somakeit / dalek

Dalek software
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Lower centre of gravity #8

Open benjie opened 10 years ago

benjie commented 10 years ago

@XRobots as the top is likely to get heavier with articulated turret is there anything we can do to help the bottom; e.g. Somehow lowering the batteries? Not sure how much difference a few inches would make.

XRobots commented 10 years ago

I don't think we can really make them any lower as far as I can remember. We just need to be careful to make new parts for thin vac formed plastics and foam etc, rather than chipboard or MDF.

In the end we could make a mould from the upper/shoulder parts and cast a light weight fiberglass version, but that involves a lot of labour and mess.

benjie commented 10 years ago

We could add weight to the bottom of the skirt since it's pretty light currently?

antonpiatek commented 10 years ago

I have some washing machine concrete blocks, but will be skipping them soon

XRobots commented 10 years ago

I'm a bit worried about generally making it any heavier - going downhill and driving on slopes will be even harder. The wooden front wheel mountings may also give up at some point.

TheMadMaker-YT commented 10 years ago

We still have a number of small items to add that will add up and contribute to the weight. For example neck cylinder, eyestalk, new dome, further electronics, shoulder slats, hemispheres, gun, plunger to name a few. Adding more weight just for balancing is not a great idea.

When going at the sorts of speeds we should be using it at the centre of gravity didn't seem any issue at all - has anything changed?

benjie commented 10 years ago

Nothings changed yet, but when you add more items like the ones you list right up at the top of the Dalek it will become more unstable. This is problematic either when catching up with the carnival float wherein we need to go quite fast or when travelling over uneven ground (e.g. sloped pavements).