I would have to factor that in, how much cost and effort it would take to waterproof a motor of that kind. I do not think I would be skimping out by using these motors, with the exception to the extra step needed to waterproof them. The traction control system operates at speeds of 0.5 to maybe 5 mph. I was unaware there was an off the self solution to this project. They are roughly $15 - $20 and don't take too much effort to get running. Snooping around the web, I stumbled upon the window motor servo. This would not allow the individual braking of the rear wheels
My original idea was to piggy back a 4 channel anti lock brake system, unfortunately the vehicle has a 3 channel ABS.
Two actuators, plus the electronics, may start to get closer to the cost of a locker. On the lower end of the spectrum, a linear actuator could cost $100.
A rear locker for a vehicle could cost $500 to $800. The cost effectiveness was definitely a challenge to prove that this could be done without a lot of funding, but more ingenuity.
I saw a build on a simulator chair where these motors were capable of moving an average sized man plus the weight of the chair on demand. Although, I do know these motors are used for robotics competitions because they are cheap, strong, and easily turned into servos. I am unclear about how much torque a window motor can produce. Here's a dealer of such devices, but look around for others - there are many manufacturers (and several have ones designed for automotive purposes - but generally for things like opening hoods or trunks apps of that nature): They also aren't cheap, but then again, you are talking about making this a part of your vehicle - you -do not- want to skimp on something like this (especially when it comes to speed controls on wheels) or at least I would think you wouldn't want to. push (extend/retract), some use a pulse output for position sensing (so you count pulses to determine where it is positioned), some are designed so that they can be "back-driven" (you may or may not want that?) - and of course, you need to determine how fast the extension/retraction will need to occur. Just make sure you get the proper one - some have different ratings for pull vs. They are driven just like a DC motor in theory, you could even apply the idea of the "servo-conversion" to one, as long as it has a feedback potentiometer (or you use an external one). Such actuators are more robust, can be found in waterproof versions, and generally also have built-in end-stop switches. I would actually use linear actuators with built in feedback potentiometers (whether you'll want to use one or two is up to you). If I had a switch for each position of the servo arm(3, left, right, and center), would I be able to make this work with an arduino?Ī window motor or wiper motor may or may not have the power needed plus there's the possibility of stripping gears.
The switches are sealed, and assumably waterproof. I had an idea of using magnetic switches, similar to home alarm systems. My thoughts were, if I used the pot to monitor degrees of motion, then the water proofing portion of this task would be much more difficult.Īnd, I only need the servo to be in a center position, 90 degrees left, or 90 degrees right. The servo I need for the project needs to be waterproof. The servo will apply the needed force to operate the brake cable. I have seen a lot of tutorials to build a window motor servo. I will have an arduino monitor the wheel speed of each wheel, and when the percentage of change reaches a certain tolerance, the arduino will intervene the faster spinning wheel by applying brake force to the e-brake cable. My truck has wheel sensors on each rear wheel to monitor speed.
I plan to build an off road traction control system roughly based on this link.