My Senior design project - a "Swamp Thing" tracked vehicle clone

[strantor]

Notes on Tracked Vehilcle Steering is a cool look at the many diff steering types for tanks. Most are pretty complex.

Wit electric cars becoming common, I bet it's not to long until we can start foraging electrical drive trains for this kind of stuff. Not going to be that long range for a while, but plenty for some joyride & recreational stuff. Trivial to vary the speed on a pair, or even do neutral turns. Matching speed on a pair of electroc motors is pretty trivial (just look how much it took the OP to make his track slip detector).

Thanks for the link, that was a good read. It seems he reached the same conclusion I did, before I did, and has the cool little graphic to prove it. His CVT is a bit different tech though. Maybe better than my idea, I don't know, I have something to think about now.

I admit the simplicity of a dual motor electric setup is enticing and tickles my nerd knob, but I'm not sure it's something that I would trust my life to. Drive faults happen. I've seen what can happen when a dual-drive bridge crane quits working on one end. I would not want to be in a high speed vehicle based on that tech, when that happens. The differential, no matter what doodads you bolt onto it, is tried and true. It's as safe as something like this could be. If something goes wrong you can at least coast to a stop in a straight line if the situation affords you the option. With a dual-drive setup I think your only option is rapid unplanned turn followed immediately by a high speed rollover accident.

 

[strantor]

Doh! Why didn't I utilize Triple Differential Steering in my design?

C'mon, man. Everybody's doing it these days. Get with the times! :laughing:

 

[Garauld]

I played around in the snow today..

 

[jmc]

Looks perfect! Is the track noise solved?

 

[stuckmotor]

It looks cool and appears to handle well. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

[Garauld]

There is still some track clatter. I am going to live with it for now until the weather gets warm again. It's 17F here now.

 

[ArlyA]

Do we have more snow in the forecast?? Hope so!

 

[Garauld]

It has been a bit quiet around here but I did take the wife for a joy ride around the yard a few days ago. A couple of items needed to be addressed from the test run: a) there was a distinct aroma of overheated brake pads, b) My wife grabbed the door handle and opened the passenger door slightly while underway, c) excessive noisy chugging sounds were heard when I pulled it to a stop for the night. To address (a), I ordered a 5" x 9" SST louvered vent panel which I cut in half and, after cutting some 3" x 3.5" openings in the front access panel behind the bumper, riveted them into place. Originally, there was no air circulation around the steering brakes so these vents will now allow outside air to be sucked in right past the rotors. To address (b), I made up some simple stops and mounted them to the door latch assembly. As seen in the photo below, they can be rotated around to secure the sliding door handle to keep it from opening the door. I will also add a "monkey bar" above the door opening which will allow my passenger to hold onto something for stability. I traced the noise in (c) to one of the tracks that had ridden up onto the guide teeth on the rear idler spool. The teeth have a flat spot on top onto which the track bars were resting instead of on the spool's curved surface. I assume while making a turn I stretched a track belts a bit and it landed on top of the teeth. After loosening the track tensioner, I repositioned the track bars properly and retensioned the track. If it happens again, I will make another set of guide teeth with pointed tops thus fixing this issue. Until next time, stay healthy!

 

[Peter 315]

I see you also buy from the Bolt Depot.....

 

[Garauld]

I see you also buy from the Bolt Depot...

You betcha, I wish they were situated down the street.:thumbsup: