Robotic Chassis Platforms
Robotic Chassis parts minus the platforms.
One of the first decisions I needed to make was what chassis or platform to use. My two basic choices were either a two wheel drive chassis or a four wheel drive chassis. The Roanoke Robotics & Makers Club demo the 2WD types of chassis. The 2WD chassis consists of two motorized wheels and a third free wheeling wheel that allows the platform to stay level. A 4WD chassis has four motorized wheels and no extra free wheeling wheel.
I could not find a 2WD chassis that I liked. Either they were smaller than what I was interested in or too expensive for my budget. I did find a 4WD chassis on Amazon that fit my needs and was under $17 with free shipping. The chassis that I went with is the 4WD Robot Smart Car Chassis Kits with Speed Encoder for Arduino M26. It comes with two platforms; the bottom platform for attaching the motor and wheels and the top platform for attaching everything else.
The kit is a bare bones kit. It does not even come with wires to connect the motors to the controller and power supply. It does include the parts that would be difficult to make on my own. If I had a mechanical workshop or access to a 3D printer, I might be able to make the platforms to my own specifications and purchase the motors and wheels separately. For my purposes, I am more interested in the computer and software side of this project. This kit looks like it will do fine.
DC Motor for Robotic Chassis