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Servo hacking... — Parallax Forums

Servo hacking...

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2002-04-12 04:57 in General Discussion
I recall seeing a tutorial for hacking a servo to allow it to travel to
270 degrees or a bit more. Does anyone have a link to this mod or
advice on how to do it?

Thanks!

g.

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-10 22:43
    > I recall seeing a tutorial for hacking a servo to allow it to travel to
    > 270 degrees or a bit more. Does anyone have a link to this mod or
    > advice on how to do it?

    There is a full photo tutorial on our website for modifying a Futaba servo for
    full rotation:

    http://www.hvwtech.com/servos_mod_fut.htm


    Mark Hillier
    President, HVW Technologies Inc.
    Mark@H...
    Tel[noparse]:([/noparse]403)730-8603 Fax[noparse]:([/noparse]403)730-8903
    http://www.HVWTech.com
    See our NEW BASIC Stamp Prototyping tools !
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-10 22:49
    Early versions of our Robotics text described hacking the Futaba S-148 servo
    for continuous rotation. We are currently using pre-modified servos so the
    text has changed, but you can find that information all over the Internet.

    A good place to start is the Dallas Personal Robotics Group (www.dprg.org) or
    the Seattle Robotics Society (www.seattlerobotics.org).

    -- Jon Williams
    -- Parallax

    In a message dated 4/10/02 3:32:12 PM Central Daylight Time,
    geneb@d... writes:


    > I recall seeing a tutorial for hacking a servo to allow it to travel to
    > 270 degrees or a bit more. Does anyone have a link to this mod or
    >




    [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-10 23:16
    Charles E. Fromage says:


    The easiest standard-size servo I have found to modify is the Futaba S-148.
    I believe these are discontinued and replaced by the 3003. The 3003 is
    almost as easy to modify, but not quite. If you are not handy, the
    pre-modified servos from Parallax will save you some grief.

    Here is one page for modifying servos:

    http://www.rdrop.com/~marvin/explore/servhack.htm

    Original Message


    > Early versions of our Robotics text described hacking the Futaba S-148
    servo
    > for continuous rotation. We are currently using pre-modified servos so
    the
    > text has changed, but you can find that information all over the Internet.
    >
    > A good place to start is the Dallas Personal Robotics Group (www.dprg.org)
    or
    > the Seattle Robotics Society (www.seattlerobotics.org).

    > > I recall seeing a tutorial for hacking a servo to allow it to travel to
    > > 270 degrees or a bit more. Does anyone have a link to this mod or
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-10 23:59
    > Early versions of our Robotics text described hacking the Futaba S-148 servo
    > for continuous rotation. We are currently using pre-modified servos so the
    > text has changed, but you can find that information all over the Internet.
    >
    Continuous rotation is not what I'm after. I need to command it to a
    certain point and have it stop - the pot is needed for that kind of
    feedback.

    > A good place to start is the Dallas Personal Robotics Group (www.dprg.org) or
    > the Seattle Robotics Society (www.seattlerobotics.org).
    >
    >
    Thanks for the links!

    g.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-11 00:29
    > > Early versions of our Robotics text described hacking the Futaba S-148 servo
    > > for continuous rotation. We are currently using pre-modified servos so the
    > > text has changed, but you can find that information all over the Internet.
    > >
    > Continuous rotation is not what I'm after. I need to command it to a
    > certain point and have it stop - the pot is needed for that kind of
    > feedback.

    In that case, you would need to replace the exisiting pot with a physically-
    identical part who's resistance at 270° was the same as the original pot's
    resistance at 90°. Doing this would cause a corresponding degradation of
    resolution as well.

    Certainly not impossible, but definately a tall order !


    Mark Hillier
    President, HVW Technologies Inc.
    Mark@H...
    Tel[noparse]:([/noparse]403)730-8603 Fax[noparse]:([/noparse]403)730-8903
    http://www.HVWTech.com
    See our NEW BASIC Stamp Prototyping tools !
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-11 01:38
    Charles E. Fromage says:


    Assuming the pot will turn 270 degrees, you could probably modify the stop
    and get the motion you are looking for. Keep in mind many of the mini /
    micro servos can't be modified.

    Original Message

    > > Early versions of our Robotics text described hacking the Futaba S-148
    servo
    > > for continuous rotation. We are currently using pre-modified servos so
    the
    > > text has changed, but you can find that information all over the
    Internet.
    > >
    > Continuous rotation is not what I'm after. I need to command it to a
    > certain point and have it stop - the pot is needed for that kind of
    > feedback.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-11 15:18
    I just bought the new 3003 model. You indicate that "it is almost as
    easy to modify, but not quite." Do you have instructions on how to
    do it. I took it apart expecting to look like the old S-148, but it
    is obviously quite different. I used the instructions from the older
    version of the ROBOTICS! Stamps In Class for modifying the S-148. It
    was quite easy to do. How do I do it for a 3003 servo?

    Thanks,

    Steve


    Charles E. Fromage says:

    The easiest standard-size servo I have found to modify is the Futaba
    S-148. I believe these are discontinued and replaced by the 3003.
    The 3003 is almost as easy to modify, but not quite. If you are not
    handy, the pre-modified servos from Parallax will save you some
    grief. Here is one page for modifying servos:
    http://www.rdrop.com/~marvin/explore/servhack.htm
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-11 15:35
    Thanks for a all the good info! It'll take some time for me to digest. [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    g.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-04-12 04:57
    Firstly, I don't believe in cutting off the pot shaft or removing the pot
    and replacing it with fixed resistors. I want to keep the thing mostly
    as-is, so I can unmodify it if necessary. In this case you would only have
    to buy a replacement gear.

    Lets see -- If I remember right, there is no removable slotted piece in the
    output gear. The slots are actually molded into the bottom of the gear
    itself. I used a drill slightly bigger than the pot shaft to cut away that
    part of the gear. Just be careful not to drill too deep.

    The gear should have a little ridge on top that keeps it from rotating all
    the way around. Carefully cut this ridge away just like is shown for the
    S-148.

    Before you reassemble, center the pot shaft -- i.e. adjust it to the center
    of its travel. After assembly, install the servo horn and carefully rotate
    the servo by hand. If you feel any binding, stop immediately. Chances are
    the pot is probably still being turned and you need to cut away the slots on
    the gear a bit more. When you disassemble the servo can tell because the pot
    shaft will no longer be centered.

    Assuming you are going to use two servos for drive motors, you may want to
    reverse one motor so that the servos react the same way to the same PULSOUT
    values. Otherwise you would need to make the value larger on one servo and
    smaller on the other to change speeds. The motor swap is a bit more work
    than I will discuss right now.

    Once you find the neutral or stopped PULSOUT value for one servo, you can
    quickly pop the top off the other one and adjust the pot so that it uses the
    same value.

    **********

    > I just bought the new 3003 model. You indicate that "it is almost as
    > easy to modify, but not quite." Do you have instructions on how to
    > do it. I took it apart expecting to look like the old S-148, but it
    > is obviously quite different. I used the instructions from the older
    > version of the ROBOTICS! Stamps In Class for modifying the S-148. It
    > was quite easy to do. How do I do it for a 3003 servo?

    > The easiest standard-size servo I have found to modify is the Futaba
    > S-148. I believe these are discontinued and replaced by the 3003.
    > The 3003 is almost as easy to modify, but not quite. If you are not
    > handy, the pre-modified servos from Parallax will save you some
    > grief. Here is one page for modifying servos:
    > http://www.rdrop.com/~marvin/explore/servhack.htm
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