Boring Brick

[daveimi]

My 2x12 has taken a battering and has been fine, I will mention that it's shock mounted. Current wise it has an overload cut out so if life gets a bit much it will current limit and so on. There is a red LED on it that flickers if this happens, but I only run the most basic of robots on 14.4V argos drill motors that only pull about 7Amps a side so have never had a problem. If you were moving up to beefy drive trains you'd need a 2x25 or an XL and so on. If you're only running cheap drills you'll be fine with a 2x12, but if you intend to progress to Torpedo 800's, Banebot's 775's and so on in the near future spend your cash on something heavy duty to start with. I can only afford to build basic drill powered stuff at the minute so my 2x12 suits me down to the ground for the time being.

[harry hills]

Grab Emachineshop Basic CAD program that can export as a DXF, totally free and simple as anything.

[mrsam]

Also what would people recommend for a reliable brushed drum/beater set up, something that could later be upgraded to brushless, i'm not looking to make anything too spectacular just yet just something to make the robot that little bit more exciting and aggressive, i have a lack of any cad software/knowledge but would like to get something waterjet cut or milled, does anybody have any ideas on how i could go about getting something designed and of the potential cost? any help would be greatly appreciated

[mrsam]

If the xl is good enough for the uk champ im sure it's good enough for my robot then

[mrsam]

The built in mixing of the xl and the sabertooth is what's drawing me to them, how does the 2x12 cope with use in a featherweight? i'll only be using 18v gimsons or overvolted argos drills so nothing too current hungry i wouldn't have thought

[Team Invade]

We've used a Scorpion XL in Explosion for coming up to six years now and it broke for the first and only time this year (which is especially good considering how heavily used Explosion is)! Even then the customer service was excellent and they gave us all the information we needed to fix it and we got it going again for Portsmouth 2 weeks later. We also used a Sidewinder in Invasion for years (excessive for most feathers but made by the same company) and never had any issues. We've got a new XXL to put into Combustion so we're sticking with them simply due to how good they've been from experience.

Just for another perspective and to put a good word in for the Robot Power speed controllers

[daveimi]

The cool thing with a Sabertooth or other "dual" speed controllers, is that they mix fwd/bck/lft/rgt a lot more reliably than having a single controller per motor and then using a separate mixer. They tend to be a bit dearer, but you will end up with an extremely simple setup i.e. receiver, speedo and battery. Job done.

The Sabertooth's aren't as posh as the XXL's and Vantecs, but then they're half the money. I've been using a Sabertooth 2x12 for ages and even in a recent event and it hasn't given me any jip. I love anything simple and easy to use so Sabertooth suits me. As mentioned above, some folks hate them, some folks will tell you that Botbitz's are the mutts nutts. It's just whichever you like the look of. Most items in a robot take a beating and will need replacing as time goes on so I will usually just buy whatevers cheap lol. But yeah, to sum up the ramblings I recommend the dual controllers for the simplicity factor.

[Eventorizon]

Varies on a person's experience. Some slate the Sabtertooth ESC's others love them, depends how you treat them. Scorpion's tend to be good all round, though they occasionally have strange happenings when it comes to interpreting signals.

Many people will say though to go for a pair of TZ85A from Botbitz. Treat them right and they should last years of heavy use.

Thats me, but wait and see what others say.

[mrsam]

I've been looking around at speed controllers and i'm considering trying either a sabertooth 2x25 or a scorpion xl instead, is there any reason not to use them?

[mrsam]

Yeah that might be an idea, any suggestions on what I could use to absorb some of the shock? Maybe some thin hdpe under the polycarb?

[Ellis]

Well, the arena walls are 10mm polycarb, put it that way! The reason they contain the robots, though, is because they're big and flexible, and loosely mounted into the frame. Without some shock absorption, polycarb cracks/shatters, so some form of bounce in the plate if you use it wouldn't be a bad idea.

[mrsam]

Good to know, I was slightly worried robots like little hitter or your new axe would go straight through

[RogueTwoRobots]

As a lid, 12mm will be more than enough. I use 6mm on the top of Drumroll, it does a fine job of keeping the axes out and the only thing to get through it was a powerful hydraulic crusher.

[maddox10]

Polycarbonate is a tad heavier than HDPE and a lot more brittle.

[mrsam]

How does polycarbonate usually stand up in the arena? I have a sheet of 12mm that I'm thinking could be the lid, any thoughts?