Mustangman66
Active Member
- Joined
- December 14, 2010
- Messages
- 64
- Reaction score
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- City, State
- Tolland CT
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2003 4dr Explorer, v6
Ok, well im sort of "mythbustering" my truck,
I picked up a bunch of servos and robotics equipment recently and have decided to put them to good use, by remote controlling my explorer.
My Controller
this is not my first rodeo with this sort of thing either, so have faith in me, i have done this before, if you would like to take a look at my credentials check out the Mercury Sable i RC'd http://youtu.be/89OJA35u1Lw I learned through mistakes the first time, so this time i know what to expect, i plan on using multiple fail safe's (such as an air piston to depress the e-brake, an electronic engine kill switch, and a servo fail safe that will depress the brake upon loss of signal.)
I intend this thread to be some sort of a log/brainstorming thread, we will see how that works out.
so here's the basics:
Im going to be using either 1 or 2 (i haven't figured out if ill need a second yet) High Torque winching servos to actuate the controls (gas, brake, steering). I plan to mount all the electronics and servos underneath the drivers seat. then using the cables from a bicycle i will connect the servo to one of the two pedals, when the winch pulls on the cable, it will either release or depress the pedal.
my servos
For the steering i will be using two more identical winching servos with a similar cable system. i will have a custom spool machined that will be able to bolt directly onto the steering shaft either below the dash up against the firewall, or in the engine bay. by wrapping cables around this spool, i should be able to use the winching action of the servos to turn the wheel.
Custom spool
Dual Steering servos
The layout
there are quite a few things that i am nervous or concerned about in my design, such as friction occurring in the cables resulting in uncontrolled acceleration (no im not turning a ford into a toyota... lol) and things of those nature.
i am also concerned about the strength of my servos... if for some reason the dual servos controlling the steering are not powerful enough to turn the wheel, then i may have to build a custom servo (which i have done before but it was the steepest learning curve ever, i cooked like 5 or six motors before i got it right.
The last thing that i am concerned about is cost... believe it or not almost everything that i need for the electronics portion of the build i already have... but i have a feeling that getting the high quality GoreTex cables i want and the custom spool for the steering are going to get VERY costly VERY quickly...
For the most part, i am still in the R&D portion of this build, However, i am making progress. i have built the housing to hold the servos, and gotten everything installed in it and wired up. i have been consulting bicycle mechanics for the best cables for my application, and i am searching around for any machinist who can make my spool cheap (so if any of you want to make it for me, that would be awesome). Everyday i am drawing diagrams and blueprints, refining the idea in my head.
now for my closing remarks,
i can not promise any of you that this system will work. but by god will i try. this build may last for a month or for a year, there's just no way to tell when it will be completed if ever, but i will try.
Stay tuned
Mustangman66
Ps. Smilies are totally overrated...
I picked up a bunch of servos and robotics equipment recently and have decided to put them to good use, by remote controlling my explorer.
My Controller
this is not my first rodeo with this sort of thing either, so have faith in me, i have done this before, if you would like to take a look at my credentials check out the Mercury Sable i RC'd http://youtu.be/89OJA35u1Lw I learned through mistakes the first time, so this time i know what to expect, i plan on using multiple fail safe's (such as an air piston to depress the e-brake, an electronic engine kill switch, and a servo fail safe that will depress the brake upon loss of signal.)
I intend this thread to be some sort of a log/brainstorming thread, we will see how that works out.
so here's the basics:
Im going to be using either 1 or 2 (i haven't figured out if ill need a second yet) High Torque winching servos to actuate the controls (gas, brake, steering). I plan to mount all the electronics and servos underneath the drivers seat. then using the cables from a bicycle i will connect the servo to one of the two pedals, when the winch pulls on the cable, it will either release or depress the pedal.
my servos
For the steering i will be using two more identical winching servos with a similar cable system. i will have a custom spool machined that will be able to bolt directly onto the steering shaft either below the dash up against the firewall, or in the engine bay. by wrapping cables around this spool, i should be able to use the winching action of the servos to turn the wheel.
Custom spool
Dual Steering servos
The layout
there are quite a few things that i am nervous or concerned about in my design, such as friction occurring in the cables resulting in uncontrolled acceleration (no im not turning a ford into a toyota... lol) and things of those nature.
i am also concerned about the strength of my servos... if for some reason the dual servos controlling the steering are not powerful enough to turn the wheel, then i may have to build a custom servo (which i have done before but it was the steepest learning curve ever, i cooked like 5 or six motors before i got it right.
The last thing that i am concerned about is cost... believe it or not almost everything that i need for the electronics portion of the build i already have... but i have a feeling that getting the high quality GoreTex cables i want and the custom spool for the steering are going to get VERY costly VERY quickly...
For the most part, i am still in the R&D portion of this build, However, i am making progress. i have built the housing to hold the servos, and gotten everything installed in it and wired up. i have been consulting bicycle mechanics for the best cables for my application, and i am searching around for any machinist who can make my spool cheap (so if any of you want to make it for me, that would be awesome). Everyday i am drawing diagrams and blueprints, refining the idea in my head.
now for my closing remarks,
i can not promise any of you that this system will work. but by god will i try. this build may last for a month or for a year, there's just no way to tell when it will be completed if ever, but i will try.
Stay tuned
Mustangman66
Ps. Smilies are totally overrated...