Twist 4x4

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Twist 4x4

Postby Step » 04 Jan 2012, 11:28

Apart from the 6 wheel layout and length of the chair, I think this one does show some potential speed/power-wise.
Looks like a lightweight guy driving it but in the video, it does handle the snow pretty well.
http://www.turbo-twist.ch/en/index.html

Came across it through an article on wheelchair soccer demonstrations during the breaks of the national cyclo-cross championships.
They're demo-ing the Turbo Twist Sport there as being 'the Rolls-Royse of wheelchairs: small, very agile and fast wheelchair'
http://www.turbo-twist.ch/en/sport.html in wheelchair-soccer setup.
http://www.turbo-twist.ch/en/turbo_twist.html civilized version is a 5-wheel setup. One rear central wheel.
Available with R-net 120A controller.

I wish I had my BM-clone finished to take it there for a comparison and maybe a challenge :-)
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby Burgerman » 04 Jan 2012, 11:40

No... 45V BM3 with 150 amps per side. Thats 150 amps at the same time as 45v. (actually 250 peak! But ignoring that)

So 150 x 45 = 6750 watts per motor compared to:
120 x 24 = 2880 max R-net watts for a second or two...

And 15 mph!
They would look like mobility devices in comparison... Oh! :lol:

Of course programming, and the throttle go both ways.
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby JoeC » 05 Jan 2012, 22:53

I had the chance to see some Turbo Twist chairs at the 2011 FIPFA world cup, and I have to say that they do seem to be quite impressive chairs. The ones I saw were built specifically for electric hockey. They were low to the ground, had cambered drive wheels with a fairly wide stance, had the center of gravity nearly correct, appeared to be light weight, and had many other features that I'd have added if I was building- they even had Anderson connectors and a manufacturer supplied 30 amp charger!

The chairs were not great for power soccer, though, for a few reasons. The foot guards were too rounded, and not very far forward, greatly reducing their potential for spin kicks. They were also geared for speeds of around 10 mph, which of course was not helpful in a game with an enforced speed limit of 6 mph. Regardless, with their 120 amp R-net controllers and groove motors, they seemed to hold their own quite well. The athletes I asked who'd played against teams using those chairs (Australia is the main team that comes to mind) told me things that lead me to believe that the chairs did not have some of the drawbacks you'd expect from a 10 mph chair- they weren't especially easy to push around, and they weren't too slow at accelerating off the line.

If they made a few soccer-specific changes, they'd be fearsome on the court. Increasing the motor gearing to reduce top speed to something between 6 and 7 mph, and putting a better guard on the front is all it would really take... and some very serious programming, if the R-net is capable.
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby Burgerman » 05 Jan 2012, 23:20

How are they getting 10 mph from groove motors?
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby JoeC » 05 Jan 2012, 23:50

Sorry, I was wrong to call them 'groove motors'. They were surely made especially for the Turbo Twist chair, but when I saw them I thought they looked exactly like the AMT motors from the groove. I'm sure it would have been trivial for the company to request a different winding, and probably not hard for them to get a different mechanical gearing.
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby Burgerman » 06 Jan 2012, 00:05

No doubt. The quickie groove ones are not stock either. But if they are 10 mph on 24v...

Then 10 divided by 24 = 0.41666mph per volt.

So on 45v, we would get 18.75 mph!

Err... I have another plan!
No lack of torque with 45v and 150 amps per side!
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby JoeC » 06 Jan 2012, 00:51

Hey, you're right- Turbo Twist may very well have requested a motor variant that's closer to what you want than what you can get from Groove motors. It will probably be easier to buy motors from them than going to the trouble of trying to get AMT to work directly with you.

I've done 11 mph in a powerchair, and I have to say that 18+ mph seated in that configuration would make me a bit nervous. The weight transfer during an emergency stop does not work in your favor!
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby Burgerman » 06 Jan 2012, 10:32

Mmm. It will be fine! :P

How can I buy these though in the UK?
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Re: Twist 4x4

Postby LROBBINS » 06 Jan 2012, 11:32

I think I noticed the name Micro Motor one the Twist site. Would make some sense as they are both Swiss companies. Some Micro Motor models do resemble the AMTs. Ciao, Lenny
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