4x4 RC lawnmover - please help for components

[buconova]

Hello

I'm advertising from Slovenia. Yes, we also have COVID-19, so we're all in the same boat
Well, at the beginning, I'm not fluent in English either, so I'm using Google
I don't understand anything about RC either, so I also write and ask for some help.
I would like to make a remote controlled lawnmower - RC

To begin with, what I already have:

Gasoline garden lawn mower
Battery power
4 brushless motors / wheels from hoverboards
Remote Control - Turnigy TGY-i6 Mode 2 AFHDS Transmitter and 6CH Receiver

What I don't have:

I need my electronics, speed controller, ESC or whatever it is called. In short - the controller
And here is the first question and I ask for help which controller to buy. Probably more of them.

The motors are 350W - 36V

The controller must have a hall sensor input

According to your expertise, which one do you advise?

However, I would like to avoid the motherboard of the hoverboard itself, because of the flash of the firmware and all that it pulls along, so I'd rather go for what seems simpler to the individual controllers.

Once I have that, I'll still ask you for help with the whole connection and setting up the remote control. The remote control has a v-tail function which I think I will use with the project.

That will be a start, when we reconcile and procure it, we will move on

For an easier idea of what I want ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-g6vt2sqZU


Thanks for the help.

 

[thepronghorn]

That looks pretty fun. A bit dangerous if there is actually a blade spinning under there and you are driving like that guy in the video...

You need 4x reversing esc's capable of around 20A or more. One for each motor. It would be cheaper if you went with just two motors and 2x esc's. Two motors would have plenty of power and torque to move a lawnmower, but you would miss out on the traction of 4 wheel drive.

You also need to decide how fast you want to go. Hoverboards run on 36V, so to keep the same speed, you need to find an esc that can run on 10S. That limits your options pretty heavily.

Since your lawnmower will have plenty of power for its weight, you probably don't need to use the sensors, especially with an esc with a good startup routine like one running simonk or vesc firmware.

The vesc would be a good reversing, 12S compatible, sensored and sensorless esc. There is a bit of a learning curve with programming them for your motors, but I believe there is plenty of documentation to get you going.

One option that should work pretty reliably out of the box would be the brushless rage from e0designs.com. Reversing, up to 14S compatible, sensorless running simonk firmware. The designer uses them to move around a ~250lb RC battlebot which is pretty similar to what you want to do.

You could also find a simonk compatible airplane esc and flash it to get the reversing function. 10S esc's are going to be fairly expensive compared to 6S esc's which will be FAR more common.

If you are willing to sacrifice some speed, 6S reversing esc's are very common for RC cars. There are also countless simonk options in the 6S range if you want to go that way.

Battlebot forums will probably have more info on this sort of stuff. Most of the people here on endless sphere are just trying to go forward, not much interest in reverse. I believe all the popular battlebot forums are on facebook.

Hope this helps!

 

[buconova]

Ohh! The S6 and beyond are too expensive. At all, at x4 I forget the reverse. Some of them advise me to stay with the original original motherboard from the hoverboard, which will be the cheapest. I wanted to avoid flashing, but more or less it is everywhere. That is, if I wanted I would need 4 ESCs with reverse, 20A or more for BLDC.

Here's another question: is it then possible to control these 4 ESCs with one remote control? How does it wired? Is an arduino NANO or something or other needed?

I also found that some two hoverboards, which is basically my project, connect to control two cables at a time. But I have yet to find any cable and how it connects. I will ...

Thank you

 

[stancecoke]

There are very cheap BLDC controller that are suited for your purpose, I think:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/DC-12V-36V-15A-500W-Brushless-Motor-Controller-Hall-BLDC-Treiberplatine-DE/264061521678?hash=item3d7b4b0f0e:g:zqwAAOSwRbpb~Kw1

How to adapt an arduino to the RC receiver is described in several tutorials:
https://www.instructables.com/id/RC-Control-and-Arduino-A-Complete-Works/

regards
stancecoke

 

[buconova]

Thank you stancecoke

I was looking at identical controllers. But then I remembered that we didn't have a reverse. Can the reverse be obtained in any other way?

 

[stancecoke]

But then I remembered that we didn't have a reverse.

You can switch the direction easily by a digital I/O of the arduino.

2. Motor steering control wiring methods: you can switch control can also be connected to the MCU control, to GND in one direction, then in one direction 5V.

So you need 4 analog outputs and 4 digital outputs from the arduino to control each motor in speed and direction individually. You just have to think about how to calculate the speed+direction for each motor from the RC-signals. And decide, which DC-channels you want to use for steering. Very funny project, I have an old hoverboard and an old RC-control, too, perhaps you have infected me with this idea.... 8)

regards
stancecoke

 

[buconova]

Tnx stancecoke

I hope it won't be too complicated for me. In short, to be done. I probably won't know it myself, or hopefully, I hope to find someone who can do it for me.

If you're going to work on a project yourself, show progress

Thank you again

 

[John in CR]

Why a hybrid instead of pure electric?

 

[buconova]

I don't know where to get and what engine to install for just mowing a 50cm knife.

I don't even know how to provide enough energy to scramble 1500m2 on very agile terrain with many obstacles

You know?