HDC2450 Questions

Sorry if some of this is obvious but I am looking at using the HDC2450 for a new large robot project I am planning.

First off I noticed that there are two sets of motor battery leads on the controller. Does this mean each motor can have its own battery?

Next, I am considering using two AmpFlow A40-300 motors My current fudged esitmates of the robot/vehicle\'s weight will be around 300+ pounds. My goal is about 10mph though I am fairly flexible there. Although I haven\'t crunched the numbers yet I suspect these motors might be at the limit of this controller. Would some active cooling help runtime under 100+ amp loads? Are these motors too much?

And finally though I have not found all the parts yet to support it I was wondering if the controller\'s programming language is fast enough and the hardware able through pwm, i2c, or analog inputs to pull from typical accelerometers and gyros fast enough and with enough precision to do a good job self balancing segway style? I know from some reading in order to make the balancing rock solid you need very tight and fast balancing control loop. So using a serial connected pc or microcontroller to read the sensor data, calculate the response, and then send it is not ideal.

Anyway I interested in any comments or suggestions as I am still in the design/plan stage of things.

These motors work well with the controller. While 100A each continuous may eventually cause the controller to overheat without forced cooling, the motor would get just as hot, if not hotter at that current. So you should design your system with care.

A good way to estimate the current your robot would draw in real life, is to use the Electric Drive Train Simulator from Enygma. www.enigmaindustries.com/EDTSim.htm

The controller\'s power wires are doubled but connected to each other inside the controler. You will need to connect the pair of thick black wires together to the battery\'s - and the pair of red wires to the +

The scriping language is very fast. It should be sufficiently fast to do the scooter balancing.

Thanks for the information!

I including my weight plus estimated vehicle weight at the esitmated maximum speed. Things have chaged a bit since I did that esitmate and I am sure I will not be running it anything near that speed/wieght for long.

Too bad about the battery leads that would have been nice to use two smaler independant packs without haveing to worry so much about cell balancing.

I am probabily going to get the HDC2450 and use it hooked externally up to some smaller motors <10a stall to bench test the IMU/controller integration. Obviously not a perfect test but I\'d rather have 5-10 pounds out of control as 5 mph than 60+ at 10+ mph.