Inexpensive Motorized Boat

[Crisp image]

I know this is a couple years old now but the drive system that you have on your video is exactly what I'm looking for. It appears to be modular enough to be able to attach to nearly anything.
I'm pretty new to automation and trying to wrap my head around the details of motors and gearboxes and controllers. I can't seem to figure out where to look to figure this all out with regard to an application such as this. Do you have any details what materials were used in your prototype?

Hi Kevin,
I use wheelchair motors and gearboxes powered by a motor controller like the sabretooth from dimension engineering and a radio control. I am trying to get the micro controller working but no luck at this stage. You can find motors and gearboxes on ebay for a reasonable price. Although these say 24v I run them on 12-16v and have no problems. Most of the time they are needed to be slow and short use only. You will have to disable the electric brake in the motors otherwise they smoke up quite badly.
I am working on a magic carpet for Aladin ATM and If i can get some pictures I will post them up.
Regards
Geoff

 

[Crisp image]

So here are some photos of the set up for Aladdin's magic carpet. As you can see there are 2 batteries fitted for 24V because I have a 24V actuator but I will dial back the motor speed for the drives as it will be too fast. You can also see the motors bolted to the main frame. It will all be hidden by a skirt that will expand and contract.
Any other questions please ask.
Geoff

 

[Kevin1844]

That's fantastic. Thank you for explaining. I'm working on a basic power chair based wagon right now (it's charging up for the first time) and started wondering if there's any way to make it travel in any direction while the front face stays facing front. It seems incredibly challenging in my head. The idea would be for a scenic piece to travel across and then downstage while still facing the audience, ya know?

 

[Crisp image]

That's fantastic. Thank you for explaining. I'm working on a basic power chair based wagon right now (it's charging up for the first time) and started wondering if there's any way to make it travel in any direction while the front face stays facing front. It seems incredibly challenging in my head. The idea would be for a scenic piece to travel across and then downstage while still facing the audience, ya know?

That would be a challenge. I am not sure how I would do it.

 

[kicknargel]

I think you'd have to have simultaneous steering on all wheels. Or, the wagon on a revolve on top of the driving carriage.

 

[grahamkingsley]

So here are some photos of the set up for Aladdin's magic carpet. As you can see there are 2 batteries fitted for 24V because I have a 24V actuator but I will dial back the motor speed for the drives as it will be too fast. You can also see the motors bolted to the main frame. It will all be hidden by a skirt that will expand and contract.
Any other questions please ask.
Geoff

This setup looks very close to something I'm trying to figure out for another show! What's the white lift contraption you've got there? Is it custom or something off the shelf? Would love to see more pictures or insights if you don't mind sharing (via PM is fine too since it's a little off topic).

 

[Crisp image]

This setup looks very close to something I'm trying to figure out for another show! What's the white lift contraption you've got there? Is it custom or something off the shelf? Would love to see more pictures or insights if you don't mind sharing (via PM is fine too since it's a little off topic).

So the frame is an off the shelf item I am modifying to fit my purpose. For my full time employment I work as a maintenance manager in an aged care home so I managed to find a bed that was due for disposal and convinced my boss to give it to me for the theatre. So there was no engineering to be done. It will support about 200kg safely. The motors are from abandoned wheelchairs that were left what residents passed away.
This is the motor controller I am using to drive it and another one for the lift actuator.
Regards
Geoff