Autonomous Vehicle Robotic Wheel Drive

The purpose of this project is to create a compact high torque/rpm robotic wheel drive for Bastian Solution's autonomous warehouse robot.

=Problem Definition=

Background
Bastian Solutions has a current WDS (wheel drive system) that uses too much horizontal space. The axial length of their current design is approximately 8 inches, with the motor contributing to most of the assembly's axial length. For their current motor to meet the required torque/rpm and power conditions, it uses a 4:1 planetary gearbox. A planetary gearbox was chosen because it has advantages over other gearboxes that work well in this application.

Pertinent gearbox advantages:

 Naturally compact, but can supply high reduction ratios (reduces WDS axial length, most motors cannot supply the required torque without modification)   Inline or coaxial design allows input shaft to be inline with gearbox (saves radial space)   Generally have low backlash (vehicle must move with precision)   The nature of their design distributes internal gearbox loads more equally (WDS undergoes high loadings)   Long life and efficiency (gearboxes are expensive to replace and they add to mechanical energy loss)</li> </ul>

For them to add more features and to further optimize the vehicle design, they must decrease the volume of the WDS. They require the WDS do be capable of meeting two primary torque/rpm conditions as well as moving a payload up to 100 lbs.

Specifications
=Iterative Design=

Sub-Systems
Our first step was to break the WDS into 3 sub-systems:  Motor</li> </ul>  Gearbox</li> </ul>  Output Shaft</li> </ul>

Design Procedure
For this project there are quite a few known variables, but also quite a few unknown. The biggest constraint is the volumetric constraint of about 8 inches in diameter by 4.4 inches axially. The strategy is to find the thinnest motor who's diameter is at least half an inch smaller than the 8 inch diametric constraint. The motor has to be thin enough to leave room for the gearbox and bracket, while also being capable of providing a reasonable torque/rpm.To figure out what would be a "reasonable" torque/rpm from the motor, one of our members performed an analysis. The analysis showed the different torque/rpms the motor would need to provide using different gear reduction ratios to meet the torque/rpm requirements. This approach has allowed us to narrow our search and filter through good and bad motors.

Dimensional Analysis
Our torque and spatial requirements for our motor led us to investigate pancake-servo motors. Three brushless series pancake-servo motors from three different companies stood out: Printed Motor Work's motors, Koll-Morgen’s motors, and the Thin Gap's motors. Pancake-servo motors have a very high torque constant and a relatively low motor constant which allow for high torque at low voltages. This combination was essential for our needs. We found that a space constraint of less than 7.2” in diameter (referenced to our axle) would be critical to meet our space constraints, as well as a axial length of less than 3.4 inches for the motor and gearbox combination.

Power Analysis
To meet the power constraints, the team created a table in Excel that approximates electrical power required for a given torque, speed, and gearbox ratio. The inputs of the table were the motor constants, mechanical and electrical restrictions of the motor, and the power restrictions from the client. The table used the below governing equations:

$$V=\frac{(T+B\omega)R}{k_t}+k_e\omega$$,    $$I=\frac{(T+B\omega)}{k_t}$$

{Insert picture of graph from Excel}

The selection process involved recording a motor’s specifications into the table and then iteratively changing the gearbox ratio until the motor meet every requirement. If the motor didn’t meet all of the requirements within a gearbox ratio range of 2:1-6:1, then a new motor was selected and the process repeated. Eventually, after many iterations, two motors became prime candidates; the TG5152 and the TG5153. {Insert picture of only working motors from Excel} Thermal Analysis The next step was to perform a parametric study on the heat dissipation (W) of the motor in relationship to power supply and various torque and speed combinations. An electric motor will dissipate heat due to resistance in the coils and damping from lubrication. Considering the gearbox and bearings, the damping coefficient, B, was estimated to be 0.001- 0.003 (Nm∙s)/rad. A Matlab script (below) was written to produce the heat dissipation due to power-loss. {Insert Picture of Matlab Code} The input values for the script were kt, ke, R, and B. To calculate the power-loss, the equations for Voltage and Current were used above along with the below electrical and mechanical power equations. P_E= VI P_m= τω {Insert picture of power-loss vs. T and Omega and V and I}

Design Concepts
=Project learning=

=Team Members=

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