Boring Brick

[mrsam]

Will do, although it will probably have to be some horrible paint design if that's okay? my computer is so crap right now i can't run anything

[razerdave]

That's fine, would need some dimensions of course.

[mrsam]

Hatchet definitely has a tough draw for it's first championships, a nasty spinner in every fight. Here's a quick run down

Mr Mangle- Loki -Hatchet. Going to be an interesting fight this one as i've not really seen much of either of these bots, Mr Mangle looks vicious and i doubt the axe will be of much use against it, but if i can avoid the beater and get underneath the sides i could maybe get it in the pit. Loki i feel more confident about as it's armoured in 3mm aluminium which Hatchets axe can buckle quite easily.

Binky - Hatchet - 44 Toon. Another interesting fight, i'm obviously worried about Binky but i feel Hatchet can outmanoeuvre it and maybe get underneath the sides, 44 Toon just keeps going but i'll just keep going at it with the axe and hope something gives.

Drumroll 2 -Bonx - Hatchet. Drumroll is my main worry here, it's a lot faster and way more manoeuvrable than Hatchet and the axe will probably be of no use but maybe i could get underneath and push him around, Bonx again is faster and more controllable and again the axe will be of no use, but this should be a good fight.

Binky - Loki - Hatchet. Binky and Loki AGAIN?!, much the same tactics as before here avoid the disc and try to get under the sides then try to bash the top of Loki as much as possible to try and break something.

I'm really looking forward to the champs now it should be a great event, Dave Weston is dropping me off a scoop today and some other little bits and then Hatchet just needs a strip down to make sure everything's secure and tight, a quick test and then it's ready. See you all there!

[mrsam]

After doing a bit of research and seeing Mr Mangles beater properly it seems like it would be able to grab hold of Hatchet's HDPE armour quite easily and throw it out, so Hatchet is getting some reinforcement. 3mm Aluminium angle bracing the front and side corners and the steel scoop bracing the front, then some 11mm polycarb over the HDPE wheel guards and the back panel, that gives Hatchet almost 30mm thick armour around the sides and back. Let's see the spinners have a go at that

[Flag Captured]

Haha, Binky's not letting you off easy! Looks like a good draw though, should make for some interesting fights!
30mm polycarb should be well enough too, I'd just make sure you can self-right quickly and keep away from the sides! With that much armour, you'll probably still be susceptible to damage from the spinners by way of the HDPE getting chewed up, but they'll really only be able to chuck you out the arena. That's my main worry with HardWired. Axes though... They're a different story - hatchet particularly looks vicious!

[mrsam]

I'm sure Binky will get me at least once, the Hdpe won't be exposed as the 11mm polycarbonate is going over the top, so the armour is 15mm hdpe with 3mm ali corners and the polycarbonate on top of that. The axe is okay, not the best but it's only on a 3.5:1 reduction but even at that it seems to give a fair whack and it self rights very easily from any orientation although if I go too fast on the stick whilst it's upside down the chain can come off so it's a fine art.

[ChrisKazoo]

It's on odd feeling reading how someone intends to destroy your creation I imagine you will make a mess of the nice paint job I have in mind!

[mrsam]

Aha sorry Chris, I honestly would never destroy anybody machine, I'll give it some whacks given the chance but I'd never completely trash it

[mrsam]

Hatchet is basically all done now, there's just one small thing i overlooked and now have absolutely no idea how i'm going to get it done in time. Dave Weston was round the other day and reminded me about tethers and explained how to attach them but since then i've been busy and haven't had a chance, the problems atm are that 1) i have no steel rope/wire with which to make said tether and 2) my axe head is 6mm hardox 400 and i only have a hand drill. Does anybody have any tips? i'm pretty limited on drill bits as well as they're either blunt or broken, the only half decent one i have is a 5mm cobalt bit.

[harry hills]

Well if you could get hold of some rope or something you could make like a noose which fits over the axe head or something. Then you don't have to drill hardox.

[mrsam]

Hadn't thought of that, i take it that would be allowed and i wouldn't be breaking any rules?

[mrsam]

It's a strange feeling when you find yourself pricing up parts for a complete rebuild of your robot before you've even used t but that seems to be what i'm doing. I've come to the conclusion that i'm not very happy with how Hatchet has turned out, the chassis is all warped, it's very rough and bodged, the weapon works 'okay' but i feel it could be much better. So in light of this i already have a complete parts list and design for next years Hatchet.

Let me know what you think..

20mm Hdpe or Nylon Chassis depending on how well the 15mm Hdpe stands up this year, if it does horribly then Nylon it is.
2 18v Gimson drive motors with the same custom wheels i'm currently using
TZ85 speed controllers for the drive, depending on cost it may well be the 30 amp Botbitz but even they must be a HUGE step up from electronize
6s Lipo battery, found a 3300mah 25 - 50c Turnigy nano tech that looks quite nice
Same 30 amp Electronize driving the axe unless it proves unsuitable.
Same axe but a bigger reduction going from 3.5:1 to 6:1 for much improved acceleration
I like how the new scoop looks on the machine so if it turns out to be a keeper i'll get one made from Hardox.

[overkill]

I would look at UMHW or HDPE over nylon - they have better impact resistance and are usually better priced as well. Do you know why the frame warped? Perhaps we can work out how to avoid that next time.

[mrsam]

Initially it warped as a result of being left near a radiator ( my mistake, got distracted), i did manage to use the heat gun to get it straightish again but it left a slight warp which now seems permanent. So it was entirely human error that warped the chassis, i've got nothing against HDPE as a material but i definitely want to look into an alternative that's a bit more sturdy.

[overkill]

That's interesting - I have tried to heat bend UMHW and while it is supposed to soften at a low temperature, I could never get it to permanently bend much. HDPE is closely related to UMHW so I don't know how you accidentally succeeded where I tried & failed . Nylon is also a thermoplastic, so it can potentially heat warp too. There is a special high temperature UMHW called Tivar HOT (its a brand name) that has all the useful polyethelene traits and is very heat resistant.