DIY "good at everything" small hybrid tractor for the yard

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VeNoM387

VeNoM387

RC Newbie
Messages
10
Reaction score
19
Location
Bucharest, Romania
RC Driving Style
  1. Racing
  2. Scale Builder
  3. Flying
  4. Boating
Hello,

I've needed a machine like this for a while now for my 4500 sq meteres yard (1.1 acre) so I started building it :)
It is a "good at everything" DIY small hybrid tractor for the yard. Traction is 4x4, the motors are electric. The attachments are powered by a 7HP gasoline engine that also rotates a 24V 100A alternator that charges the batteries and supplies the energy for the two motors.
The first attachment I've done and has 2 x 41 cm blades, the one in the picture, is for cutting grass/weeds. It works GREAT.
Next comes a vacuum cleaner, a rotary brush, and possibly a snow blower.

To give you an idea of the size, the wheels are of a motor cultivator and have a diameter of 40 cm.
It is currently controlled with a FrSky Taranis controller, but the ultimate goal is to be autonomous.

20230810_183911.jpg


primul atasament.jpg
 
Wow, interesting project for sure.

What's the weight? I think I'd prefer a wider tire for when the ground is a bit soft.
 
The weight is over 120 KG. The wheels are 10 cm wide.
I used only 2/3 mm thick steel sheet cut on CNC plasma.
The frame is made of 40x40x2 mm square pipe.
 
Burro is really cool.

I just orderd a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB and Coral USB accelerator. I will use object detection and GPS to make my tractor autonomous.
 
VeNoM387 said:
Burro is really cool.

I just orderd a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB and Coral USB accelerator. I will use object detection and GPS to make my tractor autonomous.
Click to expand...

I applaud your efforts, I don't have the smarts or the patience to tackle something like this, but what you've done is way cool. :thumbs-up:
 
That's very cool.
I assume your range is such that your don't have to follow it around. Can you also use it quietly on battery power alone for other uses?
 
FrSky Taranis has quite a range, I tested it for a few KM with a rc paraglider.
I have to folow it to be precise near fences.
With the current batteries I can use it for 10 - 20 min on battery alone.
The next attachment.
Is a vaccum cleaner with 2 impellers.
 

Attachments

  • 20230923_174539.jpg
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Here's the playlist with 17 parts (not all have EN subtitles, soon) :), all detailing how I built it

 
...and now all of a sudden I'm no longer proud of my RC Lawnmower build lol. That thing is awesome!
 
Wow. Now make it automated like a Roomba ;)
Awesome build for sure!
 
WickedFog said:
Wow. Now make it automated like a Roomba ;)
Awesome build for sure!
Click to expand...
That's the next step.

I made a few important changes :

Protection wheels are on "the fork" now

I moved the motors on the base plate, remade the transmission with gears instead of rollers
 
Interesting mechanical adaptations with this build. Makita / Briggs & Stratton emblems on the engine cowling caught my attention post #14. has me wondering what the international affiliation is there? Both are top names in DIY.

Dan Pollock on YT has been dabbling with autonomous for some time now. Providing you with a link in case you want to check out his projects. Known as 'Griz' to the RC drag racing community of old. He and I used to race the same series together.

Griz on YT
 
ahr43 said:
Interesting mechanical adaptations with this build. Makita / Briggs & Stratton emblems on the engine cowling caught my attention post #14. has me wondering what the international affiliation is there? Both are top names in DIY.

Dan Pollock on YT has been dabbling with autonomous for some time now. Providing you with a link in case you want to check out his projects. Known as 'Griz' to the RC drag racing community of old. He and I used to race the same series together.

Griz on YT
Click to expand...

There's no kind of affiliation. That's my personal lawn mower (the Makita). At first I wanted to build a frame that could carry that lawn mower.
I will check out Griz.

Thank you.
 
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