Wifi Camera Tank, Only Bigger
Description
Scaled up version of the original, Now with Gear Reduction, greater ground clearance, spring loaded tension on treads and bearings.
All Files.zip contains all the STL files, the SCAD files, The Arduino Tank Code and EasyN Web Code.
(Also added Speed Control to Web page and Arduino Code), Need some help getting the web pages to work correctly with IE. Anyone?
I have added a basic connection diagram and a few pictures of the internal connections of the EasyN Camera.
Instructions
You'll need:
Printed tank
* 2 Sets of 32 Tank Tread Segments
* 8 Outer Hubs
* 2 Rear Hub Filler Bearing Sleeve, For Read Hubs only, so you can place bearing in Gear A instead)
* 2 Gear A
* 2 Filler A Bearing Sleeves
* 2 Gear BC
* 2 Gear D
* 2 Gear BC Bearing Cover
* 2 Gear BC Bearing Spacer (You can use the bearing Sleeve if you do not want to purchase the BC Bearings)
* 2 Main Beams
* 2 Front Mounts
* 2 Stepper Motor Mounts (One Left and One Right)
* 1 Arduino Holder
* 1 Camera Holder
Electronics
* 2 stepper motors, nema17 (Kysan 1124090 - ultimachine.com - SKU UMN17MTR)
* 1 Foscam-knockoff wifi camera (Easyn FS 613A M136, Tomtop, etcetera)
* 1 Arduino Uno (http://www.adafruit.com/products/50)
* 1 Arduino Proto Shield (http://www.adafruit.com/products/51)
* 2 Pololu stepper drivers A4988 Black Edition (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/2128)
* Battery, 3S 2200mAh recommended (Hobbyking)
* 5 Amp (Minimum) 5V regulator (do not run camera off arduino's vreg)
* FTDI Serial Breakout Cable(https://www.adafruit.com/products/284) - Recommended for testing the serial port on the Camera and getting console access to camera)
Hardware:
* 2 M8 265mm Long Threaded Rods (McMaster Carr 90024A080 1-meter Long should supply all 4 pieces needed)
* 2 M8 185mm Long Threaded Rods
* 12 M8 Acorn Lock Nuts (McMaster Carr 93625A300)
* 8 washers (15mm X 8.45mm X 1.5mm) (McMaster Carr 93475A270)
* 4 washers (19mm X 8.75mm X 1.1mm) (McMaster Carr 90107A030)
* 8 M3 X 10 - Stepper Motor Mount (McMaster Carr 91292A113)
* 8 M3 X 30 - Rear Outer Hubs and Gear A (McMaster Carr 91292A022)
* 8 M3 X 20 - Front Outer Hubs (McMaster Carr 91292A123)
* 4 M4 X 20 - Stepper Mount to Beam (Nuts optional but recommended) (McMaster Carr 91292A121)
* 4 M4 X 20 - Front Mount to Beam (Nuts optional but recommended) (McMaster Carr 91292A121)
* 2 M3 X 10 - Gear BC Bearing Cover (McMaster Carr 91292A113)
* 128 M3 X 20 - Tread Segments (McMaster Carr 91292A123)
* 8 22 X 7 X 8 Sealed Bearings (Outer Hub and Gear A) (http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit7925)
* 4 12 X 3.5 X 8 Sealed Bearings (Gear BC) (http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/kit727)
* 2 Springs (23.5mm Long, 11mm Dia, 1.2mm wire Dia) (Home Depot Packet of Springs!!)
Misc:
* 8 Zip Ties
* Jumper Wires for connections
* Heat sink for 5V Regulator
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How do you made the conections between arduino and camera and how pass commands to camera->arduino?
It is basically a hack to connect the internal (normally not exposed) serial console port of the
microcontroller inside the camera to the Arduino serial port on pin 0 and 1. I
include pictures of how I connected and exposed the serial port, and detail the
connections in the schematic diagram. The other required piece is hacked WebUI
code, to add an additional file (tank.htm) to the available web pages in the
camera. This code captures the keystrokes and sends special commands via the
serial port to the Arduino. These commands have to be structured in such a way
as to not be duplicated by the console messages also coming from this port. That
is why they are structured like {arfh} for halt, {arff} for forward, etc. I did
change the structure of these commands from the original code posed by tjhowse,
as some of the commands were only one bit off, and I had issues with false
forward commands being received by the arduino. I also updated the code on the
Arduio to use interrupts to drive the stepper motor speed, rather than using
the PWM.
I've got my camera, arduino & stepper motors coming through amazon. I'll probably wing it on the rest of the parts, but McMaster will probably get an order. I'm close enough to them that regular orders arrive overnight usually. :-)
That is so darn neat!! Love it, well done, and a huge thank you for sharing! ;)
License
I printed this and after putting the threads together, they do NOT fit properly on the outer hubs. The treads are too small to fit 180 degrees around the hub. In fact, I can only get 3-4 teeth to engage nicely before it's visibly off.
Everything looks good and all my parts appear to be generally dimensionally accurate. Each individual tread piece is generally +- a few thousandths of an inch from what I'd expect. The outer hubs are +- 2 hundredths of an inch in diameter from the expected 2.5". The inaccuracy in my measuring could easily account for much of that. I believe my printer is pretty accurate. I print motor mounts and gears without trouble all the time.
I'm going to try and modify the outer hubs next but overall this is pretty disappointing as I already spent a fair bit buying all the nuts and bolts only to find that it's clearly not going to work as it is.
I assume it is too tight, if so, this would be correct, as the will losen up after they get broken in. One thing you can try is running a drill bit throught through the inner hole, this will both losen up the tread and make it move easier. I too had to do a bit of playing to get it to fix perfectly.