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Motors from hobby market with custom controllers + belt reduction instead of precision strain wave gearboxes seem to be major cost-reducers. Less precision, but

by fest 8y ago

Motors from hobby market with custom controllers + belt reduction instead of precision strain wave gearboxes seem to be major cost-reducers. Less precision, but lower cost. More than good enough for perception and control research on how to perform everyday chores.

Animats 8y ago
What makes this work is that the better hobby motors for drones are now pretty good. Hobby motors used to be cheap sheet metal junk.
- TaylorAlexander 8y ago
  (Brushless) Hobby motors are typically CNC's aluminum and steel these days. Some sheet metal ones exist too. High quality closed loop controllers shipping in volumes helps too. The cheap motor factories can make higher quality motors upon request too so "hobby like" motors can be great in robotics if a big buyer sources them right.
  - Animats 8y ago
    "High quality closed loop controllers shipping in volumes helps too." Yes. Those things used to be way overpriced. I was at an industrial trade show some years ago, and saw that Maxon, a motor manufacturer, had added controllers to their product line. I was chatting with the sales rep, and he said they'd added them because they were tired of selling $100 motors that were used with $1000 controllers, when motor and controller cost about the same to make. Selling both together resulted in a huge improvement in profit margin. Encoders, too. For a long time, shaft encoders, which are very simple devices, were way overpriced. They were separate from motors, which meant you usually needed a motor with a shaft out each end, plus the parts to attach motor and shaft, plus the alignment problems of keeping two things with separate bearings concentric. With the encoder built into the motor, this all gets much simpler and neater.
    - TaylorAlexander 8y ago
      Seriously. I dream of hobby motors with built in high resolution encoders in the sub $100 price range. That and a programmable closed loop brushless controller for under $50 would be so impactful.

by fest 8y ago

Animats 8y ago

What makes this work is that the better hobby motors for drones are now pretty good. Hobby motors used to be cheap sheet metal junk.

TaylorAlexander 8y ago
(Brushless) Hobby motors are typically CNC's aluminum and steel these days. Some sheet metal ones exist too. High quality closed loop controllers shipping in volumes helps too. The cheap motor factories can make higher quality motors upon request too so "hobby like" motors can be great in robotics if a big buyer sources them right.
- Animats 8y ago
  "High quality closed loop controllers shipping in volumes helps too." Yes. Those things used to be way overpriced. I was at an industrial trade show some years ago, and saw that Maxon, a motor manufacturer, had added controllers to their product line. I was chatting with the sales rep, and he said they'd added them because they were tired of selling $100 motors that were used with $1000 controllers, when motor and controller cost about the same to make. Selling both together resulted in a huge improvement in profit margin. Encoders, too. For a long time, shaft encoders, which are very simple devices, were way overpriced. They were separate from motors, which meant you usually needed a motor with a shaft out each end, plus the parts to attach motor and shaft, plus the alignment problems of keeping two things with separate bearings concentric. With the encoder built into the motor, this all gets much simpler and neater.
  - TaylorAlexander 8y ago
    Seriously. I dream of hobby motors with built in high resolution encoders in the sub $100 price range. That and a programmable closed loop brushless controller for under $50 would be so impactful.