Watched Mall Cop and loved every single minute of it? Well, getting around on Segways in a large mall makes perfect sense since such buildings are massive, especially for those suffering from joint pains. Well, purchasing a Segway outright might prove to be too much for your wallet to handle, but what happens when you fuse both passion and technical know-how? You get the DIY Segway, of course! Petter Forsberg is the brain (and hands) behind this do-it-yourself Segway that costs him a mere €300 (that is $434 in our currency) in parts. Read about it in his own words after the jump.
The motors, wheels, chain, gears and batteries came from electric scooters like the one to the right. You need hardware from two since the electric scooters only have one motor and gear setup. The motors are some cheap china unbranded ones. They are rated as 24Volt, 2750 rpm. The gearing is made in one step from the small gear on the motor to the bigger gear head on the wheel. The ratio is approx 6:1, a higher ratio would be preferred to get a better torque and a lower top speed. Now the motors have to work pretty hard and currents above 30A(in total from both motors) have been registered since the fuse burned. The fasting of the gear on the 12” wheel was based on a freewheel mechanism therefore I had to open up the freewheel and remove all the grease and then use epoxy to make it possible to drive it in both directions. In the picture below you can see the freewheel after it has been filled with epoxy as well as a tool made to be able to open it up. There is one fixed axle on which both wheels rotate, this axle is attached with three aluminum blocks which fixates the axle with 5mm set screws.
There is far more to it than what you just read above, but it works in the same vein as the real deal, where you steer by tilting the handlebar left or right. Springs attached with steel wires will provide some much needed force feedback.