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Subject: 
Re: Lego Breaks
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Thu, 17 Aug 2000 19:26:35 GMT
Original-From: 
Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.%spamcake%net>
Reply-To: 
sjbaker1@airmail.SPAMCAKEnet
Viewed: 
938 times
  
John Barnes wrote:

The answer to good casters seems to revolve (excuse the pun) around
the caster radius. Using a narrow wheel (to limit turning friction) helps.
The real key is the distance from the wheel's axle to the caster's axis
of rotation. The bigger the better, since the required torque goes down.

But, as in all things, its a trade off. Make the distance too large and the
wheel tucks too far under and shortens the height of the three wheel
triangle that everything is balancing on. (You can of course use two casters
most people do, but you still end up with the leading triangle being small
which can cause toppling if the thing stops abruptly.)

Hmmm - so could you mount TWO wheels on the caster - one with a relatively
wide tyre mounted a large distance from the vertical caster axle - and another
(close to the center of the caster axle) with a thin tyre?

The thin wheel would bear the weight of the robot - without reducing the wheelbase
by 'tucking under' the machine.

The wide wheel (having more friction) would provide the torque to rotate the
entire mechanism...it would tuck under the robot - but since it's only there
to rotate the caster, you don't care.

Something like this:

                 Caster
                  axel
                   ||
       ____        ||
      |    |       || ||
      |    |_______||_||
     ||    |__________|||
      |    |          ||
      |____|          ||

        ^             ^
       Fat wheel     Skinny wheel

-
Steve Baker   HomeEmail: <sjbaker1@airmail.net>
              WorkEmail: <sjbaker@link.com>
              HomePage : http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
              Projects : http://plib.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxaqfh.sourceforge.net
                         http://tuxkart.sourceforge.net
                         http://prettypoly.sourceforge.net



Message is in Reply To:
  RE: Lego Breaks
 
The answer to good casters seems to revolve (excuse the pun) around the caster radius. Using a narrow wheel (to limit turning friction) helps. The real key is the distance from the wheel's axle to the caster's axis of rotation. The bigger the (...) (24 years ago, 17-Aug-00, to lugnet.robotics)

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