The tab idea isn't new, although he only other bot I have seen it on is TO. I figure it will help keep things in place during the welding and if anything goes brittle (as Ti welding sometimes does) then the tabs are a backup for small failures.

I am going to try the TO style hoop - as this bot is wider than TO, it's going to need a a small hoop on the front in order to roll over. I'm not sure about the Surgical Strike thing - the photos I saw don't have anything that looks like self-righting
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

XI had tabs I believe, and before TO.
_________________
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein.

Quite likely, they are a great idea and have been around probably since sheet metal welding was invented - I'm surprised that so few builders use them. TO uses open sided tabs (what would be called a 'finger joint' in woodworking) while I went for enclosed tabs, which *should* be stronger but look rather ugly.
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

quote:

---

I'm surprised that so few builders use them

---

your hoop on Schmakhead is basically slots 'n tabs, is it not? It occured to me that the titanium in Jolt will have crossed the Pacific five times once Robolympics is over Wish I got the frequent flyer points!

Progress:

Not much actual workshop time yet but plenty of preparation;

Ti sheet ordered
Welding lined up
Spare drive motors on their way
CAD updated for weight loss
Wiring diagram finished

The main body of Jolt is now about the size of an A4 sheet of paper and 3" high. The drive motors have been moved in and forwards and are now in line with the battery pack, which should inprove traction at least relative to Jolt's current problems.





The spar is so short now that it made sense to replace the tube with Ti plate, which also provides a little wheel protection - I think they should be called brackets now (or sparlets, perhaps? ). You can't see it in this overhead view, but the motor brackets are all compound curves to make the boxy frame look better.

The battery compartment has been upgraded with a new connector block. this allows the Lipo packs to have really short leads, which lets rid of one of the weakest features on Jolt - 14 gauge power leads.

The blade is shorter but much wider and will also have a larger stiffener to reduce the chance of blade flex. The stepped end on the blade should also make the teeth more secure.
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

quote:

---

your hoop on Schmakhed is basically slots 'n tabs, is it not?

---

one of my lecturers at uni patented a system where you make the tabs a trapazoid sort of shape, when you twist them then they actually lock the plate with the slot in place.
_________________
Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

The spare Banebots motors arrived recently and I have spent the last few days upgrading them - I ran out of replacement pins before they were finished. The motors are taking an age to burn in and I figure it will need a dedicated PSU with fuse protection to get the job done; the Battery charger only runs it's motor test for an hour and I have to restart it at least 12 times per motor.

The Ti for the frame arrives tomorrow - can't hardly wait! The CAD for the frame is well advanced but as usual I am adding things and correcting dimensions all the time. The tabbed design means that everything has to align perfectly so I might print the design on light cardboard and assemble it to make sure it all fits before spending the big bucks on waterjetting.

The major hold up at the moment is the weapon teeth - DC waterjet have taken almost 3 months and still haven't cut the parts !
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

That sucks!!!
One lesson you'll never forget about trusting companies in other countries lol.
You might want to go to Kinko's or something so they can print out your whole sheet design onto decent cardboard to do, they don't charge very much for it and its likely you've got parts larger than an A4 sheet.
_________________
( •_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Hey, that's a REALLY good idea - art board is about the same thickness as my Ti and I work just a block from a Kinkos. Guess where my lunch break will be spent...
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

I sent DC waterjet an ultimatum today - reply with an option to make the parts ASAP or ship them to another cutter. If Duane doesn't reply by tomorrow, I will start phoning, FAXing and ranting on the US bot forums. Hopefully the pestering and potential loss of business will get my parts made. Plan B is to write off the block of S7 and get a new (and way more expensive:evil:) block sent to a better waterjetting place.
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Woo Hoo! DC committed to shipping all the S7 parts by the end of the week The Ti sheet also turned up, so I have to finalise all the CAD for the local waterjet place to quote on.
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Excellent! Does that include that painful price tag though?
_________________
( •_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV5ULre24D0
Did you know your name is on that Nick?
You must have helped out a fair bit!
Too cool...
_________________
( •_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

NEAT! I had no idea.

I helped out with one or two things: the tube spar, the blade shape, the front 'elevator' wheel, the internal electronics positioning, air vents, etc. It was a great experience and I learned a great deal along the way. You might see one or two similarities in Scissorhands
_________________
Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion