ArdBot chassis with Propeller Quickstart board
Finally got my Ardbot put together and outfitted with a Quickstart board
and our Merlin board to connect the servos.
The Ardbot from budgetrobotics.com is actually a very nice robot chassis.
It's much better than the Magician chassis. But, of course Ardbot costs a bit more.
The Ardbot material is interesting... Some kind of medium density plastic. I really like it.
It's firm enough to be very stable yet pliable enough so that it can survive falls (I think, haven't tested).
Also, it was very easy to drill 4 holes in it to mount the Quickstart.
The blue color is nice too. It's also pretty big, which I like.
I'm experimenting with a couple mods here...
First, the acorn nut sliders that it came with would occasionally get stuck on the carpet.
So, I've replaced them with "Magic Sliders" from the hardware store.
I think it's better now.
Also, I'm trying out a "loboservo" idea. Having Merlin's motor controller directly control
servo motors whose electronics were ripped out.
That is working good too although the power draw is more than anticipated an it needs
a 500uF capacitor installed to keep the Prop power from going too low and rebooting.
It's perhaps much simpler to use the servo headers and regular continous rotation servos...
![MagicSliders.jpg](https://forums.parallax.com/uploads/attachments/50210/87458.jpg)
and our Merlin board to connect the servos.
The Ardbot from budgetrobotics.com is actually a very nice robot chassis.
It's much better than the Magician chassis. But, of course Ardbot costs a bit more.
The Ardbot material is interesting... Some kind of medium density plastic. I really like it.
It's firm enough to be very stable yet pliable enough so that it can survive falls (I think, haven't tested).
Also, it was very easy to drill 4 holes in it to mount the Quickstart.
The blue color is nice too. It's also pretty big, which I like.
I'm experimenting with a couple mods here...
First, the acorn nut sliders that it came with would occasionally get stuck on the carpet.
So, I've replaced them with "Magic Sliders" from the hardware store.
I think it's better now.
Also, I'm trying out a "loboservo" idea. Having Merlin's motor controller directly control
servo motors whose electronics were ripped out.
That is working good too although the power draw is more than anticipated an it needs
a 500uF capacitor installed to keep the Prop power from going too low and rebooting.
It's perhaps much simpler to use the servo headers and regular continous rotation servos...
![MagicSliders.jpg](https://forums.parallax.com/uploads/attachments/50210/87458.jpg)
![QuickArdBot.jpg](https://forums.parallax.com/uploads/attachments/50210/87459.jpg)
Comments
It doesn't have an extremely high impact resistance, so avoid dropping it on a hard surface. The most sensitive area is front and back of the wheel wells. The construction of the robot is such that a direct blow to those edges will be minimized, thanks to the wheels.
Bear in mind that the base is invertible, should you want to use a taller caster instead of static skids (drawer pulls, or whatever). Just flip it over.
-- Gordon
I have a feeling Ardbot would do better, but I'm afraid to try it...
My kids will probably do it for me at some point anyway...
I think these "magic sliders" may actually be better than cheap casters...
Need to test on different surfaces to see for sure...
-- Gordon