[chbot] HBRobotics/Micromouse

[Michael Pearce]

That design is nice and simple.

The steppers do have the advantage of being able to stop 
immediately, and have a basic stepping top speed of around 
200 - 800rpm (higher if you microstep) and relatively high 
torque depending on motor choice.

It is lots of weight to stop though - still have to add 
batteries etc

Mike





On Tuesday 02 January 2007 15:07, rjtp@ihug.co.nz wrote:
> Thanks Andrew,
>
> What a really useful post, thanks for passing it on to
> the group. The pre-built mouse platform is quite thought
> provoking.
>
> The construction looks just like the stunning Japanese
> performer on Youtube, so has to be taken seriously. I
> know Steve was enthusiastic about the stepper motor
> approach.
>
> The H546 stepper motors that it uses have centre tapped
> coils so an interface to each motor could be as simple as
> two open collector transistors or FETs, or as complex as
> you like to go with high frequency choppers with current
> sensing etc. (As it happens I have a couple of L6228
> driver ICs ready for this)
>
> The weight is interesting at 200g for each motor you get
> a very heavy mouse. The mouse that I showed in December
> weighs 188 gm all up with Lion batteries. My next
> platform using the Jaycar/Tamiya 36mm tyres has amazing
> grip and weighs under 200gm with ball castors &
> batteries, but without the CPU. I'm planning a simple
> logic circuit for this just to get it moving.
>
> And the width at 4.5 inches make diagonal traverses tight
> but possible.
>
> I have invested heaps of time designing and building
> potential platforms, this looks like a great way to save
> a lot of time.
>
> I wonder if we could buy this platform cheaper elsewhere
> and whether we might have enough demand for a quantity
> discount? There is a manufacturer site referenced but the
> language is way beyond me. When I get back to work I'll
> ask around for a translation and pass on the results.
>
> As for maze construction I suspect that building our own
> is going to be the way to start, if we generate enough
> interest we might have to consider cost vs time for a
> full size maze. I'll write to the guy directly to show
> how I built my maze walls.
>
> Any more thoughts?
>
> Regards
>
> Richard Jones
>
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