The counter-rotating differential (or universal joint) is intended to keep the rover level. It’s designed so it a front wheel of the rover went over an obstacle, the opposite side would push downward, and vice versa. Thus stabilizing the rover when exploring the desert. Its design is simple and works quite well. But something I would not have thought of until I read about it on the line from Beatty Robots.
Inspiration for the gears came from the McMaster-Carr website. I used the 12-tooth version and scaled the inside to fit the 8mm shaft.
It is mounted in a first draft print of a body section. Pi Zero for size.
Very happy with how well the gears meshed on the first try.
What I learned:
- I need to have a lock collar to keep the gears tight.
- Don’t use coarse/fast mode on the 3D printer for a draft part! I can’t determine if the design will work because the print quality is so low.
- This thing is fantastic.
- After taking this photo, I will switch from the Raspberry Pi 3 to the Raspberry Pi Zero W.
- I tried Fusion 360, and although I should be using it, I am sticking with AutoCAD because I can design instead of thinking about using the software.