Skipdiving Robotics

[daveimi]

That's really cool. I've been a bit fascinated with how difficult it is to hammer through 12mm ply and snap it etc. It's obviously not hardox and wears icredibly fast when dragged along the floor but am hoping with ball transfers and strategic plating it can be ok lol.

[Mega Masher]

Best of luck with the build dave

[daveimi]

Thank you You too

[Mega Masher]

cheers

[daveimi]

Well been getting ideas again (which I know is always dangerous) so thought I'd sketch them and put them up in the usual manner. Dreamt up the idea of a feather weight grabber powered by drill motors and a linac. Would need making out of metal which is harder for me. And my fav idea so far that's just a Z shape with 4 wheel drive. I'm building a 4x4 robot for the champs and am building up a relationship with a local machine shop that supply steel but also cut and weld. It's pretty good as they're a pair of old blokes so I can take in a sketch with some dimensions and thicknesses and wave my arms around a bit and they sort of get the idea. My dad knew them from back in the day when he used to build racing cars for people in his spare time, they used to make all his cages and rads and various bracketrynesses. Having tried the wooden heavy I'm not especially convinced so am trying to talk these blokes into building me a heavy body that I can put running gear into. It's just an invert-able wedge (think heavyweight Endeavor). I dropped the sketches and sizes off today to let them umm and arr and go down the pub and have a think. I'm supposed to meet them in the pub tomo afternoon to discuss.

Please find ideas below. Oh and I'm gonna make my own feather wheels from now on. Was looking into Banebots wheels but the prices are lunacy. I ordered a family sized grab bag of 3/8 UNF brake pipe connectors so going to try them on a drill shaft tomorrow. My mum has also given me some old saucepans so I have an idea to build a thwack bot using them for wheels. And also erm my ant has been pulled to pieces to make it more like the original sketch. And I'm building a beetle! Ordering a sabertooth and 25mm motors next week. Have loads of time now my degree is finished lol.

Thanks for reading if you got to the end of all that!

[daveimi]

We now have our antweight ready for Coventry on 1st Nov! It's a collaboration between me and the 5 yr old

[daveimi]

Just a quick update, bit the bullet and ordered this from the local fabrication place. It's due to be ready in about a month or so as I I'm planning on fighting it next year. Thinking of getting them to make a heavy version as well as I can't weld lol. It's feeling like bite the bullet time, if I want to compete regular with a heavy and get to the champs I need to start designing stuff from steel lol.

[daveimi]

Got the 5 yr old's robot ready for AWS on Saturday

[daveimi]

Attended AWS 45 this weekend, loaded the car up and trucked down to Coventry eating much Maccy D's and ASDA butties as was possible. Blew up my receivers Wednesday night with some stupid wiring, borrowed one from Razer Dave to whom I owe a massive massive thank you. Had a fab time to the point where I think I may switch from feathers to ants as it's much more regular fighting and a dead friendly crowd. Also no flaming drill motors to contend with. Pick up heavy chassis some time this week, battery packs are ready to go, umming and arring about dx6i or plumming for a dx7, really need it to failsafe for heavy regardless. Half the electrics from the feather are blown, wheels are wrecked and the chassis is a joke. May just keep that battery and speedo and bin it as it'll be months before it gets a run out and the cash I will spend sorting it all out I could spend building a decent ant. Anyway, will post some more with heavy pics later in the week. Thanks for reading and some snaps from Saturday. Cheers, Dave.

[daveimi]

Been to the metal people, they say they're nearly done and it will be ready in a week or so. All I know is I'm three hundred notes worse off but it's worth it. Need to sort out some propper drivetrain stuff as the chassis is utterly beautiful: welded, folded, machined and recessed. I have some batteries, some 12V 9Ah to go in the heavy and am flirting with the idea of mag drive and some custom gearboxes, only problem being that I need the wheels to be 200mm minimum. I've spent so much money its frightening. Gone are the days of this being a "bit of fun"...this is frightfully serious now given the money I keep forking out lol. Erm I randomly drew something...hic...(see below). Also worried that Craig will go mad after he realises I took a shine to Cherub but am too daft to make the horns. Oh and are bulkheads needed for strength? I have chassis (nearly and batteries), also have some wheel chair motors, but am pining after some custom mag gearboxes, if I buy someone enough beer will they make me some mag boxes? I need a wotty, or some other esc as well. oh and a dx6i! and an orange to failsafe.

I have postoned wabbajack building and can't be bothered with feathers anymore fed up of drills breaking and unsuccessfully damaging fingers trying to hammer flaming unf nuts into molten hospital bed wheels. No I say,...no more! Heavies and ants! Heavies and ants! Now need to see if any of the EO's will let me enter something next year with my non existant heavy haha.
Over and out....Dangerous Dave.

[daveimi]

Picked up heavyweight chassis today.

[maddox10]

I fear the name Twisted metal is in use already.

http://robotwars.wikia.com/wiki/Twisted_Metal

[mattsdragons]

Just go for it and go 4wd! With a chassis like that it will be easy and not all that more expensive yet will have a ton more push

[daveimi]

Gutted about the Twisted Metal name lol, and am looking at 4WD now just trying to work out mph, gear ratio and motor torque and wheel size and so on

[Ellis]

Chassis looks good Dave, look forward to seeing it progress!