Team Pasty Build Diary: Loki

[ChrisKazoo]

693 g each so heavy but the issue is they are out of production so spares are sparse. I've got a spare pair just in case. The Beauty's use them so can't be that bad :P

[Flag Captured]

They're heavy-ish, and certainly aren't unreliable, it's really just the fact that they're really expensive to buy now if you do break one because they're in such low supply and rather high demand.

[overkill]

That looks awesome! The only advice I can think of right now is to make the tip of the arm out of thicker material as it will take a beating and will be hard to repair if its damaged. The drivetrain looks simple and dependable; what motors did you go with?

[Eventorizon]

The drivetrain looks simple and dependable; what motors did you go with?

Those are the Speed 900's that we are talking about. Originally designed for large model boats like tugs. Very torquey and powerful for a cheap brushed motor... but they are OOP... so spares are replacements are very expensive.

[overkill]

OK, we have never had motors like that here in OZ. I thought the motors were large enough to be scooter motors. When they break, I'd be looking for a brushless motor from Hobbyking.

[PJ-27]

Cool! Be good to see a Pneumatic 4-Bar in the works.

[ChrisKazoo]

Got the MDF mock up driving today, pretty pleased with the results

[ChrisKazoo]

Received some goodies from Mario, now to get it all to fit in!

[mrsam]

Looking good mate, how much did that set up cost you?

[ChrisKazoo]

So the draw is done:

Loki 2 v Predator v Little Hitter
Loki 2 v Scruffy 3 v 722
Loki 2 v Rabid M8 v No Toy
Loki 2 v Drumroll 2 v Minimoth

That's a tough lineup! Hope my welding holds up lol

[ChrisKazoo]

Loki 2 eats one of his 5 a day



And my first OOTA

[ChrisKazoo]

About time I updated this.

Had an awesome event. Massive thanks to the Robochallenge team for organizing such an awesome event and to all the competitors who made it such an enjoyable experience.

So the day before the event I'm plagued with a number of issues. The ram was getting stuck in the extend position so wasn't returning the arm, I had gas leak and the battleswitch randomly stopped working. I get to the event, borrow a battleswitch from Gareth and Mario makes an improvised lathe out of a drill and a file to take the diammeter of the nylon in the ram down to stop it getting stuck. Two problems solved and into the first fight.

Playlist of all Loki 2's fights:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/videos...RCTyCAGJmc1tHV

v Predator v Little Hitter

My first fight and I'm pretty worried about Predator catching my scoop and twisting it (and not only that but Ian Lewis is driving it!). Seems like I didn't have to worry too much. Turns out the bolt on the back of Loki that is awkward to get in so I left it out plays quite a big role in making sure both wheels touch the floor... A lot of going round in circles and leaving tyre marks everywhere was pretty much all I achieved. Little Hitter and Predator did a lot of damgage to each other and then Little Hitter decides to take me on and bashes me into the link came out. Caused quite a few dents in the top and managed to get through the 6mm HDPE to make some dents in the hardox arm underneath.

1 point



v 722 v Scruffy 3

Fixed the clearance problem and was ready for the next fight, soon to be drum champion 722 was a big worry. I power up, test the drive and gas up and walk to the roboteer area, give it another test and there's no response. I pull out of the fight to see what's wrong. Turns out that a wire from the other side of the link connector had snapped off. Easy fix but frustrating (or lucky escape from damage I could have sustained from 722 :P ) Used the time after the take the pneumatics apart and reglue all the connections and let it set over night. The next morning the connections were now air tight but was leaking from a different place, reglued that bit but didn't have enough time to let it set.

0 points

v Rabid M8 v No Toy

My safest fight, and the one I had most confidence in winning. After some driving around, Rabid managed to grab me and carry me around. I let him at first cos it looked quite good for the audience but then he opened the pit and I realised how much trouble I was in so started driving to try and free myself and used the flipper for the first time (which returned with the bungee, huzzah!). I then took a drive at No Toy and smacked into the wall and lost power. When I got it back to the bench the battery was disconnected and that's why I lost power. All the connections were cable tied apart from that one... taught me a lesson! Only damage received was from Rabid who had engraved it's signature on the top armour

1 point



v Drumroll 2 v Minimoth

Again versus two very experienced drivers. A bit a of driving around and then Drumroll caught me with the drum and flipped me over. Fortunately I was able to self right (the first time I've needed to in a competition) and was back in the fight. I drove head on into Drumroll and as the flipper hadn't returned fully he caught the lip of the arm and bent the corner up. Drumroll takes a run up at hitting my side, I reverse out the , he slams into the wall and I push him into the open pit with a bit too much enthusiasm and follow him down.

2 points



Total points: 4
Place: 47th...

It took a while to get all the bugs worked out and I didn't get to test or practice before the event which all contributed to my demise. I had more success in the white boards, managed to flip Reaver out of the arena (my first OOTA ), flipping over Endeavour, Spur 2, Glutton, Tiny Hurtz, Night Fury and Richie as well as getting completely stuck on Richie's forks. In the gladiator I lasted about a minute, flippping over DB10 and flipping Galactus onto Conker 3 before getting flipped over by Minimoth. Due to the gas leak and how long it took to start the fight after gassing up meant I didn't have enough left to self right. In the last white board against Beauty 2, Beauty 8 and Thumper went as expected. Flipped out in a matter of seconds.

Despite the disappointing competition placing, I'm very proud of what I achieved in making Loki 2. I used a lathe for the first time to make the standoffs and the wheels, I cut threads for the first time, completely designed it in Sketchup and got all the metal laser cut, learned to weld and welded everything myself, learned how pneumatics worked and designed, in conjunction with Mario, the pneumatic system. Mario was a massive help, I really can't thank him enough.

I've got a few weight loss saving ideas and improvements in mind. Will be aiming for a bigger ram to get more power and make some adjustments to the linkages. If I start now it might be finished by next year!



Thanks once again to everyone. You're all awesome. See you next year!

[ChrisKazoo]

Been working on a new robot so thought I'd post progress. The idea of this robot was to make something simple (no 4 bar mechanisms!), small and use the low pressure pneumatic parts I have left over. Here's a mock up of how it looks so far:




Two wheel drive with drill motors on 5s, 63mm bore 50mm stroke ram on 10 bar. 15mm ally bulkheads, 10 mm ally base, 15mm HDPE sides, 10mm HDPE top armour, TZ85A Escs, 3.2 mm hardox flipper arm, 12 oz tank, 12 oz buffer, 12mm tubing between QEV and ram, single acting, bungee return. I know that the system's not optimized but just want to make something cheap with parts I already have. Upgrades would happen in the future. As always any advice is welcomed/encouraged! Also that t adapter on the QEV will be an elbow, just don't have the right one at the moment.

[Gabe01]

Chris, I can understand you using up the parts you have and I like the design. I'll tell you now you'll build it and test it and think to yourself why didn't I go full pressure? So build it full pressure from the start

[RogueTwoRobots]

Ah, I remember the days when I used plywood like that for an actual robot chassis rather than a test build. Was even a very similar shape. Good old 2004