Is it possible to order the Wild Thumper, but get encoder motors instead of regular gearmotors?
I understand that the encoder motors don’t fit directly, but there exists a mod that lets you fit the encoders, and if I’m trying to do that, it seems unnecessary to buy 6 un-encoded motors and then add 6 motors with encoders…
(Separately: Does anyone know of a motor controller with 6 channels of 10A each output and 6 quadrature encoder input channels? 
Hello.
Unfortunately, that is a custom modification that you would need to make yourself. However, do you really need encoders on all six wheels? I suspect having encoders on only the two middle wheels will prove just as useful as having them on all six wheels. Also, do you really need independent control of all six motors. Typically, people connect the three motors on a side in parallel to a single H-bridge, since there really isn’t any benefit to having these motors turning in different directions or at different speeds. We recommend using two SMC 18v15s with the Wild Thumper, one controlling each side of the chassis.
I do not know where you might find a 6 channel motor controller (with or without 6 quadrature encoder input channels), but if you find one, I would like to hear about it.
- Grant
Thanks for the answer. I actually have a couple of 18v25cs laying around that I could use – although I’d have to detect the encoders separately.
No, I don’t need encoders on each wheel, and I don’t need to drive each wheel separately. Although, if I’m pivoting around the center, the outer wheels should turn a lot faster than the center wheels. Also, I imagine there may be some uneven ground configurations where the center wheel/s may be lifted up and thus slip, so having more encoders and using the lowest value from each of the three might give a slightly better reading.
OK, thanks for the answer – I’ll go back to mulling some more.
