24V Saturn Conversion
24V Saturn Conversion
When Heath and I were designing a drive system we were looking at a motor that had a lot of torque and was cost efficient. We wanted motors that would be able to haul around a 100lb droid. We chose the Saturn Wiper motor as it has enough torque, is inexpensive and easy to find.
After attempts at a reverse gear and such a fellow builder (Craig) informed me that a local robot group was converting the motors to 24V for their robots. As I understood it the 12V motor uses only half of the windings. This conversion uses all the windings at 24V. This reduces the RPM but increases the available torque.
So with the same sprockets in theory the speed would be the same as before.
With more torque and the theoretical same speed forward and reverse I can
increase the main drive sprocket size and get a faster droid.
01tso.jpg
This spring and brush is not needed and has to be taken out. Actually go to step 10 and remove the entire assembly and return here
02sto.jpg
Here is the spring taken out. Later on I realized that I can take out the entire assembly (Step 10)
03cic.jpg
We need to then cut the coil at this location
04ccb.jpg
You have to cut as close to the base as possible which will allow some flexibility for soldering later on
05co.jpg
Here is what it looks like cut
06cooc.jpg
This coil is not needed so it can be cut off completely
07ctbr.jpg
Coil to be removed
08cg.jpg
Coil gone
09csas.jpg
Return to the first coil that had one end cut off. Swing the coil around
so the cut end lines up with the wire from the coil you just removed.
Be gentle as too much bending back and forth could break off the coil
10tnn.jpg
When I got to this point I realized that this entire assembly can be removed and not affect the motor at all
11gone.jpg
Gone - quickly ripped out with a pair of plyers
12swcw.jpg
Solder where coil was - Now we solder together the final connection
Conclusion
I have run this setup at a 3 day hobby show with no problems.
I am happy with the added speed. It s a quick walk which is great.
I was worried about the controllability at slow speeds but it was fine.
I did not notice overheating or any electrical problems. It will not
win any speed contests but I don't mind.
The hobby show had a carpeted walkway which was no problem. I am not sure about plush stuff.