Robotronics Toby Tire Robot, Operating Manual

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Drive Motor System
CHAPTER 7 Drive Motor System
Your robot is provided with two high quality industrial grade drive motors. Each motor controls a
drive wheel-left and right. Steering of the robot is accomplished by varying the speed and
direction of these motors. For example, when the left motor runs faster than the right, the robot
turns to the right.
Each drive motor is connected to its drive wheel via pulleys and 1/2" wide rubber timing belts.
The pulley set screws and bolts should be kept tight.
Trouble-Shooting - Drive
Perform the following steps first when trouble-shooting a drive problem:
1.
Do the other radio control functions operate? Do the other RC features work such
as siren and tape? If they do not, check the fuses on the robot battery and fuses on the
main fuse block in the main electronics box. Especially look at the fuse labeled 5 Volt
Regulator Processor and 5 Volt Regulator Receiver (see the fuse block detail in the
Appendix).
2.
Check drive belts and motor pulley set screws. Especially if you hear the motors
activate but the robot does not move.
3.
Check connections to motor controls and motor leads. These are blue and yellow
wires coming from the electronics box and going to the drive motors. There is a white
connector in line. The joystick could be pushed in the on position while the connector is
being checked for an intermittent connection. If there is a bad connection, the connector
and/or pins should be replaced. While doing the test just explained, have the robot
wheels off the ground.
Perform the following depending on the symptoms indicated:
Note:
The best way to look at what the drive motors and wheels are doing is to put something
under the back of the robot to get the wheels off the ground. You will then be able to see
exactly what motor and wheel is working or not working, and in what direction.
Neither drive operates:
Check the fuse on the robot battery. One of the fuses supplies power
to the drive.
One drive only does not operate either direction: Check the specific drive fuse on the fuse
block (left or right). See the fuse block detail to identify the correct fuse, or look for any blown
fuses. The fuse block is located in the main electronics box. If after replacing, the fuse blows
again, the
drive motor or drive circuit could be causing the problem.
-
Drive motor - If the drive motor is the problem, you would have likely heard the motor
grinding or scraping before the fuse blew. To test the motor for operation, swap the
motor wires. It is best to have the robot wheels off the ground when doing this test, in
order to see which wheel is operating. The motor wires are blue/yellow wires hanging
down below the electronics box. You may have to remove the robot battery, to make the