Quote:
Originally Posted by RMS11
We would like some feedback on our design.
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Speaking of feedback on your design, it doesn't look like you have any! (At least not in the model!) I just wanted to remind you guys that although crab drives are usually tougher to design mechanically, they are also more complicated to control. If you want to control your wheel speeds or count distance during autonomous mode, think about where encoders or other such sensors need to go.
As an example, you will want some sort of potentiometer/encoder that keeps track of current wheel angle. How many chain loops will you have turning the pods, so how many potentiometers or encoders will you need in order to make sure all the wheels are pointed the same direction? Will you use a gear ratio to increase or decrease sensor resolution?
So, as you're doing the mechanical design, think about how you will code/control the crab drive, and what information you will need in order to do that and then put those sensors in the mechanical CAD design to make sure they can get mounted and the wires routed and all that sort of good stuff. Adding sensors to a design that wasn't designed with them in mind can be a terrible headache. You may even want to be picking sensors as part of your design exercise just like picking gears or sprockets.