Mongolian RC forklift
Gramps
Posts: 117
Mighty Mite. RC forklift.
After watching the kids at the children’s home in Mongolia run their $10 Chinese RC cars around at a 100 scale mph till they destroyed them, i wondered if we could add a little skill to the game.
We had no electronics but what came with the RC toys and the auto junk yard to work with.
First purchase was an RC Hummer for $30. We picked the Hummer because it was powered by a 12 volt gel cell making it compatible with 12 volt auto parts.
We built the frame out of ¾” tubular steel and mounted the trike steering wheel inside the frame. Drive wheels were the back wheels from the tricycle, one connects to a windshield wiper motor with a couple small radiator clamps, the other free wheels.
Controls to the motors consist of pairs of 12 volt relays connected to the RC receiver through diodes to determine direction.
Steering is another wiper motor with a large gear connected to the trike wheel. The forks were powered by a power window motor and run by tripping a wireless garage door opener that acted to step the receiver relays up one level to give us a second set of controls.
We made the speed control somewhat proportional by using a wire wound resister and a motor mounted wiper to change speed. Center is off and up or down is forward and reverse.
Now we had something that the kids could drive around the room picking up stuff and moving it to different locations. It was a little more difficult to operate then i expected but the kids soon mastered it.
Regards, Gramps
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
'What is your life?"
Saint James 61 A.D.
Comments
How much weight can it pick up?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Alex Burke
"It is not how smart you are rather, it is how you are smart." -Jon Campbell
Thanks for your input.
Ya, it was fun to see what we could do with what was laying around.
The forks are powered by a power window outfit so it will probably pick up 3 or 4 pounds.
Gramps
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
'What is your life?"
Saint James 61 A.D.
You are the Mad MacGyver of Mongolia. Please keep up your excellent work and keep on posting!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
·"If you build it, they will come."
Have you thought about posting on Hackaday or Instructables or Make Magazine? I think they would like this.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
www.smarthome.viviti.com/propeller
Post Edited (Dr_Acula) : 5/30/2010 12:09:17 PM GMT
”Have you thought about posting on Hackaday…..”
No, i really have no desire for fame or fortune, but only tinker to minister to the young people around me. This was a great introduction to “hands on technology” for the Mongolian kids in our Children's Home. Who knows, some might even be inspired to enter the great world of science!
Gramps
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
'What is your life?"
Saint James 61 A.D.
·········· Hi·Gramps,
·········· That is amazing (like the song in the video).
·········· All that from a toy and a lot of scrap parts, very inventive.
·········· Here is a link to to the first run of the "Mongolian RC Forklift" AKA "Mighty Mite Robot".
········· ·Regards,
········· ·Zappman
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Visit Zappman's Blog at Savage Circuits
!!!!!!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
'What is your life?"
Saint James 61 A.D.