Originally Posted by
Tommy R
I've been searching, but haven't quite found what I'm looking for. What are the benefits to mounting the servo sideways? Is the real benefit that the servo is away from the chassis and, therefore, not restricting the chassis from flexing? Are there other benefits I'm missing? Can someone provide a brief explanation? I'm intrigued at the concept, but am not one to just go buy parts unless I understand the principle behind them.
Thanks!!
Hi Tommy,
there is actually a discussion on rctech regarding this topic. It's my understanding that since there is only one servo mounted on one side of the chassis, there is unequal flex at the front of the chassis as long as the servo is part of the chassis structure. The "floating" principal is a little misleading as the servo doesn't need to be lifted from the chassis plate or "floating", the more realistic term should be "single point mounting" or "central point mounting". There are a few benefits of using this type of mounting configuration.
1) Turning the servo 90* will move the weight of the servo more forward in the chassis to help with offsetting the motor weight (if on the same side of the chassis).
2) More room for the electronics and freedom to dictate their location better.
3) A single center line mounting point for the servo which helps to remove rigidity bias toward one side of the chassis by eliminating the servo as a structural member.
I've heard many alternatives to achieving this effect but most of them involve servo tape or Shoo Goo. These solutions are not likely to be reliable and still create some structural bias on the side that the servo resides.
It seems these days it's all about controlling chassis flex and reducing the influence of other components on it. The more flexible the chassis, the more other factors will have influence over said flexibility.
I hope this helps...