Prototype Power Distro /Robot Operating Amperage?

[Ari423]

Individual robot motors definitely run much upwards of 40A, just not for very long (otherwise you have a problem). A CIM in a drivetrain can easily draw 80+ amps for a few hundred milliseconds, which is too short to trip the breakers. Remember whenever you start up a motor it is initially stalled, so it will draw stall current. As it spins up, the speed will increase which will decrease the current draw. Make sure whatever breakers you decide to use give enough lead time to not trip whenever you try to start a motor.


To respond to your overall question, I know a lot of teams will take the triggers from broken 12V drills as a basic motor controller. You have to remove the drill motor and gearbox and the battery. Then connect a breaker and then Anderson connector to the input of the drill (where the battery went) and leads with your favorite crimp connector on the output side (where the drill motor was). Now you have variable speed control (via the trigger) and reversible direction (via the CW/CCW switch). You also get a handy disable switch by moving the CW/CCW switch to the middle position. If you do this, make sure the drill you are using is rated for at least 12V and less than the max amps the breaker allows.


EDIT: Don, I think the point of this low-functionality control system was to decrease the number of wires needed to drive one or two motors for a prototype. Using an old cRIO or IFI control system will probably do the opposite of that.