Scratch Building “Tank” for University

[EvokrM3]

Hello,

First of all may I apologise to anyone who is about to repeat themselves for my sake. I am sure there is plenty of information out there for those with knowledge of the hobby, but as you will read I am completely new to RC tanks. I was pointed towards your forum by a student at my university who has upgraded his RC tanks under the advice some members of this site.

I am currently in my final year at university, studying Aerospace Engineering. For my dissertation project, I am building aircraft tug with caterpillar tracks. There’s a little more to it than that, but the final project is effectively going to operate very much like a simple remote control tank.

From past projects, scratch building RC Aircraft, I have a Turnigy 9X Transmitter and receiver, which research has lead me to believe is coincidentally a fairly safe option for RC tanks. I did originally plan to steer the “tank” using mixing on the transmitter, as I would have done to create differential thrust on aircraft, but RC aircraft engines don’t have to be able to reverse like the “tank” would) so am I right in thinking I would need a control board?

I also have some Lipos left lying around, and a few servos but it is no big deal if I need to buy new ones.

The design of the “tank” chassis is pretty much nailed down. The finished vehicle will be of an all aluminium plate construction and therefore weight 8-10KG (must be able to pull an additional weight of 5-10kg, though there is some play in this [load of model aircraft] ). I would love it to be able to track around 3-5mph, but also able to “crawl” at very low speed (this could perhaps be achieved using one of the many switches on the transmitter to achieve a high and low speed setting).

I hope to use two DC motors to drive the tank, and would need full directional control in one single “stick” (sorry if this isn’t the right word) on the transmitter.


The aircraft wheel locking mechanism will be driven by two servos, but these will not operate under separate controls (they will mirror eachother so one output command for these is sufficient)

My question is mainly electronics required as this will differ somewhat from my previous projects.


For this project I would love to know;
What motors are recommended for a load such as this, and their appropriate ESC’s. A suitable control board and any software required to programme them if applicable (eg Arduino) and just generally any other advise you may be able to give me. I have bought the materials for the actual build, so I my budget for the electronics is now approximately £100.


As a final note, I do wish to reiterate that this is for my dissertation. I would love to credit individuals in my dissertation for their contribution towards my project, and hope that this is something I could do. I will of course ask permission but some conversations may be relevant to my project and I will keep a record of them. There’s all sorts of data protection that needs to be done, as I’m sure you’re all aware and this is something I will discuss with people on a 1 to 1 basis before making any records. However, if people wish to remain anonymous that will also be respected.

Thank you in advance. Looking forward to your replies.

[C.Ellis]

Hi EvokrM3
Welcome to the forum!
I'm not that knowledgable on the electrical side of this hobby, but I'd recommend checking out Clark, IBU, and Elmod control boards. They are capable of carrying out your specifications (and more), but can be fairly expensive. I'd also recommend having a read through the open panzer TCB thread on this forum (viewtopic.php?f=208&t=21920). I'm sure someone who's better informed on these matters will be around shortly to assist!