Motor selection

General discussion of using Roboclaw motor controllers
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Basicmicro Support
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Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:45 pm
Re: Motor selection

Post by Basicmicro Support »

Please describe your big rover design in more detail. Assuming something like the load of a wheel chair you will need 250 to 500watt motors. Peferably 24v. If you will just be scaling up the 4 wheel little rovers you can go on the lower end side of the motors. However you will need reduction(gear, belt or chain drive). Motors with muilt in gear reduction are easiest but also more expensive. With decent reduction you may be able to go with even smaller motors(150watt). It will really depend on your final application. For motors like this you will most likely need a 2x60a controller. You will need to check the manufacture specs(stall current rating, not continuous current rating). I'll assume two motors in parallel on each motor channel so 2x the stall current will tell you what controller size you need. The controller doesnt need to be able to reach the stall on both motors but it should be in the same ballpark. Eg 180amps total stall current between two motors would be of on the 2x60A(peak 120a per channel and current limiting). Also your battery will need to be able to actually supply the current your motors need. Large cheap lipos wont actually survive their current limits for long so you need to get a decent quality lipo or lead acid battery(s).

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