I was thinking trombone slide cream, but I guess if watery stuff is better then maybe he should use slide oil.

After rebuilding the arm return strap arrangement for the 100th time I gave it a test this morning. The arm still wouldn't return and then the strap snaped. They are supposed to have a 200kg working load! So, with less than a week to go I decided to go ghetto on this robot.
I got a new bungee cord and wrapped it completely around the robot and it worked. So I cut it in half and attached it to the outside of the robots amour and now the arm returns with no trouble.
I then grabbed some lengths of steel and sharpened them to a point, welded them onto a couple of hinges and used self-taping screws to stick them to the front of the robot. Now I can get under anything.

So I have a reliable drive, a reliable weapon and I can get under any opponent. The only thing that can stop me is the Victorian judges and their strange ideas of "damage" and "aggression".
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

We've got their "Style" ideas figured out!
Sounds good.. but if that cord gets hit and damaged... wouldn't that mean it cuts off the return all together?
_________________
( •_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

The arm will return under gravity, just not very well. I have spare bungee straps.
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

I have taken a couple of extra days off work to finish of the last minute small jobs. I now have what is probably the only power light that can be seen from space. I have also removed the motor mounts, put thread lock on all the set screws in the hubs and put them back in again with more thread lock on anything with a thread. I have also redone some of the wiring to stop thing from moving or pulling tight and put more thread lock on the ring conectors (I'm using a lot of that). I should be good to go.
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

I am going to now do up the event reports for both Melbourne and India. Yes I have been lazy.

Melbourne:
Vs Scoop
This went about as well as could be expected. I first managed to get under the side of scoop and flip him upside down before getting him up against the wall which prevented him from coming off the arm and he went up into the lights. Shortly after he stopped with smoke coming out of him so that was that.

Day 1 Melee
This was supposed to be a losers melee but since Devastator had only been in one fight I couldn't resist. After the initial rush of robots attacking at random I managed to get a couple of flips on the lightweight Bullant. The after a miss-timed flip on Bender the arm went over too far and got stuck by the bungee straps. I then decided to have a go at pushing the other robots around but unfortunately this put too much strain on my little RS-545 motor and one went up in smoke.
After melee I tried to replace the burnt out motor but found that the wheel hub had been more or less permanently glued to the output shaft of the gearbox by my excessive use of threadlock. We then rushed off to Bunings to grab a replacement drill gearbox and wheel and I quickly stuck them into the robot. This ment that the robot was very lopsided but the gyro kept it going straight.

Vs Orbit
This match also went well. After taking off my last hinged fork Orbit decided to retreat. I got around behind him and gave him a flip. He eventually landed upside down and was out.
While venting gas after this fight the burkert "popped" which should have been a sign for me to give it a once over but I was getting a little cocky.

Vs Reboot
Reboot started off on the defensive, constantly backing away whenever I approached but I eventually caught him and gave him a couple of flips. Unfortunately during the second flip some swarf got into the Burkert and caused it to stick open. This caused all of the gas to vent through the ram and disabled the weapon. I then kept on trying to push Reboot hoping to get some aggression points as it was clear that this was going to go to the judges but my new red wheel began to slip on the axle and my drive was limited. The gyro kept it all straight so I didn't look to be in much trouble except for the loss of speed. The fight went to Reboot by one point.

Vs Schmack Head
Not much I could do here as I could not get under him. I tried to get around behind him and give him a flip but only managed in flipping Devastator onto his back. After a impressive self-right we continued. After pushing me around for a bit I managed to get my arm under his hoop thingy and fired the flipper to see what would happen. Just a loud bang and not much else.
The match went to a judges decision which I lost.

Day 2 Melee
I wanted to have a go at Jolt but wasn't able to get under him. He had a go at Devastator but no major damage was done. I did flip both Late and Mini Mower a couple of times before I lost one of my gearbox mounts and lost drive.

After Melbourne repairs.
With only one week to go before India I removed both Banebots gearboxes and chucked in a couple of drills. With a new bungee and everything tightened Devastator was good to go.

India.
Vs Green (I think, they all looked the same to me)
This went as well as anyone could have hoped. With the first two fights being a bit slow this really shocked the Indians. Due to a faulty CO2 bottle I could only half fill my 20oz tanks but it was enough. With Green having drive issues from the start it really was one sided. After the first flip it was clear that Green wasn't going anywhere so I looked over at David and he waved to keep going to make a show of it. So I laid into green and bounced him off the 2m roof a couple of times until bits started to come off him so we called it there. I really can't remember this fight too much what with all the fireworks, lasers and the screaming audience. I will need to see the video.

Vs Mean Machine
This was a box with a bit of titanium plate sticking out of the front. I couldn't get under him and only managed to flip him once. However he managed to get under the sides of Devastator several times and the plate wedge thing took the tread off my wheels and immobilized me.

Whats next?
While Devastator is good to go I think I am going to have to look at rebuilding the entire chassis as it is getting a bit old.
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

Do you have any pictures of your plans?
_________________
So even the rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems

It is a bit hard to take photos of the inside of my head.
I am planing on just remaking it exactly the same as it is but without the cracks and bends.
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

Welcome back and that, hope you didnt get too used to screaming fans following you.
Was curious to ask about Susan and the Bear Bash bot, Whats a girl with a keg doing in India?
_________________
Bots that do not destroy you, only make you stronger.

A message to my brother - Your MIG arrived this morning.

Ok. Haven't done much here for a while. But with Robogames coming up fast I am giving Devastator an overhaul. I have completely stripped the chassis and welded up any cracked welds (not many) and will patch up some holes when my new ali gets here. I have also welded up the cracked arm and stuck a gusset on top to hopefully strengthen it. Once I get back from the Philippines I will look at rebuilding the whole thing.
I have also completely pulled apart the pneumatics and have cleaned everything including the inside of the buffer. I will reseal everything to get rid of the leaks. I also had a look inside the burkert but nothing needed to be done there which is surprising considering I haven't opened it since going to India.
Once my new ali gets here I will make up some new motor mounts, put all the electronics and pneumatics back in and it should be good to go.
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

How did you clean the buffer?
_________________
So even the rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems

The buffer was fairly clean with most of the crap stuck in the fittings.
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

Getting some prep done for RG07:
new motor mounts -


These mounts are bolted inside the chassis as such -


Unfortunately this has given me quite a bit of ground clearance at the back -

about 40mm

But the front looks good -


Now I just need to mount the battery, finish bolting in the pneumatics and add the bungy. After I will see about adding that bit of hardox from Aaron.
_________________
Get Some!!!

Secretary of the Queensland Robotics Sports Club inc.

Nice work with the mounts, that's what Phil should have done 2 years ago
_________________
https://www.halfdonethings.com/