Team Eventorizon: Build Diary

[shakesc]

always the first choice

[Eventorizon]

This is getting silly but here is Conker 3.12.0; still a work in progress.
Its a totally new CAD model but the machines dimensions and parameters remain near Identical.
Conker 3.12.0.jpg Conker 3.12.0 Translucent.jpg
As you can see, the 4mm Hardox sides are now slopped. What is less obvious is the Hardox plate underneath that bolts to the 20mm Alumec bulkheads. The front is now very strong! There is a 20x12mm Alumec bar running across the back and a similar one internally to stiffen up the chassis.
The Main bulkheads now extend all the way to the back of the robot. I need to work out what material I can remove safely from these to keep the weight down.
The Top and bottom Titanium panels are now 1mm thicker at 3mm.
This iteration will probably go over the limit as its the first of this format but by working out where I need the strength I can remove unnecessary material.
The electronics, drive and weapon remain the same.

[typhoon_driver]

I mentioned this to Dave when we were discussing your design yesterday but you want to make sure that those front wheels are solid as hell. With a 2WD drum/beater the majority of the reaction force goes through the robot chassis and acts on the ground. With a 4WD setup, ALL the reaction force is going back through your chassis and into the wheels. Wanna make sure those are well supported with a good thick shaft holding them in place.

[Eventorizon]

Conker 3.12.1 Translucent.jpg
Gary - You should be able to see in the pic. I have 2 bearings mounted into either side of the Alumec. The shaft is 20mm OD which drops to 1/2 inch for the Banebots mount. That should easily be strong enough.

Current weight is 13.337kg. Its missing the wring, the weapon belt and then all the bolts and the welding to hold it together. I think all that will weigh about 400g so I need to loose 200g from it somewhere.

Still got 3mm Ti on the top and bottom. I swapped out the Alumec bar that ran through the middle for a sheet of 3mm Ti so there is almost a box of Ti in the centre of the robot. That will be all welded together. Weapon is now on a 3:1 reduction so it will only do 5920RPM lossless but that should be more than enough when the weapon weighs 3.5kg!

[Mouldy]

I did tell you that last night Gary lol

[typhoon_driver]

Yeah but I wanted to make sure the message made it's way on. I'm not sure i'm convinced of the need for 4wd with a beater or drum but hey ho, not my machine.

[Eventorizon]

Yeah but I wanted to make sure the message made it's way on. I'm not sure I'm convinced of the need for 4wd with a beater or drum but hey ho, not my machine.

I have asked that question myself Gary. I wanted to continue the conker style at least one more time. If I drop to 2 wheels I end up with TS3 and if I lost the weapon it would be like Storm 2. I am just trying not to duplicate designs. If you look earlier I did a design very similar to 720 and I decided not to as David had already started building.
It does mean the machine will be more stable and as a result, easier to steer, but I think its main advantage is how hard it can drive into opponents making sure I get really good engagement. I still have Hardox on the sides, Alumec at the back and Ti as the chassis so its not exactly weak.

[typhoon_driver]

Driving hard has nothing to do with it. It's all about speed in which case your design offers no advantage to a 2wd machine with the same motors as tooth engagement is all about speed ie how fast you can move in to an opponent between the time it takes for a tooth to leave the position of engagement with an opponent and the next one to take it's place and transfer the energy.

Really the ultimate drum/beater design would be one that had the wheels in line with the weapon on the same axis so that as it steered, the wheels are in line with where the gyro force is being applied (more efficient). All the current drum/beater designs are essentially the same with the wheels behind the weapon which isn't ideal. So on that basis, drop the back wheels and just have the front ones.

[Max]

I am not sure if you have 4 motors or 2, but if it I 4 then it will have more power so can accelerate faster so when you drive into someone you are moving faster so get more engagement. By having 4 motors you can also gear for a higher top speed as you have more power and by having more power the bot will reach a higher speed anyway as it isn't limited so much by not having enough power to move the machine faster.
If you only have 2 motors then forget what I said, just double up the wheels at the front so you have plenty of grip and save yourself some space as weight from the 4wd setup. But I get what you say about trying to keep the essence of the machine- perhaps you could accept this is a different design and come up with a new name rather than going for an undesirable design for traditions sake?

[Mouldy]

4wd will have advantages on that setup, 720 wheel span quite badly when setting of on full throttle, so at least c3 will be able to accelerate reliably, Also, should he want to run the robot at normal events, the weapon can be removed and replaced with a wedge or whatever and it would be a real good pusher.

Also due to the gyroscopic forces involved, and the weight distribution it should handle really well having similar characteristics to razer/720... where by it will turn around the front wheels giving maximum control.

Theres a couple of refinements to be done in the chassis, but I think this will be a strong contender for next years title.

[typhoon_driver]

"Also, should he want to run the robot at normal events, the weapon can be removed and replaced with a wedge or whatever and it would be a real good pusher"

Lol who would want to waste their time doing that?! :P

[Eventorizon]

If you only have 2 motors then forget what I said, just double up the wheels at the front so you have plenty of grip and save yourself some space as weight from the 4wd setup. But I get what you say about trying to keep the essence of the machine- perhaps you could accept this is a different design and come up with a new name rather than going for an undesirable design for traditions sake?

I am running 2 of the Banebots motor/gearbox combos. The gearbox is 16:1 and the motor is a 18V RS775. This is the most powerful set up possible with a sensible top speed of around 10mph. The previous 2 machines had 4 GR01's as their drive and it was just to much weight: 3kg alone in drive. This set up is more powerful but only weighs 1.8kg.
I cant double up the front wheels cos I have to get a pulley in there to drive the front wheels but it will be enough on its own, I am sure. If not I can go for the 40 or even 30 shore wheels rather than the 50 shore I have just bought.
The next machine I build will be totally new. We have plans for a 4WD bot with a 50mm bore, 100mm stroke pneumatic cylinder firing a spike out the front. I doubt it will be used in the champs cos of all the spinners but it will make a fun machine to use at live events!

[typhoon_driver]

Don't bother with the 30 shore wheels, useless.

40 shore were alright but still look well used.

[RogueTwoRobots]

I think this will be a strong contender for next years title.

Meh, I'll still pack 'n' stack it in the space of 15 seconds

[Eventorizon]

When you were churning up my MDF back you also caught the top armour panel pulling the mounts out of the motors, when you turned it over the wheels were skimming the ground but didn't have enough grip. I was literally 1mm off being able to keep fighting but that was all it took. :P
When I tuned it back over I hit it with my fist and it went back together like new. Just wasn't built well enough.