Skipdiving Robotics

[Bacon Wizard]

I think this is fantastic way to go about it

[daveimi]

Lol Thanx! My first fan! I will have to get "Team Skipdiving Robotics Crew" T-shirts made up and start posting them to my fans! Lol j/k

[lewisantweight]

I have to say it looks good and it been built reasonably fast but you seem pretty chilled about getring it done haha i have tried to rush mine and its taken 1 year and 1/2. I am sure tou have probably said this but are tou going to add a weapon and if so what weapon?

[daveimi]

Haha yeah I'm not really the most rushed of people. Originally I was part of a small team that got bored and left me to it lol so I'm having to learn how to make everything as I go. I started 2013 afresh with a 12 month deadline to get a robot running and ready to compete in 2014. I've not been able to get over how expensive it is! Hence building from scrap parts.

Originally the wheel was going to be a rammer with some spikes and a roll over bar. But I've been developing a Wiper-Motor powered hammer that is powerful enough to roll the 'bot back onto it's wheels if turned over. It's taking a while to get it running right so it's a bit touch and go with the hammer idea.

I'm definitely open to weapon suggestions if you have any or would like to see something specific on the robot!

[Bacon Wizard]

What's the white plastic board? It looks a bit like chopping-board (polyethylene)

[mattsdragons]

I'm loving the innovation here! But don't give yourself a year to build it, its all about getting it started 2 weeks before an event and done the night before

[daveimi]

Lol! Haha that's my usual style!

Yes the white plastic is the thickest chopping board I could find (Home Bargains own brand). I mentioned HDPE to see how long it would take people to catch on! A lot of people talk about how brittle it is. I can stand on my chassis without it breaking and it's passed the absolute ultimate test: being played with by a 3yr old!!

[Ellis]

All looks good, but Tormenta 1 was entirely chopping board and the material had us fooled right up until the first spinner impact we had. It feels tough, but I promise it's not suitable for full combat. It may survive as a chassis but it may well crack before long even then. You could have driven a car over Tormenta 1, the problem comes not with weight bearing but with high energy impacts.

[maddox10]

There are several types of HDPE. The "softest" and the one I prefer, is the black HDPE 500. "Easy" to work with, virtualy unbreakable and the lightest of the bunch. The white HDPE 1000 is a tad harder, a tad more brittle- not saying it is anything but resilient- and is less easy to weld. Top End of the HDPE line atm is Dyneema. Yep, that too is HDPE, but you will find that only in line or weave.

Chopping board , if HDPE, need a tad more hardness, and is probably the cheapest one they can make with the chemical properties of HDPE, but also with a reasonable hardness to avoid fast wear when used for that purpose. Toughness is not even close to the wishing list of the producers.

[daveimi]

I was going to say how cool is that! My power kite is made from dyneema! I understand now about it needing to be 'hard' to withstand knife strokes (and therefore brittle by default).

I've nearly finished building with the chopping board and it's becoming pretty obvious it needs a lot of strengthening once you load it up with the wheel etc. I will take your advice and re-cut everything from a better material once I have some more money in the summer. I'm already having to sort steel plate reinforcements for the top where it will mount together.

I was also hoping that it would be mostly protected by the outer shell and shock mount though.

[daveimi]

Hello fight fans! Progress this afternoon! After Battery Bay 1 and the even simpler Battery Bay 2, I finally settled on make-able Battery Bay 3! It has a battery! The next order of business is a Speed Controller bracket (which is already half baked).

[daveimi]

I've decided to also build an Antweight this week. I'm thinking about getting the kit from the robotwars101 website.

[Bacon Wizard]

Oi! That's not skipdiving!

Aren't you supposed go and beach-comb the shell of something and use that for the body... etc?

[daveimi]

Definitely! Lol they sell a kit with all the electrics and running gear that you can then put into what ever shell you like

I can't fathom modding servo's so am gonna grab them pre-done and bung that into some sort of reclaimed trash!

[Bacon Wizard]

http://youtu.be/DNHMTCbGG3E

No, No, Dave, this isn't what I had in mind! Wrong way round, mate...