Hi!
I am working to build my first robot with a BeagleBone Blue controller board. I purchased a Magician Chassis by Dagu on Amazon. I think buying this chassis was a mistake, since the motors supplied are very hard to mount to the chassis using the “motor holder” pieces, and also it seems I have to mount the motors in a particular way, or the wheels will spin in opposite directions when powered up. I’ve read criticisms on the net about the motors supplied with this kit, especially that one motor can be stronger than the other motor.
My question is: does Pololu (or any other vendor) offer motors which can work with with this chassis? Or am I better off putting the chassis aside and buying a new chassis and motor kit? I’m not sure whether to sink more money into this chassis or to start fresh on a different chassis.
I am a beginner at robot building. I do have some understanding of circuits and a pretty fair amount of soldering experience. I am okay about soldering.
Thanks so much
Bob
Hello, Bob.
We carry some plastic gear motors, wheels, and mounting brackets that work together, but using them with that chassis would probably require some degree of modification. Also, some of the specific problems you mention like the motor’s directionality or variances in motor speed are common in inexpensive motors like these and there are ways to correct them. The leads between the motor and motor driver can be switched to reverse direction for instance. Also, feedback from encoders will allow motor speed to be matched precisely using software controls.
You might be interested in looking at our Romi chassis, which is similar in price and size. The chassis assembles without any screws or nuts, though you would need some hardware to mount your controller board. We have a more complete solution for encoders that includes electronics and monitors the motor shaft rather than the gearbox output shaft/wheels (which generally provides better resolution). The chassis also has an integrated battery holder for 6x AA batteries.
-Nathan
Hello, Nathan!
Thank you so much for letting me know. I’ll look into a Romi chassis and encoder kit. I have been eyeing the Romi kits for several days now. I did not realize I can use encoders to control the motors, and will study up on these. So your response taught me something new.
Thanks again for helping me with this.
Bob
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