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Eddie Bot' with Larger Motors — Parallax Forums

Eddie Bot' with Larger Motors

IRobot2IRobot2 Posts: 164
edited 2012-11-02 09:51 in General Discussion
Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had some good advice for me regarding the 10-20 amp motor limitations of the Eddie control board. I currently have a nice robot using a powered wheelchair/scooter setup and I was wanting to purchase an Eddie control board and turn it into a slightly larger Eddie bot. I am using Roboteq's AX2550 motor controller connected to a homebrew Propeller board as it stands now.

Seeing all the firmware / code and documentation for the Parallax setup makes me not want to reinvent the wheel. I planned on using the same sensor and encoder arrangement as Parallax does... only my motors are significantly larger. Any one have some ideas or have tried using the PWM signal and outputs off the Eddie board and feeding them into another motor controller? -Alex

Comments

  • jdoleckijdolecki Posts: 726
    edited 2012-11-02 07:37
    Depends on how much weight your bot is going to carry?

    I'm using 2 wheelchair motors at 12v but my robot doesn't weight that much

    I get about 1.5 amps when the motors are not loaded..

    I will do a long drive test this weekend to see how much the driver chips heat up.
  • IRobot2IRobot2 Posts: 164
    edited 2012-11-02 07:43
    My end goal was to have it be able to carry packages, cart style. I was more concerned with the factory type environment it will be in and if I ever want to drive it over the occasional small obstacle. I know for certain that it can get into situations that draw more than 25 amps (Dont ask me how I know, haha). It currently has 60 amp fuses.
  • jdoleckijdolecki Posts: 726
    edited 2012-11-02 09:32
    FYI

    I use these to keep track of the voltage and Current flow

    https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10643

    You cant use them on the motor leads cause the are bi- directional when reversing .

    But they work quite well on the battery leads.

    They have other amp ranges to.
  • IRobot2IRobot2 Posts: 164
    edited 2012-11-02 09:51
    That's pretty nifty, thanks for pointing that out.

    I just kind of bit the bullet and ordered the Eddie board and related materials. I will see how that treats me with the larger motors. Ill put an extra 20amp fuse off my battery just in case I get into trouble. I don't see any harm in giving it a try, Thanks for your help. -Alex
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