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Hi all,
It's been a little over 10 years since I last built a featherweight (and that wasn't really up to much, I only went to one event with it), so I thought I'd start a build diary for my new featherweight. It's a scaled up version of my antweight, 'The Mole'. Working name is EnorMole.... But any suggestions for large mole related names are welome. :P This is the original Mole:
I'm planning on keeping it fairly simple and am hoping to get it ready for Newport on July 20/21. The chassis is a mixture of 12mm and 10mm HDPE, with 4 drill motors. I'm currently testing on a 3s lipo, but will be using a 5s for the first event. Speedos are a bit ancient, they're some old 30A electronizes with the external relay mod that I pulled out of the shed, although it's only a matter of time before I get some Botbitz 85As.
Anyway, first step was to get the drills and strip the motors out of them and grub screw down the clutch. For the wheels I've gone for some 1/8 buggy wheels. I fancied something different from the blue wheels or banebots wheels, and also I needed something that looked a bit like the wheels on the antweight version of The Mole. They don't seem particularly rugged or grippy, but they'll do for the meantime. They're attached to the motor shafts via 17mm hexes, which fit onto the motor shaft via a 17mm nut with a 3/8" UNF thread.
Next up was some motor mounts made out of 12mm HDPE. Cutting the rear bracket was easy enough, but the front one was a bit of a pain. I'm pretty low tech when it comes to robot building equipment, but after lots of drilling, sawing and filling they all fit and are ready to be bolted onto the base plate. I'm sure there's probably an easier way to mount drill motors, but this seems like a pretty sturdy solution. The base plate is 40cm x 50cm of 10mm HDPE.
The side panels have been cut from 12mm HDPE, as opposed to the 6mm HDPE I used in the antweight version. Next up was to cut some holes in the base plate for the wheels. They're not the tidiest edges as all I have is a jigsaw. Next up is to screw the motor mounts and side panels onto the base plate, then get the speedos all wired up.
The main aim is to get something up and running for the event at Newport, so it will just be a basic 4wd pusher. But i reckon I'll have 4/5kg to play with, so I was toying with the idea of having interchangeable top panels with different weapons. I'm going for a simple axe first, then the plan is to make an interchangeable spinner module ready for the championships next year. At which point, I'm firmly expecting it to get destroyed, and then I'll start on a proper featherweight. I see this one as more of a learning experience.
Sorry for the lengthy ramble, but I do really enjoy reading other people's build diaries, so fancied doing one of my own. I'll be posting further updates for my feather, and also info on my Antweights and the upcoming Beetleweight build (as soon as the parts arrive). Any advice or comments welcomed!
Cheers,
Rhys
It's been a little over 10 years since I last built a featherweight (and that wasn't really up to much, I only went to one event with it), so I thought I'd start a build diary for my new featherweight. It's a scaled up version of my antweight, 'The Mole'. Working name is EnorMole.... But any suggestions for large mole related names are welome. :P This is the original Mole:
I'm planning on keeping it fairly simple and am hoping to get it ready for Newport on July 20/21. The chassis is a mixture of 12mm and 10mm HDPE, with 4 drill motors. I'm currently testing on a 3s lipo, but will be using a 5s for the first event. Speedos are a bit ancient, they're some old 30A electronizes with the external relay mod that I pulled out of the shed, although it's only a matter of time before I get some Botbitz 85As.
Anyway, first step was to get the drills and strip the motors out of them and grub screw down the clutch. For the wheels I've gone for some 1/8 buggy wheels. I fancied something different from the blue wheels or banebots wheels, and also I needed something that looked a bit like the wheels on the antweight version of The Mole. They don't seem particularly rugged or grippy, but they'll do for the meantime. They're attached to the motor shafts via 17mm hexes, which fit onto the motor shaft via a 17mm nut with a 3/8" UNF thread.
Next up was some motor mounts made out of 12mm HDPE. Cutting the rear bracket was easy enough, but the front one was a bit of a pain. I'm pretty low tech when it comes to robot building equipment, but after lots of drilling, sawing and filling they all fit and are ready to be bolted onto the base plate. I'm sure there's probably an easier way to mount drill motors, but this seems like a pretty sturdy solution. The base plate is 40cm x 50cm of 10mm HDPE.
The side panels have been cut from 12mm HDPE, as opposed to the 6mm HDPE I used in the antweight version. Next up was to cut some holes in the base plate for the wheels. They're not the tidiest edges as all I have is a jigsaw. Next up is to screw the motor mounts and side panels onto the base plate, then get the speedos all wired up.
The main aim is to get something up and running for the event at Newport, so it will just be a basic 4wd pusher. But i reckon I'll have 4/5kg to play with, so I was toying with the idea of having interchangeable top panels with different weapons. I'm going for a simple axe first, then the plan is to make an interchangeable spinner module ready for the championships next year. At which point, I'm firmly expecting it to get destroyed, and then I'll start on a proper featherweight. I see this one as more of a learning experience.
Sorry for the lengthy ramble, but I do really enjoy reading other people's build diaries, so fancied doing one of my own. I'll be posting further updates for my feather, and also info on my Antweights and the upcoming Beetleweight build (as soon as the parts arrive). Any advice or comments welcomed!
Cheers,
Rhys
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