11. RC tank "Mini"/"Caterpillar"
<Intro 1>
After building the first RC tank a while ago, I wondered to myself what improvements it needs to make it better in terms of functionality, so after all these weeks of testing out some features, I managed to get the RC tank working in an improved state. Eventually, I tried on making a completely different tank for a new look.
For this tank, instead of using a cannon that only shoots a projectile once, I went ahead and used a burning laser pointer as the main weapon, because the concept of having a vehicle that shoots lasers out is fun, albeit a little risky if you're not careful. Since the laser pointer itself requires an external power source, strapped and wired the li-ion battery to the back of a tank, and right to the laser module.
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| <Mini> |
<Build 1>
This tank reuses the same chassis as the first tank I built, but the components used for the cannon were removed in place of a laser module. I used the servo as a way to "tilt" the module up and down to get a good aim(y-position, though not like how an actual tank would aim), but without a servo to turn the module (x-position) left and right, then it would have made aiming the laser with just that servo and the tank's position limiting. To turn the laser module on or off, another servo was used in place as a trigger system. Overall, this tank allowed an exciting way to burn anything in its way remotely, and eventually, I decided to remake this tank in the later weeks.
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| <Back view> |
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| <Front view> |
With the next design for my tank, I completely changed the design of the tank so it has the longer look to it, similar to a caterpillar (or any long invertebrates or that matter), that way, it can go over terrain while also carrying more load easily. The turret itself now has another servo to swivel the laser module from left to right, thus having complete control like a tank's turret. Otherwise, it still uses the main parts as with the last tank I built, so it may appear similar fundamentally, but it does have its improvements.
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| <Caterpillar> |
When controlling it, I can see that due to the thin profile of the tank's body, it can be at risk of tilting either on the left or right side when making turns, but this hasn't occurred. Besides that, it functions like it did before, moving around like any other tank. But with the 2 servos controlling the laser module, I can easily aim the laser to where I want to point it, just like operating a real tank, and of course, the laser still burns!
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| <Chassis> |
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| <Front view> |
<Overall>
In conclusion, this project has taught me to be creative/imaginative, and see which features can be added to make it work better in your/someone's favor. In this case, when working on the tank, I reject the ones that are not needed while adding in the ones that seemed to work well, like switching out the cannon with the laser module for example. It can be tedious at first, but in the end, the results will be satisfying.
<Tank test>
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