December 25th, 2009Archive for

ATR5-b1: Steering winch spool mount

Steering wheels are ubiquitous, effective, and easy to take for granted. In the absence of power steering, they deliver an enormous force -- 400 pounds (1.8kN) in the case of ATR5 -- to rotate the front wheels with a user input of only 20 pounds (89N). Unlike other actuation points that interact only with the vehicle itself -- throttle, gearshift, clutch, ignition -- the steering wheel is directly affected by the unpredictable environment. A vehicle running smoothly at top speed across cemen...

ATR5-b1: Framework

ATR3-b1's framework corner angles are imperfect. Welding the corners into permanent angles is one obvious solution, but welding is a complex art and the initial equipment expenses are high: $700 - $1300 for a MIG welder and necessary supplies.  Though a weldless build is realistically limited in strength and size, bolt-based designs only require a drill press and a pile of bolts/washers/nuts. But how to build a 3-dimensional right angle with only bolts, which allow rotation about their axes?...