Gimbals project fired in August 2021 to address our need for a multi-directional-axle thruster for our jet-cart project to provide it with ability to control the attitude, angular velocities, strafing and velocity change assistance. Project started as table-stand 3D design in OpenSCAD and evolved in fully matured design which allows full 360 control of a thruster. It is a very stable product which we can now produce in numbers with confidence.
Project stretched over several months and finished with all initial goals were met:
- Numerous gimbal configurations designed and field-tested under different thrust and power conditions
- A testing rig got designed to measure thrust and angular powers it generates
- PLA and ABS materials were tested for printing and print stability (ABS selected)
- Gimbal design got parameterised to allow its quick changes and production
- ABS smoothing technique with Acetone got implemented to improve all air flows
- Understanding of designing a system with multiple Servos and Motor and how they operate (calibration sequence, limits, orientation, power requirements)
- Product maintenance plan and replacement parts
- UART Interaction between Arduino -> Servo
- 2D control matrix transposed to a sphere
- Design stability under a thrust and its responsiveness
- Mass production
Gimbals development process has been captured in following posts:
GIMBAL PROJECT – PART I
GIMBAL PROJECT – PART II
SPOILERS!
GIMBAL AUDIO SPECTRAL ANALYSIS
GIMBALS REDESIGNED
TEST #3 – STEADY IMPROVEMENTS IN A CORRECT DIRECTION
