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The feeder has been designed so that it can
be adjusted to fit snake robots of different lengths and diameters.
The two main subassemblies, the belt rollers and side rollers can
be moved to different positions on the frame as needed. Several
sets of mounting holes are already drilled in the frame, and more
can be added as necessary.
Diameter adjustment
To adjust the feeder for robots of different diameter, washers (or
other thin plates) can be placed between the frame and the belt
roller assemblies (see Figure 1). No adjustment is needed on the
side rollers as they are spring loaded, which will keep them in
contact with snakes of different diameters (within a certain range).
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Figure 1: A
close up of a belt roller raised up using washers.
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Length adjustment
The feeder has two sections, one 18" long, and the other
24". Each section has its own motor, and thus can be used separately
or as a single unit. Connecting the two sections is done with four
small attach tabs, one for each side of the feeder, as shown in
Figure 2.
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Figure 2: The
four tabs used to attach the two sections together.
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Side Rollers
The side rollers, as mentioned previously, are on arms attached
to two springs. This keeps them nominally straight out, but allows
them to deflect both forward and back, and thus stay in constant
contact with the snake, even if exterior of the robot has protrusions
or an uneven profile.
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Figure 3: A
top view of the side rollers, showing the nominal and deflected
positions.
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