Skipdiving Robotics

[psychostorm]

Don't trying using a sabretooth to drive a heavy. The pushing involved for a featherweight has gotten the better of that.

It's an ok pairing for a Dalek as it doesn't have to turn as quickly or have anything pushing against it.

[daveimi]

I'm guessing it's heat build up from the motors under strain / stalling that gets a bit much?

[daveimi]

I thought I would stick up another couple of photo's. I've taken the electric brakes out of the end of the wheelchair motors for something to do, and the second photo is the finished drive ready to build into something. Having a mare trying to find ways to mount the whole thing with the stupid frame attachment they come with. Last photo is the pandemonium getting Rag N Bone ready for Doncaster on Sunday.

[daveimi]

I've attended my first event!! Thank you to everyone at Doncaster yesterday who chatted to me and listened to my ramblings and helped me keep the thing running! I had the time of my life, utterly fantastic day! Apologies for bolting at the end, my brother and his friend had to get back for work and we'd read the email as the show is on 12-3:15, not one show is 12, the other is 3:15. So they ended up in a flap as I'd promised them we'd be back yada yada haha.

Robot got thrown all over the place in each of the 4 rumbles but with a bit of tightening up etc each time managed to keep getting back in the arena. I learnt heaps and bounds about stuff, and want to say a massive thank you to everyone for sharing all their info with me. I've got two general areas to sort, one being the spike is rubbish and ineffective, and the other being the robot is too slow / too low voltage. My solution is 2fold!

1. Bin the spike and make a dozer blade type thing for the front
2. Get a decent 18V/24V pack and some nice motors

Gonna have a week to mull it over and then set to. Thought I'd bung a pick up of the robot after yesterday all dented and battered haha.

[daveimi]

I took another picture this morning so thought I would put it up. After the spike being rubbish I've decided a blade would be better. I spent twenty minutes last night grinding and drilling a piece of metal into a rough shape and bolted it on to see what it looked like. It would need building up, shaping properly etc. but I was greatly enthused by this development. On my "if it looks about right it probably is" scale this looks like a decent addition. The robot is also halfway through a re-wire to 14.4V and has been moved round internally. This is so eternally dull however that I won't bore you with a picture. I am gonna change the name because Rag N Bone sounds stupid.

I am planning robot number 2, only because half of this is wrecked and I thought well if I need to re-make anything I might as well incorporate everything I've learned. My wheel chair motors have been abandoned in the dining room for a bit, and I am getting the itch to build an antweight, only put off up to now by the fact I can build feather 2 cheaper than starting an ant.

[razerdave]

One of the priciest bits for an ant is the TX/RX set. You have a perfectly useable TX so you can just bind another RX to it and put it in the ant.

What material is that wedge made of ?

[daveimi]

It's mostly just for trial, but that particular piece is 2mm mild.

[Danny B]

That should be ok. The invertible wedge I used on Mecha Sombra was exactly the same, and it stood up very well. Although if you can go thicker, you probably should.

[daveimi]

Haha the baseplate snapped this morning.

[Ellis]

Ouch! Sorry to hear that. Chopping boards really aren't suitable for this sport. There are some soft variations (I believe they're made out of "LDPE", L for low density, vs the popular HDPE) which are probably fine, but many just shatter. A bit of HDPE, or nylon (may crack too with enough force), will make for a much nicer baseplate.

[daveimi]

Lol it’s ok, it was battered and mangled anyway after Tiny Hurtz got hold of it . It only weighs 5kg wet through and no amount of up-armouring was gonna take it to 12kg+. I’ve acquired a pile of 2x2 offcut and 6mm ply so may have a bash at knocking something up out of that for a giggle.

As soon as I took the spike off it lost all of it's rigidity and then with a wedge on top it just gave up.

[daveimi]

Ok well even though the base plate snapped I've decided to soldier on for a few more events with it. This meant making a fresh base plate, putting on the scoop I'd made and re-wiring to 14.4V I have a sketch for robot number 2 that you can see below. This one is a lot stronger, although it would be the spring before I got near building that. It's mostly a cash/time thing as ever. Anyway, below is robot as it sits now waiting for an even oop norf. Below that the new idea for robot 2. Slightly put off building a heavy somehow, will probably make the wheel chair free to a good home in the new year if I haven't done anything with it by then.

[daveimi]

Thought I would put up a quick snap of the new bettleweight! (minus motors, wheels, battery and speedo) I also have an Antweight robot in the pipeline for after Christmas. Hoping to get all three to some events next year, and also get on with a heavyweight next spring. I'm just in the process of trying to find something good to turn into an antweight. Any thoughts / suggestions welcome!

[Max]

That looks quite big for a beetleweight and the spinners will cut through it like its tin foil but other than that's looks fun!

[daveimi]

Yeah, you know once you've had an evening to think and think...maybe this wasn't the best of ideas lol.