Autonomous Drive Base
For this project, we built an autonomous drive base. The purpose of the project was to further our knowledge in robotics and get a hands on feel for the applications of automation. Check out the build video for a quick overview!
[Initial Sketches for the Design Process]
At this stage, we discussed the fundamental mechanical components for the drive base. We brainstormed solutions for a steering mechanism and a power transmission mechanism. We also tried drawing out a vague layout for the wiring of the electronic components. Once we had an idea of what we were doing, we started on the CAD design...
[CAD Model Evolution]
This is the overall build. The body is made up of 2 wooden plates (component A) secured together by 3D printed brackets
at each corner (component B). At each corner, you can see the axle configuration that we have. I will be refering to the
Side Section View of the Axle Configuration. Take note of the following component...
A = Aluminum Rod. We are using it as our axle; 0.5" oversized because we couldn't finance COT axles; This forced us to use 0.54" ID bearings :(
B = Pulley designed for power transmission; We designed it with a v-shaped groove to grip the polycord
C = Bearing holes that reside within the mounting bracket for the whole configuration
D = Mounting bracket for axle to underside of wooden plate
E = Spacer to keep wheel in place;
F = 6" OD Rubber Wheel;
G = Through holes for bolts to secure components on the axle;
The above is a bottom view of the drive base. Here are the definitions for the labeled components...
A = Connection of the Motor output shaft and the axle; This was a fairly tricky problem none of us had much experience with;
We ended up designing a simple shaft coupling; The section view of the CAD is also above;
B = Polycord we used for power transmission;
C = Planned placement for speed controllers;
[Parts and Assembly]
The parts were either 3D printed, made by hand, or bought...
