I earlier talked about replacing the legs on this robot, but the fact is that I want to rebuild the entire robot from scratch. I need stronger legs that can carry some weight. I also need a control system that includes a battery charger and PSU. As mentioned earlier 12 servo’s will draw 10+A in peaks. Getting that out of a LIPO is not a problem, but I need to regulate it to 5V and still deliver 10A.
The picture above show two different LIPO batteries. The one at bottom is 5.2AH while the smaller at top is 1.5AH. Both at 11.1V. Both have a discharge rate at 40A max. The smaller one did take me by surprise because the large one weight 400g while the smaller 100g meaning I get more power by using 4 x 1,5AH at the same weight. This will complicate the charger thought, but I will get back at that. One of the smaller ones will probably provide 2-3 hours of continuous operation.
I did buy a 24/12V 5V/10A Car Converter module that is ok, but the hard fact is that 4 off those DC/DC step down regulators cost 2.- USD and weight very little. Their size is an issue, but that’s not really a problem on this robot. This gives the makers the choice to use any 6-30V LIPO at hand.
The picture abobe shows my veroboard PSU using 4 x DC/DC converters in parallel to support 9-12A in peaks. I need to work on this a bit, but I like the idea because the entire PSU will cost something like 4.- USD.