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Hey everyone! It's been a long time since I've been here haha!
For those who may not remember me (if at all lol) my name is Matt Hunt, and a number of years ago I was one half of father-son team, Team Hunt.
We dropped off the robot combat train for a while due to life getting in the way (Since the last event we competed in, I've finished school & college, graduated University and I'm currently working an amazing job in my chosen industry). But now that things have 'calmed down' for us, we're starting to look into getting back into it all. I also have an amazing group of friends who enjoy this sport meaning extra hands to help where needs be!
So, on to what I've been building!
ANTWEIGHT: AntAcid
My first thing to start building upon my plan to return to robot combat was an Antweight. The basic idea at the moment is a two wheeled pusher with a wedge, but incorporating two 'horns' at the top to allow us to control our opponents better.
This was started by making a foamboard mock up of the robot.
IMG_2297.jpgIMG_2299.jpgIMG_2303.jpg
I was happy with the shaping and sizing, if it did need to be reduced a tad to ensure it fit in the four inch cube.
My thinking was to make it a very 'module' robot, meaning if something got damanged, like one of the armour panels then they could be easily replaced.
Next was to start actually building the body. I used 5mm acrylic in our (new) signature Neon Green.
IMG_2345.jpgIMG_2348.jpgIMG_2359.jpg
As much as I loved this and how cool I thought it looked, I did run into an issue.
It was well overweight.
This is as far as I currently have gotten with this build. My next step is to come up with a CAD for a new body and ask my boyfriend to 3D Print it for me (Did I fall in love with him for his 3d Printer??? ….Maybe. A little. It helped lol).
BEETLEWEIGHT: Unicorn: Alpha Fury
Along side the construction of the antweight, I also started dabbling with a beetleweight. I was excited to hear how much more common place this weight category had become since we last competed, especially with competitions like Bugglebots taking the spotlight.
My idea for the beetleweight was a good ol' reliable four wheel drive rambot, incorporating a front hinged wedge and adjustable horn to either lift, joust or grab the opponent(s).
And as I'm sure you can tell from my username, I'm proud to be one of the few LGBT robot builders out there, so naturally I wanted to make a robot based around a Unicorn lol. (But not so much sparkly, more like a Japan Anime Mecha Unicorn).
Just like with the AW, I started by coming up with a foamboard mock up to work out the sizing of my final armour pieces.
IMG_2447.jpgIMG_2480.jpg
My thinking behind using foam board to mock up these bots is taken from my training/education within Fashion Design. When creating a garment, you would make it out of a cheaper, easier to work with material to make sure you are happy with it before working on the final piece. You can also use those pieces as a master pattern to transfer to your final materials, which is the same as what I am doing here.
IMG_2483.jpgIMG_2484.jpgIMG_2481.jpg
Here is the final mock up, with an example of how I want the horn to work. I decided to change the wheels to something lower to give her a smaller ground clearance.
Next, I transferred these pieces to metal to create the base rolling chassis.
IMG_3157.jpgIMG_3159.jpgIMG_3189.jpg
The main frame is made from Aluminium (we still have a number of sheets knocking about from our old building days, so why not?) and the top and bottom panels are made from HDPE.
I was happy with how the robot was running, however the new wheels I got where not doing it for me. They felt too slidey and after a couple of test runs, the rubber treads where beginning to flake.
I ordered some new wheels and proceeded with construction
IMG_3932.jpgIMG_3936.jpg
The new wheels have a aluminium hub meaning they're much tougher for going against spinners. The wheel guards are also made from aluminium.
At this stage I have also begun planning out where and how to attach the weapon servo.
And that's as far as I have gotten with this one!
Building will be very intermittent due to myself now living an adult life (I don't like it and I'm still waiting for my refund). But hopefully you'll see us competing back at an event soon!
-Matt
For those who may not remember me (if at all lol) my name is Matt Hunt, and a number of years ago I was one half of father-son team, Team Hunt.
We dropped off the robot combat train for a while due to life getting in the way (Since the last event we competed in, I've finished school & college, graduated University and I'm currently working an amazing job in my chosen industry). But now that things have 'calmed down' for us, we're starting to look into getting back into it all. I also have an amazing group of friends who enjoy this sport meaning extra hands to help where needs be!
So, on to what I've been building!
ANTWEIGHT: AntAcid
My first thing to start building upon my plan to return to robot combat was an Antweight. The basic idea at the moment is a two wheeled pusher with a wedge, but incorporating two 'horns' at the top to allow us to control our opponents better.
This was started by making a foamboard mock up of the robot.
IMG_2297.jpgIMG_2299.jpgIMG_2303.jpg
I was happy with the shaping and sizing, if it did need to be reduced a tad to ensure it fit in the four inch cube.
My thinking was to make it a very 'module' robot, meaning if something got damanged, like one of the armour panels then they could be easily replaced.
Next was to start actually building the body. I used 5mm acrylic in our (new) signature Neon Green.
IMG_2345.jpgIMG_2348.jpgIMG_2359.jpg
As much as I loved this and how cool I thought it looked, I did run into an issue.
It was well overweight.
This is as far as I currently have gotten with this build. My next step is to come up with a CAD for a new body and ask my boyfriend to 3D Print it for me (Did I fall in love with him for his 3d Printer??? ….Maybe. A little. It helped lol).
BEETLEWEIGHT: Unicorn: Alpha Fury
Along side the construction of the antweight, I also started dabbling with a beetleweight. I was excited to hear how much more common place this weight category had become since we last competed, especially with competitions like Bugglebots taking the spotlight.
My idea for the beetleweight was a good ol' reliable four wheel drive rambot, incorporating a front hinged wedge and adjustable horn to either lift, joust or grab the opponent(s).
And as I'm sure you can tell from my username, I'm proud to be one of the few LGBT robot builders out there, so naturally I wanted to make a robot based around a Unicorn lol. (But not so much sparkly, more like a Japan Anime Mecha Unicorn).
Just like with the AW, I started by coming up with a foamboard mock up to work out the sizing of my final armour pieces.
IMG_2447.jpgIMG_2480.jpg
My thinking behind using foam board to mock up these bots is taken from my training/education within Fashion Design. When creating a garment, you would make it out of a cheaper, easier to work with material to make sure you are happy with it before working on the final piece. You can also use those pieces as a master pattern to transfer to your final materials, which is the same as what I am doing here.
IMG_2483.jpgIMG_2484.jpgIMG_2481.jpg
Here is the final mock up, with an example of how I want the horn to work. I decided to change the wheels to something lower to give her a smaller ground clearance.
Next, I transferred these pieces to metal to create the base rolling chassis.
IMG_3157.jpgIMG_3159.jpgIMG_3189.jpg
The main frame is made from Aluminium (we still have a number of sheets knocking about from our old building days, so why not?) and the top and bottom panels are made from HDPE.
I was happy with how the robot was running, however the new wheels I got where not doing it for me. They felt too slidey and after a couple of test runs, the rubber treads where beginning to flake.
I ordered some new wheels and proceeded with construction
IMG_3932.jpgIMG_3936.jpg
The new wheels have a aluminium hub meaning they're much tougher for going against spinners. The wheel guards are also made from aluminium.
At this stage I have also begun planning out where and how to attach the weapon servo.
And that's as far as I have gotten with this one!
Building will be very intermittent due to myself now living an adult life (I don't like it and I'm still waiting for my refund). But hopefully you'll see us competing back at an event soon!
-Matt
If you ever make a featherweight Stevenage Robots Live is a good one to attend.
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