HardWired II

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I might have done with some more weight and grip, my only tactic would have been running away which in theory could have worked, but that's just a bit cheap isn't it?

Either way, I could only have own with that method if Endeavour went out somehow, since I believe they have the same size battery as I do but with less high amp draw motors (drills vs Johnson 51mm/speed 900s)

To be honest with you, I think we'll both have some scary machines next year if upgrades work out, yours will be much scarier like... HardWired II will fight again!

[mrsam]

The axe will be scary but hopefully I can get the drive sorted so I actually have a chance to use it, I'm hoping to have Hatchet running by Barnsley and Hatchet 2 by the end of the year so I have plenty of time before the champs to get rid of any problems.

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Hopefully! I think you just need a little bit more in he way of clearance or just grippier tires. You'll get more grip at the heavy events anyway because they're wooden floors and the screws will get a bit more grip than on metal I'd guess... Not ideal but it's a start!

Looking forward to having that scrap if you're at Barnsley too! HardWired will probably have some small upgrades before then, it's my birthday before so I might have a bit of money with which to upgrade, but we'll see.

I'm hoping to have HardWired III built before the end of the year so I'm well ahead and I've got time to refine and iron out any creases. I hope to get to a full combat event before next years champs with both machines, but I don't know whether that's doable. Just depends on when they get built I suppose.

HardWired II will stay relatively untouched, just refined- the shape will get a bit of a change because the sides are drum-bait as 720s hit proved... Maybe some removable skirts or something. Other than that, just making a move towards more weight, more grip and more control, really. I'd like to have the sheer push of BonX, Satanix and Tiny Toon but in a smaller, tougher shell. Ideally I'd like stupid speeds right at the top end of the sticks but that's a programming thing I'll have to sort. Brushless might mean that I can have wider wheels or two side by side since the motors won't be as big. Tempted to get some of those 750w NTM ones for testing's sake and rehouse those into HardWired III when I get that done. HWII will end up with the beefiest motors I can get in there.

Going to get started on designing HWIII soon, just need to get some decent CAD software and a working computer, and I'm good to go.

[Revsmin]

Put these motors in it!! Just for the sake of uberdrive!!

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Haha, they'd be epic! I'd love to if anyone's got a spare pair they'd like to donate? (Uber optimism there)

I think from the stats the brushless would actually have more power, but it's the delay with startup and turning that might be a pain, though I'm toying with the idea of a bigger reduction, bigger motors and magnets for downforce. I know Dave was using big motors and a huge amount of downforce on 540, and I believe he said that the motors were very hot afterwards, however that was with 6WD, I'd have 2 so there's a bit less in the way of friction when it's turning I'd guess but I don't know for a fact.

[maddox10]

BonX and Satanix use the same basic drive setup, albeit with more voltage.
It seems the soft compound just doesn't have any grip and wears out very fast.

So, the first thing to test, is another tyre.

[Revsmin]

Haha, they'd be epic! I'd love to if anyone's got a spare pair they'd like to donate? (Uber optimism there)

Sure would, I'm saving up for a pair of the 940 variations for Flow at some point.

I know Dave was using big motors and a huge amount of downforce on 540, and I believe he said that the motors were very hot afterwards

Understatement of the century, 540 was always going up in smoke!

[daveimi]

It's not power you're lacking, it's grip. Why don't you stick with the same drivetrain and sort the grip out? Erm...I dunno what I mean...develop the drivetrain rather than bin it and start again...

[mrsam]

What Matt was saying at the champs is that he felt Hardwired didn't have the pushing power of some of the other robots, Gianto and Satanix for instance, this was down to the fact that he had very little grip, the ratio at which his motors were run and probably the power of the motors themselves. For a normal robot that drivetrain would be perfectly adequate but for a robot like Hardwired that uses it's push and ram as a weapon more power is necessary.

[shakesc]

I took some time looking at different mountain bike tyres in Halfords. Quite happy with the one I selected. Grippy and the blocks are fairly tightly packed and can move around a little to adjust to floor surfaces

PS: Cant remember the make

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I'll have a look in Halfords next time I'm there with regards tires, probably going to try and make something from the bike tread I have already, but it's not too different from the stuff I already have that has shredded on the wheels. If worst comes to absolute worst, there's always Banebots - they're expensive but the amount of people that use them has got to speak volumes for their effectiveness. I'm sure I could adapt those into my existing setup!

I won't bin the drivetrain either, I'll still have it but there are potential huge benefits to brushless if I can work it right. They have more power, are smaller and are lighter than the equivalent brushed motors, only downside being that there's the delay and torque curves... I could try and use some sensored motors, but I don't think there's anything like the NTMs with a Trackstar ESC for sensorless technology, and if there is it's beyond my price range. If the brushless drive works nicely too, I'm definitely using it in HardWired III. If not, there's always brushed alternatives. The basic idea of HardWired III will be similar to Rango - rambot with a disc- so high powered drive will be pretty much a must.

In other news, after a bit of a chat with a friend, I'm going to try and prep HardWired I for a championship too, since that's surprisingly still somewhat intact. Would just want a new chassis made (out of those leftover bits of HDPE I have) along with some new batteries/ESCs and we'll be sorted. It's already got it's lifter actuators in there, but I'm tempted to convert it to an LP flipper if I can make a dirt cheap setup using fire extinguishers and servos/valves... Again, I'm going to try and add armour to make it completely OTT as I think is becoming pretty standard for the HardWired machines (the old version of HardWired II ended up with like 60mm HDPE or something crazy) but the only difference is that it'll have 4 wheels... it's actually being adapted for a friend of mine who's getting into combat robotics and wants to go to a few events, so I'm going to try and make it a reliable brick that's pretty easy to drive. It's just a drill box at the very heart of it, really, which is ideal. I'm not going to be doing all of this on my own, but I'll be doing a sizeable chunk of it most likely, inbetween upgrades to HWII and building HWIII. Shouldn't be too difficult though, I already have most of the dimensions ready made, just needs everything cutting out from the existing templates and bolting together, should take a week or two if I can get a good run at it.

So, plenty to do this coming year!

EDIT: I've just realised it's like update central round here at the minute haha, this'll be the last of the proposed updates posts for a while, had no idea I'd done this many of them...

[daveimi]

When it's mentioned that Matt wants more power like Satanix, does Matt not have the same drive train (Speed 900) made by the same person (Mario) on a similar ratio (6:1 ish?) as Satanix? Meaning if he could sort the grip and voltage out he'd be on par with Satanix? Also meaning he wouldn't have to fork out for a brand new drive train? Just seems daft spending money when there is already a drive train there I'd kill for.

[mrsam]

Satanix runs genuine speed 900's on a 6:1 ratio with a 5s lipo i believe? ( Dave?), whereas Hardwired runs Johnson 850 motors ( basically the same as speed 900's but wound differently so they're faster but have less torque) on a 4:1 ratio with a 4s lipo and much smaller wheels. Basically in the current machine Matt can't fit bigger wheels or a lower reduction with the current motors.

[Flag Captured]

HardWired II has Johnson 51mms, 4.5:1, 4s
Satanix has Speed 900s, 6:1 and 5s...


The Johnsons are basically raw Speed 900s, before Graupner adjusts them for the torque side of things if I recall correctly from what Mario said, theyre basically the same but faster with less torque. In theory, I'd guess it works out similar but in practice I can't seem to put the power down. I've got a few tests in mind though first, one of which being weight redistribution... I think that making the wheels bigger and slowing them down should improve my pushability and lead to fewer shredded wheels, but we'll see I guess. I will say that strapping Harry's bar (Massacre) to the top of HardWired did noticably improve grip, was tempted to run it in the gladiator, but it wasn't secure enough for the lid with 720 and Binky in there, would have just pulled my top plate off, and in an arena with Hatchet, Little Hitter and No Toy? That's a lipo puncture waiting to happen!

The Brushless setup is kind of an experiment too, the setup so far is great, but I just feel I can get a bit more out of the chassis with brushless. If worst comes to worst and it doesn't work, I have two motors for spinners so it's not really shelling out money for nothing if you get me? I'll still use everything whether it's for the drive or not, but it's worth a shot! That, and Speed 900 size motors are getting tougher to come across, using the brushless stuff means I'll have plenty of spares at much more affordable prices when the inevitable happens. Case in point, I broke one of my 3 motors at the champs - I don't have a spare now, and I'm not entirely sure where I'll just be able to pick up a new spare at a decent price, if that was an NTM 42-38, I'd just hop on Hobbyking, buy a new one for 20 quid and the job's a goodun!

[mrsam]

Speed 900 sized motors are virtually impossible to get hold of unless you buy the Caldercraft 900's which just don't have the power of a true speed 900. I think brushless drive could be a viable thing for the future, Mr Mangle proved it can be done successfully and for a cheapish, powerful drive system with easily obtainable spares that can fit into tight spaces i don't see a comparison, i'm personally looking forward to seeing what Matt and Mario come up with.