Page 11 of 33
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 8th, 2010, 12:25 pm
by Xerocity
fleet130 wrote:Finding parts is ALWAYS a problem! Fitting parts together is part of what engineering is all about. Building events competitions are not just about building the project. Figuring out HOW to build the project, including choosing what parts to use, is a major portion.
Choosing parts is almost always a trade-off between what's optimum and availability, time, effort, money, skill and other factors. If you're short in one or more areas, you can often compensate by expending more of another. One common mistake is trying to compensate for all with money. This may sometimes work in the Science Olympiad scenario, but it isn't always viable in the real world. Expending a little more time and effort can often reduce cost significantly.
The magnitude of the problem can be reduced by using a motor, transmission, wheel and axle obtained as an assembly. Drive axles salvaged from battery operated/radio control vehicles are one source. They can be purchased new for $5 (sometimes less) from toy stores. Robotics and educational science material suppliers are another source or parts. Tamiya manufactures several gearbox/motor combinations suitable for this event. The Tamiya gearboxes are lightly built, so you will need to keep overall vehicle weight down or they may wear out quickly. These same suppliers often have wheels made to fit on the transmission's axle.
Be sure to "try before you buy". This means gathering as much information as you can and figuring out how the parts will fit together, before you put out any money. No matter how much you plan, there will be times where you just can't make the parts you bought work. Save them in your parts box and they may be useful in a later project.
Search the internet to find out what parts exist, then with a little more work you can discover what's available within the resources you have.
Or you could wrap tape around the axles and motor so gears and wheels fit....
Tape is definitely helping me in building the Battery Buggy. Tape ftw
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 14th, 2010, 11:17 am
by jaydinwars
u no on the wikis it has the wingnut and threaded bolt break system with this where should i put my motor
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 14th, 2010, 6:39 pm
by fleet130
Or you could wrap tape around the axles and motor so gears and wheels fit....
I've used that solution myself and seen others using it many times. Unfortunately it has reliability issues as well as an unexpectedly short service life. You can bet it will fail at exactly the wrong moment! As I said, I've used it. Use it at your own risk!
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 14th, 2010, 8:09 pm
by robotman
jaydinwars wrote:u no on the wikis it has the wingnut and threaded bolt break system with this where should i put my motor
You motor will useually go on the opposite axle that you put the brake
you could put it on the same axle as your brake but It would decrease the effectiveness of the brake for long distances
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 15th, 2010, 11:04 am
by jaydinwars
ok then thanks
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 19th, 2010, 1:55 pm
by mbmsuser
Question about the width! My wheel width is 19cm but the axel extends beyond that...my team all disagrees about the interpretation of section "g" of the rules. Any thoughts. I think it meets the rules even if the axel is beyond.
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 19th, 2010, 3:37 pm
by gh
Why is your wheel 19cm wide? o_O
The rules more or less deal with how the wheels contact the ground. The axle can extend beyond the wheels, which is what I did for EV in 2009:
http://www.geekshavefeelings.com/x/wp-c ... nder_4.png
It actually helps use a design like this because you can push the wheels out all the way to the bearings supporting the axle, which will prevent longitudinal play in the axle.
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 20th, 2010, 12:05 pm
by mbmsuser
My wheel is not 19cm wide...the width from wheel to wheel is 19cm.
Thanks for the clarifcation. My bearings are outside the wheels, I just hope I can get a straight run!
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 21st, 2010, 11:12 am
by jaydinwars
umm once again this is my 1st year can anyone tell me how to connect a toggle switch and micro switch
Re: Battery Buggy B
Posted: January 21st, 2010, 1:41 pm
by andrewwski
See the 2nd post of the thread.
