RTU Stress Testing

This is a video of our RTU doing some basic movements. Previously, we had a problem with the high torque of the motor putting enough strain on its fasteners to work them loose. So, after some adjustments to the motor controller (clamping maximum acceleration, adjusting damping, etc), it's time to find out how well they work.

Basically, we just rotate the RTU motor back and forth between two positions for a half hour.



The tapping sound you hear is coming from the hard stop that the motor makes. It took a bit of adjusting to prevent ringing -- that is, to prevent the momentum of the thrusters from causing the RTU motor to overshoot and wiggle to a stop.

The plastic bags covering the thrusters are keeping the pressure-compensating oil from slowly dripping onto the floor, and the thrusters are mounted in opposing directions for balance; normally, they would face the same way.