Progress:

The in runner bearings arrived and I bored out the first motor front plate to fit them:



The double stack of deep groove bearings dwarfs the original on the right. On paper at least, the new bearings have 8X the load capacity. This is the larger motor for Shiny; I will get the smaller motor for Mr Mangle done next and then he will be ready for more testing.
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Very cool! Aint no stopping this thing now
_________________
<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls

Over-volting adventures:

After the Nats event, I am beginning to think that the split voltage wiring either needs an update, or I should go back to a single voltage system. Running everything on a single 6S pack is the simplest option and now that HobbyKing sells a reasonably good reversing 6S capable ESC, its time to try it out in Mr Mangle.

The motors are only rated for 4S, so going from 14.8V up to 22.2V is a 1.5 X increase. Doing the maths shows the power increase is 2.25 times, so the motor's peak power goes from 95W to 214W. That's quite a bit from a small 540 sized motor but as they barely get warm during an average match, its at least worth testing.

The only problem so far is setting the ESC up with the motor; for some reason, the motor is drawing a much higher current in reverse, but only when running in sensored mode - it runs fine in sensorless mode WTF is up with that? I thought it might be timing but the motor is clearly in the neutral timing position.
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Brushes so worn in so they don't like going the other direction? I think that's a thing.

Brush wear is probably not an issue with brushless motors.

Does it still draw higher current when the motors have wires switched and are running unloaded out of the bot? Maybes a call to novak or wherever you got them from is in order.
_________________
For my stuff
http://bodgeitandhope.blogspot.co.uk/

I have just been running the motors on the bench with just the gearbox attached so far. At first I thought it was friction from the gearbox but after checking and running in the gearbox they are 'as good as it gets'. I might still run the motors without the gearboxes just to be sure.

Novak support is OK for some things but I think the problem is most likely to be the HobbyKing 120A ESC. I have been using the programming card to set it up and some of the options are mystifying - WFT is first stage punch control for instance?
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Thats when you get angry with the programming card and you punch it
_________________
Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
www.mulesfilm.com.au
www.wombokforest.com.au

-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015

ROFL, would the drag brake percentage be my resistance to cross-dressing?
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

ha ha drag brake…love it
_________________
Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
www.mulesfilm.com.au
www.wombokforest.com.au

-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015

Didn't know you were referring to brushless lol. Drag brake would be a good place to look. does the esc have a rock crawler mode? If so try that one.

I think punch control is current limiting.

The controller I am trialling is from HobbyKing: http://tinyurl.com/ofe6mc5



It doesn't have a crawler mode although is does at least have instant reverse. Its hard to find an ESC that runs on 22.2V and has crawler feature - if anyone knows of such a beast, I would be keen the try them out!
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Totally off topic:

I went all Daryl Dixon and bought this compound bow:



Its just a cheap knock-off of a much better model but since I haven't done archery since school sports days, it seems about right. Pretty accurate too, I got this grouping straight out of the box:



Its mad fun - garden zombies beware!
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

where did u buy and how much
_________________
Andrew Welch, Team Unconventional Robotics

Apex Hunting: http://www.apexhunting.com.au/p/alien-compound-bow-carbon-rts-kit/BOW-ALIEN-RTS-CARBON . This option includes all the basics apart from arrows and a sense of responsibility . There are three draw weight options; 50lbs is a bit hard to pull back repeatedly unless you have good arm muscles. The 30lbs is very easy to draw back and is a good option for backyard practise.

If you buy one, you need to attach the sight and spend some time aligning it, then you are good to go.

The original and much higher end bow is here: http://www.libertyarchery.com/index.html worth reading the reviews and watching the video.


_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Motor problem fixed

After testing the motor with the original Novak ESC and seeing the same high current draw in one direction I tried altering the sensor timing from what Novak support told me was correct and surprise, the current dropped right down. Minus infinity points for Novak support ! Now the Hobbyking controller works just fine with the Novak motors and I can put them back in Mr Mangle for some real-world driving tests.
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion