to run a robot in our competition for a two minute match. Efficient drive systems, those with a well designed transmission and reduction (translates to about 8-12 ft/sec no matter the number of motors used) and low losses in steering/turning and the ability to push without stalling the motors should be fine. Things that eat batteries are robots designed for high speeds, robots that encounter extreme currents in turns, robots that stall multiple motors regularly and robots that run almost continuous on the air compressor.
There is no difference in the ES or EX battery. They are the same amp hour and output voltage rating. However, there are some manufacturer/suppliers that will tell you their battery is a equivalent, cross reference or a replacement. Do not accept substitutes, the only allowed batteries are the ES or EX battery.
You should have no problem running a four motor, kit transmission, (all Chalupa/CIM) RWD robot provided you do not try to couple large diameter wheels or design a step up gear ratio between the wheels and the transmission. Provided you do not expend a lot of energy on the rest of the robot systems.