Lynxmotion Tech Support

I'm planning to get A4WD1 chassis and put Traxxas Slash wheels (45mm wide) on it. I can't use standard wheels because of robot size restrictions - it has to be no more than 12" x 12" - ChiBots contest rules. Additionally, I'm going to mount M200 enclosure on top of chassis, fitting between the wheels. Enclosure is 189mm (7.44") wide. Can someone measure the spacing between the tires (width wise) on A4WD1? Is there anything mechanically wrong with my plan? I'm making an assumption that the hex cavity in wheel hub is located similarly relative to inside edge, both in TRC-01 (standard wheel) and Traxxas Slash wheel. Is that right?

Sorry, I had to remove URLs - server's warning.

Here are the URLs missing from previous posting:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUWB0&P=WR
http://www.mini-box.com/M200-Enclosure_2?sc=8&category=87

The rims used are the #3675 which are front rims. I chose these because they have less offset. In other words I could use a shorter hub. From my measurements the rims should fit within the 12" width, but the tires actually make it 12.5" wide. The tires may do the trick, but you may find that you need to experiment with rims too. Good luck with it. Let me know what you find.

_________________
Jim Frye, the Robot Guy
http://www.lynxmotion.com
I've always tried to do my best...

You may be able to use this case which is smaller:
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/c156b

Or if you haven't already purchased mini-itx hardware maybe one of these would work:
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/artigo
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/ibx_500a
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/carx07p1
http://gumstix.com/spexBundles.html
http://www.embeddedarm.com/products/boa ... ct=TS-7800
http://www.fit-pc.com/new/about-fit-pc.html

Thanks for suggestions, but I already have hardware. I also changed my plan and decided to use my tablet PC instead. Much easier for development - I don't have to carry a monitor and keyboard with me. Here is what I have so far:



The width is about 11.1" and can be squeezed below 11" by mounting shaft adapters past the flat on motor shafts. The tires seem to be perfect for a load from a few to more than twenty pounds. There is little deflection even at high load, but they are relatively soft to touch. I bought four of them for $35 on eBay.

Those are the best looking rims and tires I have seen on a rover yet. Are the rims aluminum or plastic?

_________________
Mike

The robotics nut.

The rims are plastic: metallic color ABS on the outside and black on the inside.

Now where'd my laptop run off to... ROF Bwaaahaahaahaa!

_________________
Jim Frye, the Robot Guy
http://www.lynxmotion.com
I've always tried to do my best...

Long overdue update courtesy of new Lynxmotion Robot Project Contest, which I may enter, and me noticing that this topic is so sticky now.

The laptop, although a smaller kind, is just too large for this platform, so I bought a pair (to have a spare) of cheap 1:6 monster trucks to carry the laptop. It is back to mini-ITX for this rover. I bought 7"x7"x2" aluminum enclosure and dremelled, cut and bent it to proper shape to carry one of Intel D945GCLF2 motherboards http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/D945GCLF2-D945GCLF2D/D945GCLF2-D945GCLF2D-overview.htm. Just as dust and some cobwebs settled on this contraption, I discovered this: http://www.mini-box.com/M350-universal-mini-itx-enclosure?sc=8&category=87. Since it looks way better than enclosure I made and is small enough to fit between the wheels, I'm going to buy it when Mini-Box gets more stock.

This case is amazing for size constrained mini-ITX projects. It looks like Intel DG45FC http://www.intel.com/Products/Desktop/Motherboards/DG45FC/DG45FC-overview.htm with Core 2 Quad CPU will fit there to create the ultimate 4WD with 4 cores rover.

And may I ask what is a robot going to do with a Quad Core processor?

Think a lot!