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wheels and motors

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By vinny001

February 1, 2010
Hi all I have been trying to gear my motors down which is a real pain so I was thinking of buying a Tamiya 70097 Twin-Motor Gearbox. Does anyone recommend this or a different type. I wanna keep costs down so something nice and cheap that has 2 geared independent motors. Also I didn’t think it would be that hard to find wheels. Anyone recommend anything or anywhere?

Cheers

Vinny

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By Prettybird
@ Wed, 2010-02-03 13:28
Prettybird's picture
 I have been converting cheap servo motors into continous DC motor. Just remove the stop cog on the main gear and file down the pot shaft or remove it and solder 2 wires to the motor direst. Don't forget to cut the fiol connections to the motor and add a .1 mfd ceramic capacitor across the motor. They go faster too.
By maneuver
@ Wed, 2010-02-03 11:15
maneuver's picture

Solarbotics has many different gear motors, that are worth a look.

http://www.solarbotics.com/motors_accessories/gear_motors/

But the Tamyia Twin is a popular choice, and I havent heard any complaints about it, so I guess it's OK.

By vinny001
@ Tue, 2010-02-02 20:12
thanks for your info. i'll check the websites out. still not sure though. the current draw and noise puts me off. V
By RascalRobot
@ Tue, 2010-02-02 16:50
RascalRobot's picture

Yes, I have the dual gearbox. Plastic gears make alot of noise, but the thing runs fine.

The motors are 3V motors, and draw a higher current. You can buy replacement motors that run on 6V at lower current. I bought my replacements from Pololu. http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/604

As for the wheels, I bought the Tamiya Off-Road tires and the narrow tires, both from Pololu.

This setup works great to quickly throw together a moving platform, just don't expect it to move quickly or move much weight.

By FingerTech Robotics
@ Mon, 2010-02-01 19:15
FingerTech Robotics's picture

Hi Vinny,

It's easy to find motors and wheels if you know where to look.  ;)

Check out www.FingerTechRobotics.com.  I run that store and carry geared motors, wheels, and wheel hubs designed specifically for hobby robotics.

Also, you have two identical posts: "wheels and motors" and "motors and wheels".  I recommend keeping it to just one post to keep all the answers in one place.