At the moment we don’t treat them any differently wrt current cap. The only application we have had so far for these motors is in the V5 Workcell kit, and it wasn’t relevant to that.
Good to know; are there any plans for this be changed in the future so that the reduced power consumption of these motors is taken into account when calculating the current cap?
Probably, but as you saw in Bob’s post about AI earlier today, we have a lot going on.
Both the original 276-4840 V5 Smart Motor (11 W) and new 276-4842 V5 Smart Motor (5.5 W) max out at 2.5 A of electrical current draw, so there’s no difference from what the Robot Brain sees.
The difference in mechanical output power from the Smart Motors comes partly from us choosing different motors inside each product, and partly from us software limiting the smaller 5.5 W motor to a lower effective voltage than its 11 W sibling.
There’s one additional difference between the 5.5 W and 11 W motor that can be seen in the final image of the mounting cap: the 5.5 W motor will fit on the inside mounting holes of aluminum c-channel. We had to shave down the plastic bosses slightly (by adding the flat spots, which then needed the corner ribs for reinforcement), but it’ll fit.
If I am understanding this correctly, the power management in the brain would reduce power as soon as you exceed 8 total motors (of either type). Is this correct?
Does the new motor generate more heat in its voltage regulator under full load?
I can’t find any cad models for these. Could you provide rough dimensions so I can cad my own?
around same width of a 393, around same length of 11w v5 motor
I think they just don’t let h-bridge keys to stay open for too long.
Then heat is a function of how fast they transition, while the max current depends on the inductance of the motor.
Fair point. I was thinking of linear regulators. It would make sense for them to just reduce the duty cycle on the PWM.
The motor standoffs for mounting the motor appeared to be steal instead of brass in the 11w smart motor but since they are not easily removable on would have to sacrifice a 5.5 motor mount for the part. turning down an existing standoff on a lathe might make more scene economically.
This thread is quite old. However, you can buy replacement motor inserts for the brass ones… the new ones are all steel.
as it stands right now (spin up season) this is still, not legal
Don’t you wish regulars could lock threads?
Nope. I like when the new people go “Hey 5.5 watt motors are not legal” What is up with that.
If they are only currently available in EXP and Workcell kits, I guess it makes sense. I didn’t see that they were available seperately yet.