Showroom **RIP** - 6DOF project using 12v DC Motors, Sabertooth 2x60's (was MM's) and Arduinos + OSW

Wooooohoooooooo

Wow these things are beasts !!



And I got free back current resistors. I went and bought some the other day too grrrrr

Excellent @SilentChill - I sure you and your family are happy (for different reasons ) interested in how they perform, if I ever need them would also look at the Sabertooth dual 60A (in for a penny in for a pound) , as for what it is worth - the rated current on my motors is 48Amps.

Haha your right there it all this time I have wasted is driving the wife crazy lol Shes a goodun' tho

I thought about the 60's but because @wannabeaflyer2 was working fine with 32's thought I'd save a few quid. I just hope it doesn't come back to bite me on my ass.

I'm all wired up just about to turn it on EXCITING !!!!!

Yes I think its going to come back and bite me on my ass grrrrrrr We have finally got the SMC3 code working great and under testing with no load on the platform, the load being my fat arse, the rig worked great but as soon as I get on its struggling on the bottom of the the front 2 actuators. The 2x32's were getting really hot however I do need to put some fans on. Now I don't know whether this is a power issue with them not being able to get back up smoothly or if its too much for the 2x32's to cope with.

I am going to put a big car battery in parallel tonight to test and also I have ordered some 900mm gas struts to help the cause which I really didn't want but we shall see how it goes.

Then I will remake the platform out of 20x20 box steel as I'm sure its going to be less weight now as I have had to put that much extra wood on the platform now to support the damn thing.

Yes get the 2x60's lol, wish I had now just to totally eliminate the power issue if there ever any doubt that there could be.

Hi @SilentChill this sound crazy , something is not right , I can honestly say my system takes hammering and nither sabretooth or resistors get even luke warm , I have no fans fitted as yet and have not needed them so far . Ok i'll admit I have only run the sim in anger for 15-20 minute sessions ( crap driver ) and not had noticible issues with Actuator Power or High Current the only element I'm thinking of changing is the removal of the Relays I have fitted to Cut motor Power if limit switch tripped ...... Really don't understand why the new controllers are giving you grief :-(

will post Video tonight to show my heath robinson setup ...Not Pretty but so far working .... Check out my Circuit diagram to see if there is anything you can use ... These Controller Work and So far work well with these Motors so DONT GIVE UP it will come good ..

I Am Using a Different Controller From the ARDUINO's but that aside you should be Fine . I'm 95KG and Sure the Upper frame weighs in at over 20KG so Basic weight 115KG Min that gets chucked around and I still have not cranked the speed to max ..

This Works Mate so hang in there ..

I Have not fitted gas struts but would be keen to have a link for your 900mm struts as an option if I ever need it Cheers Good Buddy ( These cards works mate and you'll crak it without hitting the wallet )

Well, all interesting stuff - and Members wonder why we can be sometimes hesitant in recommending setups - so many variables . I'll be watching with interest - although I will be away and off Network on a cruise for a couple of weeks starting this weekend. Good luck @SilentChill in sorting it all out.

Do you use the Sabertooth 2x32 ramp settings and current limiting.
Youre motors are 0,7nm cont. ,this is 70kg force with 1605 ballscrew times 6 =420kg
With 140kg on top ,you still have 2G left for accel and decel.
And stay in cont motor area.

Hi Ya From Memory for my project I have not dabbled with any of the default Describe setting other than Set Max Current limit set up the Back EMF resistors Ref A1-2 on sabretooth and the obligatory Dip switch settings etc I will look later and see if I can get a screen dump of my describe settings for you.

This will get sorted mate

My motors were getting hot to touch all of them, I have a bit of an issue with the motors not quite making it back to the target so they have constant power going to them, they are not making noise but more of a little "pinging" now and again. I think I will be able to get rid of this by tweaking the PID eventually.

I am around 90kg and my platform now with everything on it must be in the region of around 35kg so its not massively heavy and I can move the ball screws with my finger and thumb so its not like its too hard for the motors. Much more tweaking to be done

I got the last 2 struts from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222292983200?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT I will put them on the front 2 corners as I have no issues with the back of the rig and see how it goes.

Very interesting last couple of pages lads.

Hi @SilentChill - IMO 500N struts could be quite high for your rig. Ie each strut will support approx 50Kg (100Kg for both) and could start effecting the reaction qualities, or even load up the motors of your rig as they are dampeners not springs. (I use 3 x 100N and would ideally like to go a bit lower as my motors have never been hot, but could not find any that were the right size and less weight range). Interested to see how you get on.

Yes totally agree mate but its all I could get hold of, I will try them and see what happens but I think you may be right.

Thanks for that mate maths is not my strong point (nothing is tbh)

I have yet to play with the ramp settings but the current limiting is set to the deafult 64amps.

I am now unsure whether these motors or drivers can handle the the hard reverses I recorded some motor moves last night and I can get it to register over 100AMPS by slamming it down and up in SMC3 utility with PWM only set to 150 so god knows what it would be like at 255. Maybe ramping it up a little may help with the hard reverses but obviously I dont want to lose all the little motions and it turn to driving on jelly

Have a good cruise matey and make sure you drink and eat plenty

Hi SilentChill
I have only read the sabertooth 2x32 manual a time ago.
This current limiter is a soft limiter it regulates ,don,t block.
You can bring youre setting 64 back to 25/30 (cont. motor erea)This way you controll force and heat.
Ramp settings are a bit double up with soft current limiting, because current controls than how fast he chanses direction
ramp settings are only needed without soft current limiting.
Sorry for the bad english
regards Ad

@wannabeaflyer2 get chucking it around like this give it a good test



2x32 Sabertooths are going to be exchanged for the 2x60's hopefully I can get somewhere with this thing grrrrrr

you dont have amperemetric clamp for testing peak current ?

I recorded the data through describe, here have a look