Help with choosing parts for a first robot, please.

[Max]

I've found HDPE can kinda hold a thread, I tend to just drill the appropriate tapping size hole then wind the bolt in with a cordless drill and it cuts it own thread that will last a fairly long time as long as it is not in full combat.
Also a lot of people just use ordinary wood screws to hold the panels together and as long as they are not remove and put back in too many times they shoudo hood just fine.

[harry hills]

HDPE is too soft to hold a thread. Use the m6 ranglebox. Use a hacksaw. Don't grind aluminum.

[dotDominic]

Ok, so I was looking at these on Ranglebox.com: http://ranglebox.com/mechanical-products/

Just wondering if this is needed to join HDPE together, or can HDPE sheets be bolted directly to each other, without any joining elements? If it is necessary, would it be the M4 or M6 threaded bar I'd need?
And also, how would one go about cutting the bar to size? Is an angle grinder necessary?
I know this was mentioned on this thread by Flag Captured a while ago now - sorry for not asking about it sooner!

I'm a little bit away actually building much at the moment as I'm still having problems with the drill chucks from hell. None of my local shops had torx screwdrivers, but I'm going to a hobby shop in another town tomorrow so hopefully I can get this sorted!

[dotDominic]

Haha, that's ok. 2 flat pieces would be superb, thanks very much!

[RogueTwoRobots]

Yeah, not a problem. Two flat pieces is fine too, just didn't want to offer anything requiring welding or anything more complex, as the precision can sometimes be called into question

[Flag Captured]

Yeah, an HDPE wedge would likely get fairly blunt in just one fight..

Overdrive had a HDPE wedge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOs1x9v4Hwg

The moral of the story is make sure the HDPE doesn't flex into your spinning weapon...

But yeah, steel would be ideal if you can find a piece to fit, I'd definitely recommend that.

[dotDominic]

That would be fantastic, thanks so much! Not sure about the dimensions yet, but I'll try and get something planned out. It would be more like 2 flat pieces if that's ok, as I plan for my robot to have a front and a rear wedge, but if it's not too much trouble and you're just using up scraps that would be really good of you. Thanks!

Can I PM you at a later date about dimensions and payment and things?

[RogueTwoRobots]

If it's just a flat piece of steel you'd be needing, once you get some dimensions give me a shout. Got some scraps of 2mm and 3mm kicking about the shed so may be able to cut you something to size.

[dotDominic]

Ok, thanks. Was a bit worried about this since I have no metal cutting tools/equipment. Might be able to scavenge something usable.

[Rapidrory]

Yeah, an HDPE wedge would likely get fairly blunt in just one fight.. However a simple way to do it may just be to make an HDPE wedge and then bolt a bit of sheet steel to the end of it to give it some strength. Something like 2mm mild steel sheet would probably work fine for non- spinner combat, as the HDPE behind it will stop it bending, and the steel on top will stop it going blunt.

[dotDominic]

Ok, so basically my plan is to build a 4WD rambot with a wedge on the front and the back. I intend to use 10mm HDPE for Chassis/Armour, but I was wondering if HDPE is suitable for a wedge? Would HDPE be too soft to get the wedge close to the ground? As in, would the tip/end of the wedge become too blunt/rounded over to get underneath anything after a short amount of time?

Again, sorry about all these questions! The thread is already 6 pages long and I haven't even started to build the robot yet! (Though the DX6i Transmitter arrived in the post yesterday! Yay! )

[dotDominic]

@ gizz

That's a really great idea! Thanks very much!

[gizz]

Many diy stores sell boxes with different ssized heat shrinks, these are a good investment imo as you will probably build more robots. And robots of different sizes. I myself have used them for fw, antweights and on cables in my car and i syill have plenty to go. I'd also recommend a cheap hot air gun for it

[dotDominic]

Hm, right. I might get XT60s instead then since they are more compact. I'll think about it.

Thanks!

[shakesc]

Those connectors are good and you put the wire through the connector then solder on the terminal, pulling the terminal back into the housing. Therefore you dont need heat shrink for these

The downside of these connectors is that they are quite long and a very tight fit. Therefore they are not a good pick for a removeable link. (the arena isnt well lit where you put your feather into and there isnt masses of time to fiddle about with an awkward connector)