How do you attach a plastic caliper to the vehicle?

[sciencecat42]

How do you mount it in a way that produces an angle? When I tried to mount the caliper, the whole entire axle moves straight back and forth perpendicular to the main body.

You have two bearings holding your axle. One needs to be fixed to the main body, the other needs to be adjustable. The axle should pivot about the fixed bearing.

But because of the way my vehicle was designed, both bearings need to move in order for the axis to move. If one bearing can't move, the other bearing on the axle can't move either.

Don't mean to be harsh, but there's a flaw with your vehicle design then. :p You should be able to fix one bearing so it doesn't move, and attach the other one to the mooving arm of your caliper. It should be able to slide back and forth at least a little. It doesn't need to go that far to turn a lot.

[Zxcvbnm123]

You have two bearings holding your axle. One needs to be fixed to the main body, the other needs to be adjustable. The axle should pivot about the fixed bearing.

But because of the way my vehicle was designed, both bearings need to move in order for the axis to move. If one bearing can't move, the other bearing on the axle can't move either.

Don't mean to be harsh, but there's a flaw with your vehicle design then. :p You should be able to fix one bearing so it doesn't move, and attach the other one to the mooving arm of your caliper. It should be able to slide back and forth at least a little. It doesn't need to go that far to turn a lot.

It was designed with a central bar going down the center, which serves as the base of the vehicle. Towards the front-center of the central bar, there is a plastic piece with a screw attached to the center bar. This piece holds the ball bearings, and the ball bearings holds the axle. The plastic piece holding the ball bearings can twist around the center point.

[sciencecat42]

But because of the way my vehicle was designed, both bearings need to move in order for the axis to move. If one bearing can't move, the other bearing on the axle can't move either.

Don't mean to be harsh, but there's a flaw with your vehicle design then. :p You should be able to fix one bearing so it doesn't move, and attach the other one to the mooving arm of your caliper. It should be able to slide back and forth at least a little. It doesn't need to go that far to turn a lot.

It was designed with a central bar going down the center, which serves as the base of the vehicle. Towards the front-center of the central bar, there is a plastic piece with a screw attached to the center bar. This piece holds the ball bearings, and the ball bearings holds the axle. The plastic piece holding the ball bearings can twist around the center point.

So your design is like the old ones for scrambler?

In that case, I'm not really sure how you could use a caliper with it. You could use another curving mechanism, such as a string one one side that shortens the length between the wheels, or you could rebuild and do a basic rectangular chassis with 4 sides.

[MTV<=>Operator]

But because of the way my vehicle was designed, both bearings need to move in order for the axis to move. If one bearing can't move, the other bearing on the axle can't move either.

Don't mean to be harsh, but there's a flaw with your vehicle design then. :p You should be able to fix one bearing so it doesn't move, and attach the other one to the mooving arm of your caliper. It should be able to slide back and forth at least a little. It doesn't need to go that far to turn a lot.

It was designed with a central bar going down the center, which serves as the base of the vehicle. Towards the front-center of the central bar, there is a plastic piece with a screw attached to the center bar. This piece holds the ball bearings, and the ball bearings holds the axle. The plastic piece holding the ball bearings can twist around the center point.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems as if you are using a caliper with a swivel steering design. Typically with caliper steering, one bearing/ side of the axle is fixed to the chassis and one can slide back and forth in a slot. When you have swivel steering (where the turning joint is in the center of the axle), both sides of the axle will move, one forwards and one backwards. If you want the caliper to only impact one side of the axle, you will have to fix one side of the axle to the chassis somehow and cut out a slot so that the other side can move around and make the swiveling part straight.

https://www.docfizzix.com/topics/constr ... ring.shtml
This link above shows the two main steering options ^. It seems that you are using the first option, but to do caliper steering you would use the second option: "frame stretching". The moving part would be the bearing block which would be attached to the caliper.

[MadCow2357]

Don't mean to be harsh, but there's a flaw with your vehicle design then. :p You should be able to fix one bearing so it doesn't move, and attach the other one to the mooving arm of your caliper. It should be able to slide back and forth at least a little. It doesn't need to go that far to turn a lot.

It was designed with a central bar going down the center, which serves as the base of the vehicle. Towards the front-center of the central bar, there is a plastic piece with a screw attached to the center bar. This piece holds the ball bearings, and the ball bearings holds the axle. The plastic piece holding the ball bearings can twist around the center point.

So your design is like the old ones for scrambler?

In that case, I'm not really sure how you could use a caliper with it. You could use another curving mechanism, such as a string one one side that shortens the length between the wheels, or you could rebuild and do a basic rectangular chassis with 4 sides.

No problemo. I was thinking of implementing this myself. Basically, drill a hole on the sides of the parts and though the jaws of the caliper. Then, use a caliper to connect the sides, and use the lock screw to adjust the distance between the two parts. This will help you get a good curve.

[Zxcvbnm123]

Can a fixed curve still be done without changing my vehicle?

[MadCow2357]

Can a fixed curve still be done without changing my vehicle?

Probably yes. Depends on the situation. I assume that you can drill holes in your caliper?

Dude, if you want help send me a PM with some pictures of your problem. And fyi, I'm not doing mousetrap, so I won't be trying to steal your ideas or anything. However, I am doing Battery Buggy, so I will most likely be able to help you with caliper steering.

[BobbyJoe]

I think I am a bit confused, as if now my vehicle can get to 8 meters perfectly but its the backwards that really kills us. We have no control over backwards in terms of breaking and accuracy, could adding a caliper possibly solve this. I don't think I understand how. Also, can anyone PM me pics of the caliper system, I think I might be a little confused on that as well.

[MTV<=>Operator]

I think I am a bit confused, as if now my vehicle can get to 8 meters perfectly but its the backwards that really kills us. We have no control over backwards in terms of breaking and accuracy, could adding a caliper possibly solve this. I don't think I understand how. Also, can anyone PM me pics of the caliper system, I think I might be a little confused on that as well.

What exactly do you mean when you say you have no control over backwards? Do you have a wingnut braking system? If not there is a lot of information about how to make and implement one on the wiki and forum under the "braking system" threads from both this year and last year. A caliper is used on the vehicle to control the angle offset from one axle to the other so as to create a curved path for the vehicle. This can serve to get your vehicle in line with the VTP on the way back (given the offset), but it will not make your vehicle stop at any point. I did not use a caliper steering system on my vehicle, but if you want to see a picture of my wingnut braking system then feel free to PM me.

[BobbyJoe]

I think I misunderstood the usage of the caliper earlier but now I understand. Thanks for the help!