Knuckle Sandwich (60 lbs)
Design:
Drive motors are two standard NPC T-64's ran at 24 Volts DC. Power is supplied by
two 24 volt Battlepacks each with 20 NiCd C cells, for a total of 6.0 amp hours. Top speed is
yet to be measured.
Run time is 22 minutes. Armor and chassis are 1/8" thick diamond
plate 6061 aluminum. Wheels are 10" diameter foam filled wheelchair
wheels. Electronic speed control (ESC) is via two IFI 883's. Click on any small image to enlarge.
Build Detail:
The frame started off as a wheel chair. Original motor mounts were kept
but the rest was cut away using a table saw. The brakes were hack sawed
away saving two pounds per motor. The Diamond plate was bent at William
Machine in Westminster,CO, and was welded on at Browns welding in Boulder, CO.
The total build time was about 8 days. It would have been faster but I
also built Big Bunny FuFu (12 lbs) at the same time. The worst problem was
the softness of the 6061 diamond plate at the tip of the wedge. When
rammed into a concrete pole at full speed the tip was bent.
The available drive power makes it pretty easy to flip over. Future
revisions may include a wheelie prevention system and air filled tires (saving 4
lbs) to allow more ballast and strength at the wedge leading edge.
Copyright ® 2003 Barry Anderson
