heavy hexapod

[glenjoy]

I would like to share my hexapod, the design was based on Matt's hexapod then modified some of the parts. The materials used is acrylic plastic or plexiglass, 4.5mm. Servo used are Turnigy TGY-90S metal geared, these servo's were manufactured by TowerPro also I think.

Quite on the heavy side, due to the use of brass stand offs and metal screws, I am planning to replace them with nylon standoffs and screws when they are available here already.

No gaits yet as I am still learning on how draft the gaiting sequences of a legged robot.

Sevo controller is e-gizmo 16 servo controller, I used two of them. http://e-gizmo.com/KIT/servo16.htm

Just a note, I noticed the servos are getting warm after 5 minutes of letting the hexapod stand on its six legs, if this is usual, I am planning to replace the six hip servo with a non-metal geared ones to at least lessen the weight.

[Matt Denton]

Hi, nice design

It's not unusual for the servos to get warm after standing for some time, however, with the uBug design the hexapod can stand only drawing a very small amount of current which keeps the servos cooler. When I designed the uBug I started with a cheaper servo to try to bring the cost down, however, after 45 minutes of continuous walking, the servo's got so hot they started to fail! So monitor the temperature after they have been running for a while. Also good calibration helps spread the load evenly across the legs, thus keeping the servo's cooler when standing.

[glenjoy]

Hi, can I ask what is the consumption of your robot when standing? And what were your techniques to conserve power or minimize the current consumption of the hexapod, thank you.

[Matt Denton]

From memory... The hexapod weighs about 400 grams and the battery an additional 150 grams. When standing it consumes between 150ma and 250ma.

[glenjoy]

Mine consume around 300mA to 350mA at legs positioned 90 degrees, maybe it is because of the metal geared servos, I will replace the brass standoffs with nylon and check the effect on current consumption.