1 ---
2 type: article-hidden
3 identifier: rc-snow-plow
4 title: Engineering a Remote-Controlled Snow Plow
5 description: Designing, building, and programming a remote-controlled snow plow to push snow and salt pavement. Long-overdue writeup on a project that's been in the works since late 2018.
6 datestring: 2024-09-15
7 banner_image: /static/images/rc-plow.jpg
8 links:
9   Source Code: https://github.com/JoshuaS3/auto-plow
10 ---
11
12 During my freshman year of high school (January 2019), I had to undergo
13 surgery to correct [severe scoliosis](/static/images/scoliosis.png). I like to
14 joke that, according to
15 my parents, the absolute *worst* thing about that was that it put me out of
16 commission for snow-shoveling for the season. Inspired by a
17 [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPg1ZMiC9pA) my dad had
18 shown me, and wanting to learn more about robotics and microcontroller
19 programming, I asked my dad for help building our own remote-controlled (RC)
20 snow plow to do the work for us. Here's what it looks like now:
21
22 <iframe style="max-width:720px;max-height:405px;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em auto" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NOkGwRdGm9s" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
23
24 Over the past several years, this project has occupied a significant portion
25 of my focus. Working on this has been invaluable to my self-education in
26 mechanical, computer/firmware, electrical, and power engineering. Here I break
27 down the design iterations the project has undergone, as well as plans for the
28 future.
29
30 # VERSION
31
32 WANTS:
33
34 MECHANICAL DESIGN (COMPONENTS, CONSIDERATIONS):
35
36 ELECTRICAL DESIGN (COMPONENTS, CONSIDERATIONS):
37
38 FIRMWARE DESIGN:
39
40 # Plow Mk1 (Winter 2018-2019)
41
42 The snow plow shown in the video actually isn't the first revision of the
43 snow plow. The first snow plow served more as a proof of concept, or prototype.
44 We just wanted something that would solve the problem statement of "I want a
45 robot that pushes snow for me" as cheaply and quickly as possible, just to prove
46 we could do it. Over the course of a couple of months, we gathered spare
47 materials and built something comprising:
48
49 * a wooden frame and aluminum plow blade
50 * two 12V car batteries
51 * two 300W @ 24V electric wheelchair motors
52 * all-wheel chain drive
53 * two linear plow blade actuators (one pitch, one yaw)
54 * an Arduino Uno
55 * a dual-channel RoboClaw motor controller
56
57 and a bit more infrastructure tying everything together.
58
59 ## Mechanical Subsystem
60
61 I'm not a very mechanically-inclined person so this was largely my dad's
62 responsibility.
63
64 - asdf
65
66 ## Electrical Subsystem
67
68 - Solid state relay for motor brakes
69 - Relay board for actuators, H-bridge, controlled by Arduino logic-level
70 - 12V inverter provides 5V output for USB to power Arduino (efficiency?)
71
72 <div class="gallery">
73     <figure>
74         <img src="/static/images/rc-plow.jpg">
75         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
76     </figure>
77     <figure>
78         <img src="/static/images/plow-chain.jpg">
79         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
80     </figure>
81     <figure>
82         <img src="/static/images/esp32.jpg">
83         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
84     </figure>
85     <figure>
86         <img src="/static/images/devilslake_josh.png">
87         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
88     </figure>
89     <figure>
90         <img src="/static/images/kakabika.jpg">
91         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
92     </figure>
93     <figure>
94         <img src="/static/images/fractal/mandelbrot.png">
95         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
96     </figure>
97     <figure>
98         <img src="/static/images/sylvania.jpg">
99         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
100     </figure>
101     <figure>
102         <img src="/static/images/fractal/tricorn.png">
103         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
104     </figure>
105     <figure>
106         <img src="/static/images/fractal/burning_ship1.png">
107         <figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
108     </figure>
109     <figure>
110         <img src="/static/images/river.jpg">
111         <figcaption>Kankakee River.</figcaption>
112     </figure>
113     <figure>
114         <img src="/static/videos/igw-1.gif">
115         <figcaption>Kankakee River.</figcaption>
116     </figure>
117     <figure>
118         <video src="/static/videos/rc_plow.mp4" controls></video>
119         <figcaption>Kankakee River.</figcaption>
120     </figure>
121 </div>
122
123 # Plow Mk2 (Winter 2019-2020 and beyond)
124
125 Wants:
126
127 - Steel frame
128 - Steel plow blade
129 - Better wheels/tires, simpler chain drive
130 - Headlights
131 - Rear-mounted salt spreader
132 - Variable-speed plow actuation
133
134 ## Mechanical Subsystem
135
136 ## Electrical Subsystem
137
138 ## Plow Mk2.5 (Scrapped)
139
140 Wants:
141
142 - On-board battery charging
143 - Properly enclosed electrical system to prevent moisture ingress (water damage, corrosion)
144   - Infrastructure for firmware flashing, so physical access to microcontroller not needed
145 - Framework for upgrading to 48V BDC motors in the future
146 - Modularity
147   - Plow attachment (swap blade out for blower or something else)
148   - Future-proofing, connections for multiple firmware-controlled relays for other future stuff
149
150 48V capable, enclosed electric box, onboard battery charging
151
152 # Plow Mk3 (WIP)
153
154 Completely overhauled design. Still in the works. Efforts to push the entire
155 electrical design into a single PCBA.
156
1	---
2	type: article-hidden
3	identifier: rc-snow-plow
4	title: Engineering a Remote-Controlled Snow Plow
5	description: Designing, building, and programming a remote-controlled snow plow to push snow and salt pavement. Long-overdue writeup on a project that's been in the works since late 2018.
6	datestring: 2024-09-15
7	banner_image: /static/images/rc-plow.jpg
8	links:
9	Source Code: https://github.com/JoshuaS3/auto-plow
10	---
11
12	During my freshman year of high school (January 2019), I had to undergo
13	surgery to correct [severe scoliosis](/static/images/scoliosis.png). I like to
14	joke that, according to
15	my parents, the absolute worst thing about that was that it put me out of
16	commission for snow-shoveling for the season. Inspired by a
17	[YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPg1ZMiC9pA) my dad had
18	shown me, and wanting to learn more about robotics and microcontroller
19	programming, I asked my dad for help building our own remote-controlled (RC)
20	snow plow to do the work for us. Here's what it looks like now:
21
22	<iframe style="max-width:720px;max-height:405px;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em auto" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NOkGwRdGm9s" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
23
24	Over the past several years, this project has occupied a significant portion
25	of my focus. Working on this has been invaluable to my self-education in
26	mechanical, computer/firmware, electrical, and power engineering. Here I break
27	down the design iterations the project has undergone, as well as plans for the
28	future.
29
30	# VERSION
31
32	WANTS:
33
34	MECHANICAL DESIGN (COMPONENTS, CONSIDERATIONS):
35
36	ELECTRICAL DESIGN (COMPONENTS, CONSIDERATIONS):
37
38	FIRMWARE DESIGN:
39
40	# Plow Mk1 (Winter 2018-2019)
41
42	The snow plow shown in the video actually isn't the first revision of the
43	snow plow. The first snow plow served more as a proof of concept, or prototype.
44	We just wanted something that would solve the problem statement of "I want a
45	robot that pushes snow for me" as cheaply and quickly as possible, just to prove
46	we could do it. Over the course of a couple of months, we gathered spare
47	materials and built something comprising:
48
49	* a wooden frame and aluminum plow blade
50	* two 12V car batteries
51	* two 300W @ 24V electric wheelchair motors
52	* all-wheel chain drive
53	* two linear plow blade actuators (one pitch, one yaw)
54	* an Arduino Uno
55	* a dual-channel RoboClaw motor controller
56
57	and a bit more infrastructure tying everything together.
58
59	## Mechanical Subsystem
60
61	I'm not a very mechanically-inclined person so this was largely my dad's
62	responsibility.
63
64	- asdf
65
66	## Electrical Subsystem
67
68	- Solid state relay for motor brakes
69	- Relay board for actuators, H-bridge, controlled by Arduino logic-level
70	- 12V inverter provides 5V output for USB to power Arduino (efficiency?)
71
72	<div class="gallery">
73	<figure>
74	<img src="/static/images/rc-plow.jpg">
75	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
76	</figure>
77	<figure>
78	<img src="/static/images/plow-chain.jpg">
79	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
80	</figure>
81	<figure>
82	<img src="/static/images/esp32.jpg">
83	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
84	</figure>
85	<figure>
86	<img src="/static/images/devilslake_josh.png">
87	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
88	</figure>
89	<figure>
90	<img src="/static/images/kakabika.jpg">
91	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
92	</figure>
93	<figure>
94	<img src="/static/images/fractal/mandelbrot.png">
95	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
96	</figure>
97	<figure>
98	<img src="/static/images/sylvania.jpg">
99	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
100	</figure>
101	<figure>
102	<img src="/static/images/fractal/tricorn.png">
103	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
104	</figure>
105	<figure>
106	<img src="/static/images/fractal/burning_ship1.png">
107	<figcaption>Snow plow parked outside. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</figcaption>
108	</figure>
109	<figure>
110	<img src="/static/images/river.jpg">
111	<figcaption>Kankakee River.</figcaption>
112	</figure>
113	<figure>
114	<img src="/static/videos/igw-1.gif">
115	<figcaption>Kankakee River.</figcaption>
116	</figure>
117	<figure>
118	<video src="/static/videos/rc_plow.mp4" controls></video>
119	<figcaption>Kankakee River.</figcaption>
120	</figure>
121	</div>
122
123	# Plow Mk2 (Winter 2019-2020 and beyond)
124
125	Wants:
126
127	- Steel frame
128	- Steel plow blade
129	- Better wheels/tires, simpler chain drive
130	- Headlights
131	- Rear-mounted salt spreader
132	- Variable-speed plow actuation
133
134	## Mechanical Subsystem
135
136	## Electrical Subsystem
137
138	## Plow Mk2.5 (Scrapped)
139
140	Wants:
141
142	- On-board battery charging
143	- Properly enclosed electrical system to prevent moisture ingress (water damage, corrosion)
144	- Infrastructure for firmware flashing, so physical access to microcontroller not needed
145	- Framework for upgrading to 48V BDC motors in the future
146	- Modularity
147	- Plow attachment (swap blade out for blower or something else)
148	- Future-proofing, connections for multiple firmware-controlled relays for other future stuff
149
150	48V capable, enclosed electric box, onboard battery charging
151
152	# Plow Mk3 (WIP)
153
154	Completely overhauled design. Still in the works. Efforts to push the entire
155	electrical design into a single PCBA.
156