Slow, but at least some progress, with my RC Lawn Mower.
I had originally hoped to automate the deck height on this mower. It took almost two months to get the HD actuator and RC transmitter to talk to one another properly, but I finally got it working. Sadly, as expected the geometry of the mower didn't work out the way I had hoped. The single lever adjustment on the mower I was attaching to the actuator is so far back it interferes with the wheelchair motors too much. In order to make the deck go up and down I have to move the batteries and motors (which are very heavy) behind the mower so far they will tip everything around the rear drive axles. RC deck height was just a cool thing I wanted to try. I feel satisfied that I got the mechanics and RC stuff to do what I wanted, even though it wasn't a practical mod in the end. I could move at least one battery to the front as a counter weight, but because the front wheels are free spinning stem casters on grass, I don't want a lot of weight up there. Also, the wheel base would be so long I couldn't spin around trees easily, which is the primary objective of the whole project.
The good news is that once adjusted, you really don't move the deck height too often of course. So the solution is simple hangers made from All-thread. These will go into 1/2" x 1" oblong punched holes in the angle iron frame to give me some minor horizontal alignment. Posilock nuts will allow for the actual deck height adjustment.
Next up is back to the ironworker for punching, then making the motor mounts. This should be fun as it looks like I will be bending 3/16" plate after plasma cutting. I have a bunch of rusty 1/16" sheet I may prototype with first.
I also may remove the magnetic brakes on the motors; I'm not sure. They are locked by default, so use an additional few amps to keep unlocked when the mower is operating. I had devised a Arduino sketch and a few HD 24VDC relays to auto unlock the brakes, wait a few millisecs, then power the motors, but this just uses up valuable amp hours I may need. So I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
I had originally hoped to automate the deck height on this mower. It took almost two months to get the HD actuator and RC transmitter to talk to one another properly, but I finally got it working. Sadly, as expected the geometry of the mower didn't work out the way I had hoped. The single lever adjustment on the mower I was attaching to the actuator is so far back it interferes with the wheelchair motors too much. In order to make the deck go up and down I have to move the batteries and motors (which are very heavy) behind the mower so far they will tip everything around the rear drive axles. RC deck height was just a cool thing I wanted to try. I feel satisfied that I got the mechanics and RC stuff to do what I wanted, even though it wasn't a practical mod in the end. I could move at least one battery to the front as a counter weight, but because the front wheels are free spinning stem casters on grass, I don't want a lot of weight up there. Also, the wheel base would be so long I couldn't spin around trees easily, which is the primary objective of the whole project.
The good news is that once adjusted, you really don't move the deck height too often of course. So the solution is simple hangers made from All-thread. These will go into 1/2" x 1" oblong punched holes in the angle iron frame to give me some minor horizontal alignment. Posilock nuts will allow for the actual deck height adjustment.
Next up is back to the ironworker for punching, then making the motor mounts. This should be fun as it looks like I will be bending 3/16" plate after plasma cutting. I have a bunch of rusty 1/16" sheet I may prototype with first.
I also may remove the magnetic brakes on the motors; I'm not sure. They are locked by default, so use an additional few amps to keep unlocked when the mower is operating. I had devised a Arduino sketch and a few HD 24VDC relays to auto unlock the brakes, wait a few millisecs, then power the motors, but this just uses up valuable amp hours I may need. So I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
