Robotic Chassis (Rev. 1.0)

This is the first robotic chassis I made, and it has some key differences from the newer revision, which started over from scratch. First of all, the motors, motor controllers, computer, and microcontroller are the same in both versions, with the power supplies being the main difference. These power supplies are much larger than those in revision 2.0, but they also run much cooler and are more passive than the ones in revision 2.0. As such, the cooling system in this version is much less robust and loses a lot of its cooling power due to turbulence and less-seamless flows. This robot weighs slightly more than the new one, if we are just going by the main body and components that are finished in this one, as it is lacking most of the finalizing parts that are present in revision 2.0. The main reason for the extra weight is because of two things: the power supplies and the sheet metal. The power supplies are much larger, but are much cooler in this version, and the weight is also about 5 times the weight of the ones present in revision 2.0. Secondly, the sheet metal work for this robot is more intensive than in the newer version, with multiple separate pieces bolted together, increasing the weight tremendously while the rigidity stays essentially the same, as the direction of sheet metal reinforcement that would have kept the frame from its slight bending isn’t present here, and the reinforcements and bolts instead run perpendicular to the bending direction, not reinforcing it from bending at all. Overall, this was a good look for an initial design, but I quickly realized it had to be scrapped and restarted from scratch.