Team Endgame USA - Illinois Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Next
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Jolijar
Joined: 22 Feb 2013
Posts: 96
Location: Dekalb, IL
Team Endgame USA - Illinois
Working on my first battle bot ever. It is a 1lb class robot. I started with a hard drive as a frame but it was soon apparent that it was not large enough to hold everything.
I drew this frame in solidworks and had it 3d printed at my college. I plan on covering the 3d printed frame with aluminum panels in order to better protect the robot. I am on a limited budget and a bit of a time crunch. I have less than a month before the competition.
Last edited by Jolijar on Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:18 pm
Jaemus Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 01 Apr 2009
Posts: 2674
Location: NSW
That drives very nice! What motors are in there? _________________ <Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls
Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:51 pm
Jolijar
Joined: 22 Feb 2013
Posts: 96
Location: Dekalb, IL
They work pretty good. I can use the duel rates in the TX to make it easier to drive.
I am using the 10 Amp Botbitz esc's they also work great. I love the instant stop and reversal of direction.
The only major concern I have is that I will be overweight. Its gonna be close.
Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:21 pm
frogbiscuit
Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Posts: 82
Location: Wollongong
A valiant effort, hope you suceed.
Reality check, dude. If you dont like, read no further.
This stuff is hard. 2 yrs down the track and on my 3rd rebuild and I'm still nowhere. Titanium & "bisalloy" mean nothing. The 2 things most important, time & money youre short of, that puts you on the outside track. Remember what Edison said about genius. Long nights of missing Star Trek & doin da mambo.
Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:03 pm
dyrodium Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney
Actually it's not hard, it's all just about designing and building within your limits, financial or otherwise. 7 or so years since my first bot, I still wouldn't attempt pneumatics or hydraulics. Hardened steel is nice but a creatively designed robot with drill gearboxes and a steel box section frame can still win. Timeframe? A few hours in the weeks leading up to final year uni submissions. Working with what you've got and getting into the arena is a sure fire way of learning and enjoyment!
is the 3d printed frame ABS? Search for acetone vapor smoothing it'll make it wayyyy stronger! I'm keen to try it in a bot myself. _________________ ( •_•)
Those gearmotors look similar to the ones we all seem to use locally, only the motor on yours is longer and double flat.
I'd suggest having some spares on hand for the event day. The brass bush in the front tends to crack, and the screws holding the gearbox together come loose, along with the ones securing the g/box to the motor. I advise at a minimum strip them down and loctite all the screws, and support the motor as best you can so it's not 'hanging' on the gearbox
Also, your weapon setup. You may already know this, but expect the shaft on that motor to bend at some point. You'll want to investigate using a belt drive or some other method to isolate the motor from the shock of the bar being stalled against a solid object and putting alot of that KE back into the motor shaft. We've had some success at swapping out stock shafts for hardened shafts cut down from decent brands of screwdrivers if you want a quick ghetto upgrade _________________ <Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls
Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:36 pm
Jolijar
Joined: 22 Feb 2013
Posts: 96
Location: Dekalb, IL
The plastic is actually HDPE unlike the stuff from my 3d printer. I am gonna try the acetone vapor thing on a sample before I try it on the frame as it takes 7 hours to print one.
Honestly I couldn't care less if I win or loose. I mean Id like to win but I am more interested in having fun and meeting cool people
I am planning on attaching the weapon blade so that it slips instead of being solid but even with that I expect to have the shaft bend after a few good hits. My hope is that I will be able to push the other bots around even without an active weapon.
I've been working on the design for about a week. and I have been ordering components here and there over the past 3 years. What you see I assembled in about 3 hours once I had the components. Its a really tight fit so I had to desolder and resolder some of the wires and the cap for the weapon motor.
Fri Mar 22, 2013 4:50 am
Jaemus Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 01 Apr 2009
Posts: 2674
Location: NSW
Fair enough, sounds like your expectations are reasonable.
That robot should push pretty well with its 4WD and wide wedge, you'll have no problems there if the drives keep working _________________ <Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls
Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:39 am
dyrodium Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney
3D Printed UHMW? Or cnc milled ? Acetone won't do anything to polyethylene so don't worry about the test. It's an awesome robot frame material and you're off to a great start! Even if your weapon doesn't work out that's a fantastic little wedge right there.
EDIT: OH and the best way to win fights - good driving ! It's free to learn just do what you're doing in the video with obstacles, targets and such for as long as you can and you'll be amazed how much of an edge it gives you. _________________ ( •_•)
Joined: 22 Feb 2013
Posts: 96
Location: Dekalb, IL
pardon the messy table...
I made the armor both side and rear
I also cut out a top plate from acrylic (yea I know but use what you got) on my laser cutter.
And I made ramming spikes out of stainless steel 10-24 screws.
and I made a weapon blade. It eats coke cans pretty good. I'll make a video once I sharpen it.
All that is left is a cutoff switch, LED light, and front scoop.
Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:45 pm
dyrodium Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney
In a pinch, polypro book covers or even MDF can work for top covers and will be less explosion prone than acrylic, and you can still laser it. Either way, good idea to laminate the top cover with duct tape to stop any cracks exploding up into the blade! Keen for the video. _________________ ( •_•)
Joined: 22 Feb 2013
Posts: 96
Location: Dekalb, IL
Okay I have I need to satisfy this requirement.
All robots with active weapons must have a light easily visible from the outside of the robot that shows its main power is activated..
I have a screw switch that works fine. however I cant seem to figure out how to put an status led into the system. can anyone point me to a circuit for running an led without it being a bottleneck to my system? sorry great with a soldering Iron not really great at what all the magic stuff does.
Fri Mar 22, 2013 5:32 pm
Glen Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 9481
Location: Where you least expect
Joined: 22 Feb 2013
Posts: 96
Location: Dekalb, IL
Thanks that worked great
here is the weapon test video
I still have to sharpen the blade and balance it a little better it was shaking too much at 100% rpm so I had it at ~80% rpm
I also need to adjust the scoop so that it works better.
any tips for driving with the gyroscopic effects?
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