Team Kaizen - The Honey Badger

[Ocracoke]

The motor has arrived but I don't think I'll have an axe attachment for this, it doesn't spin fast enough (something in the order of 62rpm at 12v). Tried to get started on the soldering of the wires to the motor but then my trusty soldering iron died. Maplin here I come.

Also ordered some 3S1P LiFePO4 batteries for the Badger. Not totally decided if I want them fitted to the weapon or the drive yet.

[Ocracoke]

Got a new soldering iron so the fun can continue. Wired the motor to a spare TZ85A I have and hooked it up to one of The Honey Badger 1.0 batteries I have laying around to see how well it works. Definitely feels like it has plenty of torque to self right The Honey Badger 2.2. Of course, it may be better when the lithium batteries arrive.

The speed controller needs reprogramming as it doesn't appear to be reading the neutral point correctly and a LED needs to be soldered in for the weapon wiring loom but the wiring is ready to go into the robot. I also worked out how to mount the motor in the robot using a spare piece of HDPE I have, originally starting off life as the base plate for the prototype version of Shu! I also need to find M4 and M5 bolts. I've got most of them but a few are eluding me at the moment. The lifting arm has been cut and ready to go onto the hub for the motor.

Work has also been done to rework the "anti-capsize" bars that was torn off in Maidstone 2017. New, wider plates have been added to the side panels (above the drive wheels as I am still convinced that the robot isn't getting good traction on the floor) and bolt holes drilled. I'll see if the flange bolts I have have enough grip with a washer and nut to hold them in place.

All being well, The Honey Badger 2.2 should be ready by the end of January.

[Ocracoke]

So with Osu and Shu! taking longer than expected, this one has been on the backburner but now with them out of the way, the Badger can finally continue to be rebuilt.

I've drilled the holes for the anti-capsize plates (much more than bars now) and attached them to the side panels. They still need nuts but they are in place and look... fairly gaudy without any paint :P They weigh a fair bit and are quite stiff so hopefully will not be ripped off again.

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I had a question about my wheels recently and how they are fitted. They are literally drilled through the flat side of the wheel and mated to the flat face of the hub as below:

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And here is the independent motor mounts for the Badger. The motors are set to the lowest rung on the Heavy Duty L bracket and they just about sit on the bottom part of the L bar.

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The next thing to do mount the lifting arm motor on the new front lid that came last week and then see how well it does at the old self righting business.

[Ocracoke]

Managed to get the new front lid fitted and now just waiting for the weather to clear up a touch so I can cut out the slot for the arm with a jigsaw. I've test ran The Honey Badger to make sure I wasn't being dim with any wiring issues - turns out the vibrations from the car had knocked a motor lead off but nothing substantial.

In the meantime, after purchasing some parts from HobbyKing for Kaizen... this came in the box:

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I mean... it is as if they are calling me on this one! Expect a update on that tomorrow.

[Ocracoke]

Well the arm is slowly coming together. Got the motor mounts ready and a arm set to go on it so the next thing to do is secure the motor mounts to the lid and then cut out a slot for the arm. I'll likely use a threaded bar across the bottom of the mount so it is braced rather than the lid take the strain.

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[daveimi]

Is it ok to ask what motor/gearbox combo that is above, and where you got it?

[Ocracoke]

Course It is a Gimson 98:1 motor (https://gimsonrobotics.co.uk/categor...h-98-1-gearbox). I could have gotten the 152:1 variant but since this arm is primarily for self righting above anything else, this will suffice.

[daveimi]

Cheers!

[Ocracoke]

Found a bit of time to get the lifting arm working today. Putting the wiring together took a bit of time but most of it was already there from a previous experiment so it was merely a case of plumbing in a removable link. I know it needs a LED definitely, I'll recycle one from the drive system into the weapon.

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And here is a oh-so-grainy video of it... "working". I think the speed controller needs looking at again.

UPDATE: I've reflashed the speed controller and it now works but only on the first 4 channels of the controller - the 5 or 6th channel (the aux channels) it doesn't respond to. That isn't an issue in of itself but... meeeehhhh, I really wanted it on channel 5. Will continue working on it. Least it is zeroing in the right place now.

[Ocracoke]

Squee!!!!!!

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I've not had the arm moving in the bodywork yet but for a slot that was cut with a Dremel and a set square, it is much more straight and neat than I first feared. Next thing to do is secure the motor and brackets to the body properly and then see the range of moment on the arm. Just rotating it by hand suggests it might be enough for self righting.

Dremel is burning hot now.

[mrsam]

Looking great man!

Very much looking forward to fighting it at Manchester if you’re in.

[Ocracoke]

Rest assured, The Honey Badger 2.2 and I will be there (potentially with another FW if I can find the time to get some electronics in it).

[Retroman]

Looks Good, and it looks plenty neat in the pictures, I'll look out for you at Manchester, might have to snap a few pics too.

[Ocracoke]

Well, no idea how this has happened (probably a spark) but plugged the link in after securing the motor to the plate for a test and poof, magic smoke, batteries heating up and general panic. When I turn the speed controller on now, it makes a clicking noise and nothing else happens. In short, the speed controller went bang.

Given the TZ85As lack of availability at the moment, I think I'll try out one of the single channel FeatherTwos from Rory when pay day rolls about. Gutted I can't test it at the moment.

[Ocracoke]

Having has a root around, I found the test Beetleweight robot made out of a shortbread tin that I had completely forgotten about. 5 minutes with a screwdriver later and now the arm works, albeit at half power but I'll take what I can get for the moment.

I noticed that the arm is sitting a bit squiffy in the slot, looks as if the arm isn't quite seated on the hub correctly so I'll rework that to make it flush and then add a pair of ramming spikes to the end of the arm to make it longer and a bit more useful at the moment.