[Robotgroup] MOTORtHrEAD

[Robert Carter]

Hey y'all--

I feel kinda proud of myself that I was able to follow most of the  
thread on RC motor controllers without being completely lost. While  
reading, I started keeping a list of terms/phrases I didn't  
understand. Here's the list; if anyone would like to fill in some of  
the blanks for me, that'd be great.

·      PWM (example: "… but you can drive 5A with PWM 80% duty cycle…")
·      Transient currents
·      Overclock ("…you can run it at 6V and run it faster and  
overclock it as well.")
·      Locked rotor amp ("…you pretty much need to have a motor  
controller rated for the locked motor amps of the motor you are going  
to use." )

That last one, I think I understand what it means from the context,  
but when I tried to put it in my own words I couldn't come up with  
anything that makes sense, so I'm curious to hear how someone might  
explain it to an inquisitive 9-year old.

I've got more questions specific to what I'm trying to do with my  
project, but let's start with these. BTW, has there ever been talk  
about creating a glossary page on the wiki for stuff like this? Or  
are there already a lot of good ones out there, that I just don't  
know about?

Thanks--

Robert


On May 2, 2008, at 2:04 PM, brooksdesign wrote:

>
>  Allthough I think there are programs out there that I've heard of  
> you just made public one of the parts of a new video game I've be  
> contemplating. And in saying that and letting that cat out of the  
> bag, any of you game programmer guys want to come out and talk  
> about how to turn my scripts, cad files and ideas into something  
> real that I won't leave sitting on the shelf because I can't get  
> around to learning to write code? This project is waay more than a  
> game.
> -brooks
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Robert Carter <rcarter at ischool.utexas.edu>
>> Sent: May 2, 2008 2:24 PM
>> To: The Robot Group Mailing List <robotgroup at puremagic.com>
>> Subject: [Robotgroup] MOTORtHrEAD
>>
>> <clip>
>> The nice thing about electronics is that physics is the final  
>> judge of
>> your choices.
>>
>> You can get people to "vote" for various approaches, but even if  
>> all of
>> us voted for item "A" (placing a fuse in parallel with the motor
>> controller) that wouldn't make one whit of difference to the circuit.
>> </clip>
>>
>> Hell yeah, that's my way of learning: forge ahead with crazy ideas,
>> and learn from the consequences. If nothing else, you'll get some
>> good stories. Like when my brother and his best friends discovered
>> the formula for gunpowder and started a fireworks shop in the attic
>> over our garage. But, when it comes to electronics, I have to admit,
>> it gets expensive and time-consuming to have to keep running back to
>> the store or to the internet for replacement parts when something
>> explodes/melts/starts to smoke.
>>
>> I keep hoping that someone will invent an interactive website for
>> designing circuits, aimed for grade school students and/or middle-
>> aged project addicts with more enthusiasm than sense (like yours
>> truly). You could drag and drop motors of various amperage, LEDs,
>> transistors, capacitors, etc. onto a virtual breadboard to create a
>> circuit. If it works, you get the results in animation form: the
>> motor spins, the lights blink, etc. Or conversely, if you design it
>> badly, you can show the sparks and smoke as your components burn to a
>> crisp. Fun, inexpensive, and no one gets hurt.
>>
>> Usually when I think of something and it seems like a really good
>> idea, something like it already exists. Does anyone know?
>>
>>
>>
>> Robert Carter
>> Visual Resources Collection
>> School of Architecture
>> The University of Texas at Austin
>> rcarter at ischool.utexas.edu
>>
>>
>>
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>
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Robert Carter
Visual Resources Collection
School of Architecture
The University of Texas at Austin
rcarter at ischool.utexas.edu