Featured This Month:
Features
26 BUILD REPORT:
Increasing the Speed and
Power of a Combat Robot
by Pete Smith
29 MANUFACTURING:
Modular Design in
Combat Robotics
by Blake Hooper
34 PARTS IS PARTS:
Hole Drilling How-To
by Nick Martin
Events
31 Aug/Sep 2009 Results
32 EVENT REPORT:
RoboCore Winter
Challenge 2009
by Marco Meggiolaro
ROBOT PROFILE – Top
Ranked Robot This Month:
36 Gutter Monkey by Kevin Berry
26 SERVO 11.2009
BUILD REP RT
Increasing the Speed and Power
of a Combat Robot
● by Pete Smith
Iwrote an article for the November ‘06 issue of SERVO
describing how to convert a
cheap cordless drill into a drive
motor for a smaller robot. I used
two of these in my 12 lb combat
robot “CheepShot 3.0.” They
have proved very reliable but for
the last year or so I have been
looking for replacements that
would increase both speed
and power.
I looked at replacing just the
motors but could find nothing
that had a sufficiently high rpm
per volt (Kv) rating and be able
to operate at the voltage and
current ratings of my speed
controller. Another possibility
would have been to use a pair of
new gear motors from Banebots.
These are available with gear
ratios and motors that would give
me what I wanted but would
have required new wheels and
hubs and considerable redesign
work inside the chassis. They
also cost quite a bit more than
the existing gearboxes.
A possible solution came
when I spotted an advertisement
for a 24V cordless drill at a local
auto supply store. The drills were
only $20 each after rebate so
they certainly met my cost
requirements. They have a speed
700 sized motor and a two speed
gearbox. The top speed of 1,140
rpm would give extra speed over
the typical 500-900 rpm of the
smaller drills, and the bigger
motor would greatly increase the
available power.
The main question remaining
FIGURE 1
