Skipdiving Robotics

[daveimi]

After the departure of my Dad (and also a lot of the mechanical expertise and cash) I've been left to either jack it in or start afresh. I wanted to draw a line under the last 6 months and start my own thread, with my own robots under my own team name. All of my robots will get built from found parts, hence the team name lol.

Geoff is the first robot that I dreamt up with no other outside influences and I've stuck some pictures up below.












I also want to plan a heavyweight, but not in the usual veins of robot design, I'd rather all my stuff was that bit different and unique. Weird forms of locomotion and unusual weapons are the types of things I'll be aiming for. The below sketch is the beginnings of a snake type robot that will slither round the arena and entangle people. I'm just in the process of sketching out the locomotion and a mechanical jaw to bite other robots. I'll update this as I thrash out how it will look and as a add more to Geoff, although now I'm going it alone things are moving dramatically faster as I can work straight out of my head.

[Merkabah_PT]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

If Geoff had a blade on the front it would be like Nightmare.

The heavyweigt looks like a simpler version of Snake by Mark Setrakian. Besides looking very cool its uneffective and really hard to drive, but i am sure that if you build it, it will be cool and entertaining to watch. Be careful and build it as sturdy as you can, a heavyweight just raming it can breake the links, and a flipper and breake it in half.

Keep the cool designs, people like to see different kinds of robots.

[daveimi]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

I know I'm not all that likely to win a great deal given the standards of engineering that we currently see in the spobby, but I'm just out to build something a bit different and have a laugh.

[Merkabah_PT]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

That's the spirit. Seeing the same designs over and over again gets boring, good to see people building pieces of art.

[daveimi]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

Well it's been an eventful couple of weeks really. I made Jeff some plastic legs and gaffa taped them on to see how they looked. I originally wanted them to act as suspension but I'm not entirely sure they'll be up to the job. I am planning on re-making them out of some more junk steel I found at the skip.





Also, I've re-homed my tools into a new extremely portable setup and have started taking them with me everywhere I go. This in case I see a bit of metal someone says I can have but needs hammering off something lol. Thought I'd bung up a picture as I'm quite happy with my new purchases as I meander through the IT world fixing Servers and Macs as I go.





Designs for the hammer revolving around Ally box section and some wiper motor/gearboxes are coming on fabulously. I also have an old saucepan to bolt on Jeff's back to hold all his electronics. It's turning out to be the most fun I've had in ages building this daft robot.

[daveimi]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

Entry for the FW Champs next year, hopefully will jam up a few spinners. Been working at this on the quiet for a while now. This uses up my last set of components and am seriously contemplating breaking up everything else for spares for this as it's the only decent looking thing I've built so far. There are sides and a lid half finished, that base is 5mm steel and the spike is thick walled inch steel box section. The actual robot has varied slightly from the drawing but it's only slight deviations and the removal of a spike for the weight. Whole robot will be 5mm plate steel.

[Max]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

That looks good. I would advice having a shorter spike as I imagine that long one will bend and make it harder to 'spike' people with.
Also- Don't give up on Jeff !!!!

[Shakey]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

From my experience using short spikes of what looks like the same size tube steel.... It will buckle easily in combat. I was using short ones on a 6kg robot and they still came out non spinner melees in a right state. :S

[daveimi]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

I don't have any pictures to update with but some progress to write up. I'm just looking at shortening the spike, and am halfway through making the corresponding top plate. The top plate is identical to the base plate lol.

5mm steel is taking a while to grind into shape, much to the disgust of the neighbors. I'm spectacularly impressed with my fifteen quid b n q grinder and complimentary cut-anything blade.

I was going to use heavy steel angle to bolt sides and a lid on, but looking at the strength of it I'm thinking about just using the angle as the side wall. Drilling it all and bolting it all together, get the link and LED in and Robert's your mothers brother.

Oh and wheel guards...I'm making wheel guards. This has taken some thought however. I've found a place that gets rid of old steel cabinets etc so when I want to make something, it's a case of wait for something the right shape. Go and ask the increasingly-worried skip man if I can have it. Then drag said furniture home and give it a soothing caress with the grinder. Drill and file said part into shape. It's an amazingly easy way of obtaining pre-made parts from skips. All parts on this robot have been obtained in this fashion.

I'm also spending time this week on making an organiser for the insides to roughly keep everything where it should be when MMM, Explosion or Beauty bounce it off the Lexan arena roof.

[daveimi]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

Found this today so I've been day dreaming at the possibilities.

[daveimi]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

Sketch of internals






HDPE cut

[daveimi]

Re: Skipdiving Robotics

Some more progress this week. I've dismantled everything previously built and now have a box of bits, esc's, motors, batteries etc and am concentrating on one spinner-proof (I hope) robot.

The inner chassis is cut and only half bolted together at the minute, just to see if the wheel slides over with any clearance problems. I'm working on a heavily shock mounted chassis-shell mounting. I'm having a worry with self righting, I will dream up something for that.

I have a 22 lorry wheel on the way that I've bought to start building a heavy weight as well. For that I'm wondering if 6x Gimson's and a good speed controller will be enough. I'm going to work out the wattages, and failing that get a second hand wheel chair.

I'm umming and arring about weapons, I'd like the feather and the heavy to be similar in appearance and weaponry, colour scheme etc.

[daveimi]

The first basic chassis I've ever scratch built is together!!! Looks really rough...and it is!...but I made it myself lol and am proud of my first steps into getting battered

[daveimi]

And then cut flush to fit into the wheel.

[daveimi]

It has wheels and a front and rear skid!!









All of the electrics gradually coming together. Still need to sort out radio gear, link, LED and cablings. And some brackets to hold everything.