Chassis development - PiWars 2024

 So we needed a chassis and while we had previous skeleton chassis we could have gone back to, one of us has been developing a more substantial bit of kit.

It started out as a four wheel drive 'tonka toy' with big rubber tyres that can handle uneven surfaces. As originally made, it looked a bit blank in lemon yellow, but a bit of paint for windows and a load to carry it looked a bit better. The chassis is in two halves, articulated in the middle, around a central battery holder for three 18650 LiPo's in series. 

The video shows a basic try-out though not very exciting. The remote control is via a helicopter RC and converted from SBUS via a Pico PIO program, code on github here EastDevonPirates2024. The voltage display on the rear, as well as an obvious on/off switch, are very useful.

But never quite happy, it wasn't really up to our PiWars 2024 standard,  so it's been remodelled. The wheels are much smaller to accommodate PiWars chassis size rules, they may change yet again but these are the working wheels for now.

Gone are the flashy headlights and a new detachable bonnet fitted to cover the remodelled battery box. 

We haven't remodelled the wiring yet, but we do have a flashy invisibility cloak (lid) so you can't see them!!! As well as being a lid, that will also be a platform for attachments, more on those in later blogs.

All that's in there right now is a Pico and an RC receiver. Independent FIT0441 brushless motors on each wheel with built in motor controllers and pulse counting for rotation sensing provide the driving force.

Fans of this look can get the stl files from github.