90 ton 1/14 metal excavator scratch build w/embedded PC

[bigford]

looking great I cant wait to see it dig dirt!!

[SteinHDan]

Thanks, Bigford! The snow has melted away here now, so as soon as I have it assembled again I'll make a video of it digging dirt. :-)

[SteinHDan]

Mounting the motor controllers (ESCs)

I wanted to mount the motor controllers in a compartment that had plenty of air flow, as they are the components that need the most cooling. I put them where the radiators are on the real version and I was able to add four controllers that can then control eight motors of up to 30 Amps each. Only six is required for the main motors. The two extra channels will be used for attachments and a surprise! :-)

I also wanted to be able to get easy access to the controllers and easily replace one if I need to. So I made a seat and four slot-in module mounts:




The motor controller modules each slide down into this seat:




And the air flow will be ok I think with the vents as they are placed on the original:






Each module consists of the motor controller as described previously and a 3D-printed (15% infill) module mount that attaches to the controller with two M3 nylon bolts. I use nylon here to avoid any kind of electrical connection in the screw.
















Each module is secured with one self-tapping screw. Only this screw needs to be removed to slide the module up and out again:




The seat attaches to the base plate also with just one M4 50mm bolt:








I'm pretty happy that I got all the motor controllers into this one spot, because it leaves more room for the other stuff. Even as large as this model is, it's going to get tight when everything is in place.