Thank you for taking the time to read and help me out here
Apologies if I miss out any information or if this is the wrong place to ask, I've just recently bought a kit (I thought it was an arduino, but it looks like they do the same thing), called the Elegoo R3 Uno Super Starter Kit, the full list of what's included is on this page half way down:
I'm super excited to start learning, but feel it's a little basic to put together a fan that blows, or a light that goes beep beep beep. So, instead, I have a project in mind that I would like to complete and learn along the way, solving the problems that this challenge presents.
The end goal is to have a linear actuator (like the one posted here...
...attached to a chassis the same shape as the linear actuator, with a wheel on each end of the base. On one end of the base, the wheel will be a ball wheel and on the other end it will be some kind of programmable motorised wheel that can be programmed to drive in a complete circle. After achieving the goal of being able to connect and program the diameter of the circle, I would then modify the motor of the actuator to be programmed via an encoder of some sort...
There are 2 main parts for this project but I would really love your help with the first... any help in pointing me in the correct direction as to how I can learn to create this would be much appreciated!
So to summarise...
How can I connect a motorised wheel to the arduino / uno, so that I can program its direction?
What motorised wheel exists for this purpose?
How would I go about learning what code is required for the device to move in the direction of a circle of X radius in the direction of North South East or West (or any point in between)?
Where could I get/build an appropriate chassis, and on that note are there any recommended stores for purchasing the components for this project shipping to the UK?
How can I smoothly control the acceleration of the motorised wheel via a remote controlled joystick?
Can this be achieved in combination with the R3 kit or do I need another kit?
Thanks, already working through the examples, provided in the guide, so that's a good start, but hoping to get some extra direction for this motorised wheel problem
galapsig:
...attached to a chassis the same shape as the linear actuator, with a wheel on each end of the base. On one end of the base, the wheel will be a ball wheel and on the other end it will be some kind of programmable motorised wheel that can be programmed to drive in a complete circle.
What will it be used for?
It is much easier to give useful advice when we understand the project fully.
galapsig:
a chassis the same shape as the linear actuator, with a wheel on each end of the base. On one end of the base, the wheel will be a ball wheel
What is a "ball wheel"? Is that like a "ball caster" or "transfer bearing" that can be pulled in any direction?
galapsig:
and on the other end it will be some kind of programmable motorized wheel that can be programmed to drive in a complete circle.
Do you mean a wheel to turn the chassis in a circle around the (fixed?) 'ball wheel'?
The ball wheel was just a placeholder, ultimately the vehicle would have 2 motorised wheels, I just didn't want to complicate the first step of the process. The next step would be to have both wheels driving different circle radii, so that the whole vehicle drives on the outside of a circle. The ultimate aim is to place a camera with tripod on it and pre program a 360 rotating view of a subject, with a joystick remotely controlling the acceleration speed around the perimeter... (the final steps of the project would also see a vertical linear actuator as well as horizontal for extra movement)
Thanks for the link to the 2 wheeled vehicle and chassis, that looks great! So... I suppose I should get a Raspberry Pi then??
Robin2:
With 2 motorised wheels I can't imagine any need for a linear actuator.
Motor cars can traverse circles of widely different radii without needing to alter the spacing between the wheels.
Make a 3 wheel chassis with steering on the third wheel.
...R
The horizontal linear actuator is to move the camera backwards and forwards on the Z plane, the vertical linear actuator is to move the camera up and down on the Y plane. That unit would comprise part 2 of the problem. The first part is to have a wheeled chassis preprogrammed to drive in a circle of a fixed diameter, which can be adjusted with code beforehand.
The movement of a chassis that has ends A and B, around a circle, should be such that point A travels the perimeter of the circle, and point B (with the camera tripod attached) turns to maintain view of the centre of the circle point.
galapsig:
The horizontal linear actuator is to move the camera backwards and forwards on the Z plane, the vertical linear actuator is to move the camera up and down on the Y plane.
My mistake - probably because there was no mention of a camera in your Original Post I had assumed the linear actuator was intended to vary the distance from the wheel to the ball.
The movement of a chassis that has ends A and B, around a circle, should be such that point A travels the perimeter of the circle, and point B (with the camera tripod attached) turns to maintain view of the centre of the circle point.
What sort of surface will the chassis be moving on?
If it is important to follow a circle very accurately I suspect that you will need some reference system with which the Arduino can detect an error in the radius and correct for it.
And I think you need a steered wheel rather than trying to rely on the differential speed of two driven motors.
Would it be possible to connect the chassis to the centre of the circle with a radius arm?
Another thought is whether you could lay down a circle on the ground (perhaps just a black line) for the chassis to follow.
And another idea, why not build a rotating platform so that the object can rotate rather than the camera?
