Motor and Battery Guidance

Projects General Guidance
1

Im fairly new to electronics. I've completed the Arduino starter kit's 15 projects and now I'm making a 4 wheeled robot for some purpose.

I'll be using 4 12V DC motors along with an Arduino Uno/Mega and HM-10 BLE breakout board for BT.

Optionally I'm thinking to add addressable RGB LED strip too (5V APA102).

To make all this work onto a single chassis for PORTABILITY I need a battery pack that ensures (Highest to Lowest Priority)

  • Lightweight
  • Maximum speed for motors
  • Maximum operating time

I found that Lithium-Ion or Lithium Polymer are good choices due to lightweightness and high mAh capacity.

But I don't know what kind of C rating I would need. Also I don't have experience with those batteries (I've heard they cause fire if charged improperly).

Also I'm wondering should i power my Arduino and BLE module from 12V output (stepped down ofcourse to 5V and 3.3V) or use a separate one(Battery Backup System for Raspberry Pi and Other 5V applications)?

Here is the site from where I would probably buy: link

As of now thinking to buy the following:

  • LIPO Safe Bag (30cm x 23cm)
  • Dont know what C rating I need for my project? Need suggestions on that (Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery Pack 11.1V 6600mAh (2C) OR Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery Pack 11.1V 4400mAh (2C))
  • Li-Ion / Li-Po 3A Balance Charger for 2-4 Cell Battery

Any guidance is appreciated. Thank you :slight_smile:

2

Anyone?

3

The C-rating of a lipo tells you how much current you can draw, without damaging the bettery.
2C is very low, that might be the charging rate.
The discharge rate of lipos for RC models is in the range of 20C - 50C and sometimes even higher.

If your maximum current draw is 10A and you want to use a 2000mAh (=2Ah) battery, your minimum required C-rate is 10A/2Ah = 5.

lg, couka