Cogalloy L1 Mecanum Mobile Base Kit

A mobile base kit—not the complete Cogalloy L1 robot

Cogalloy's L1 Mecanum Mobile Base Kit is the wheeled chassis and drivetrain foundation for a compact holonomic robot. It uses an anodized aluminum-alloy structure, four Mecanum wheels, four 310 metal-geared DC motors and AB-phase quadrature encoder feedback. The offer is intentionally scoped as a mobile-base kit so the buyer can choose the upper computer, motor-control electronics, sensors and manipulation hardware that match the project.

This SKU does not include a Raspberry Pi, RRC Lite / other low-level controller, motor driver, robotic arm, gripper, camera, LiDAR, battery, charger, wireless controller, operating-system image or ROS 2 application unless the final order confirmation explicitly adds them. Do not use photos of a complete Cogalloy L1 robot as a packing-list promise.

True omnidirectional motion starts with correct wheel and motor mapping

Each Mecanum wheel has rollers set at 45°. In the Cogalloy L1 Mecanum configuration, the four wheels are arranged as an ABAB set so the forces from the rollers can combine into forward/backward, lateral, diagonal and rotational movement. That capability depends on correct left/right wheel placement, motor direction, encoder polarity, wheel radius, wheelbase/track parameters and a controller that implements the matching kinematics. A swapped wheel or reversed motor can make a sideways command turn or drift instead.

The four encoders make this a far better integration starting point than an open-loop toy chassis: use their feedback for speed control and odometry in the controller layer, then validate the result against real motion. Encoder counts alone do not guarantee navigation accuracy; wheel slip, roller compliance, surface texture, acceleration, battery voltage and mechanical load all affect odometry.

Use the footprint correctly

The Cogalloy L1 Mecanum configuration drawing identifies a 212 × 174 mm plan footprint. It is useful for mounting and workspace planning. The 441 mm figure and 1.79 kg figure published for the fully assembled depth-camera robot do not describe this base-only SKU, so they are deliberately not used as this product's dimensions or shipping weight. Measure the delivered base and every add-on before finalizing a battery tray, arm envelope, sensor transform or shipping fixture.

Bring up the drive system safely

The chassis needs a compatible four-channel motor-control system and a protected power path sized for the actual motors and load. Do not power a mobile base from a Raspberry Pi 5 V rail. Before allowing the robot to drive, lift the wheels clear of the surface, check motor direction and encoder sign one channel at a time, verify the ABAB wheel layout, then test low-speed forward, sideways, diagonal and yaw commands. Only after those tests should you tune odometry, add sensors or run autonomous behavior.

Choose this base when planar agility matters

Mecanum drive is especially useful for indoor lab work, camera alignment, manipulator positioning and dense workspaces where the robot benefits from sliding sideways without first steering. It is not a substitute for a suspension or tracked chassis on loose, uneven or high-obstacle terrain. Keep the payload low and centered, protect cables at the wheel envelope, and validate traction on the real floor before committing to an autonomous task.