Build Log | Caractacus - Any Tips?

[Maxamuslead]

about the Head styles, they each have benefits. a point delivers the energy to a single point allowing you to make holes in materials but will wear quicker than other styles. a bladed axe (like Terrorhurts) has a smaller point to deliver energy to and will wear better than a point but it will not make holes. A hammerhead will wear the best but will deliver the energy to the larger area. TBH design something that looks cool or fits the theme of the bot (for me a hammerhead)

About Speed controller, a BB80 may be your best bet now as Rory has stopped making the single channel feathertwos, and getting a duel version to run the hammer is a waste.

[willcaddy]

Thank you for the advice xD i think i will have a play tonight

And i was actually thinking of using the dual FeatherTwos for drive and switch out the BotBitz ones and re-purpose them for the axe. What do you think? I shall also look at the one you recommended thanks!

[willcaddy]

About Speed controller, a BB80 may be your best bet now as Rory has stopped making the single channel feathertwos, and getting a duel version to run the hammer is a waste.

Sorry to be a pain! but do you have a link, I am struggling to find the controller you recommended

Thanks again

[willcaddy]

UPDATE: Push bot and same safety questions xD

Hello everyone

Unfortunately due to not being able to get a suitable speed controller in time I have decided to just make a push bot for the Cheltenham Extreme Robots to get a bit of experience and know what to expect for the next one. I do have some ridiculous ideas in mind though for decoration so watch this space xD

Just a few questions about safety. Firstly, I know the robot must have an LED on show when its on but I'm curious to see what some of you guys have done for yours? It's running off a 6s LiPo so regular LEDs would just fry but I saw in a YouTube video that Angus (now part of Makers Muse) used a connector and plugged it onto the Spektrum receiver with a resistor in line. I'm not really sure if this is a good solution or if there is a simpler one out there?

Secondly, Where abouts have you guys put your removable link? I know it needs to be able to be put in and pulled out with the robots top on (giggidy ), but I'm worried about it being pulled out mid battle. Having said that the loop on mine is rather long so is this just as simple as making it shorter? lol Would love your feedback Its going to be a fairly boxy robot because I plan on using the base and top panel again in the final axe robot so i was thinking of maybe putting it in the same place as Crabsolutely Clawful on the back wall of the robot?

Again any suggestions is most welcome and thanks a lot!

Will

[Ocracoke]

Firstly, I know the robot must have an LED on show when its on but I'm curious to see what some of you guys have done for yours?

For my Middleweight, I wire two LEDs in series directly into the main power wiring, each with with a 24v resistor in them so that each only uses 13.2v (from my 8S LiFe setup).

Secondly, Where abouts have you guys put your removable link? I know it needs to be able to be put in and pulled out with the robots top on (giggidy ), but I'm worried about it being pulled out mid battle.

I put mine on the top of my Middleweight, works fine though I have a short loop and some raised side armour to prevent robots directly attacking it. On my featherweight, I put it on the rear, at the top of the robot so whilst you couldn't directly attack it, it would get damaged if flipped on its back.

[Roboteernat]

Yeah, using a standard LED, you can add in a resistor to reduce the current to stop it from destroying itself. Ebay has lots of prewired 24v leds that have the resistor and series wired leds.

I used a strip of Leds and then placed it inside the bot and used some 10mm thick acrylic as a guide pipe to illuminate an exposed section of my frame. Worked well.

[Maxamuslead]

Sorry didn't see your last reply. THIIS https://botbitz.com.au/collections/f...eed-control-v2

Unfortunately they are out of stock so best chances of getting th axe working would be either buy feathertwo single, tz85 or bb80 of someone which will definitely work and run all day everyday. Or using a 30a you ESC which should take it but will not be as happy

[willcaddy]

Yeah, using a standard LED, you can add in a resistor to reduce the current to stop it from destroying itself. Ebay has lots of prewired 24v leds that have the resistor and series wired leds.

I used a strip of Leds and then placed it inside the bot and used some 10mm thick acrylic as a guide pipe to illuminate an exposed section of my frame. Worked well.

Awesome thank you, i didn't know that was a thing

Sorry didn't see your last reply. THIIS https://botbitz.com.au/collections/f...eed-control-v2

Unfortunately they are out of stock so best chances of getting th axe working would be either buy feathertwo single, tz85 or bb80 of someone which will definitely work and run all day everyday. Or using a 30a you ESC which should take it but will not be as happy

No worries! I ordered one of the replacement 80A BotBitz ones but wont be here in time so I'm going to build a ridiculous looking push bot for experience xD

[James Williams]

Hey there Will. Regarding links, what I've done on both my FW's is bury the link connection a couple of inches deep within each & attach a cable tie to the loop on the link so it's much easier to pull out without risking the wire getting damaged.

On Neophyte, I've also made a small HDPE flap held on with tape on one side so it can stick to the armour, but still be opened & closed easily by hand. Blacksmith hit the cap with it's axe during one fight, taking the cap off, but in the process saved the link itself (I wasn't using the cable tie method then).

Regarding specific placement, I'd personally recommend placing it somewhere towards the middle or the back of the bot, making it as difficult as possible for an opponent to reach. I wouldn't worry too much about random knocks taking it out, as long as the connectors have a good grip you should be fine.

[willcaddy]

Hey there Will. Regarding links, what I've done on both my FW's is bury the link connection a couple of inches deep within each & attach a cable tie to the loop on the link so it's much easier to pull out without risking the wire getting damaged.

On Neophyte, I've also made a small HDPE flap held on with tape on one side so it can stick to the armour, but still be opened & closed easily by hand. Blacksmith hit the cap with it's axe during one fight, taking the cap off, but in the process saved the link itself (I wasn't using the cable tie method then).

Regarding specific placement, I'd personally recommend placing it somewhere towards the middle or the back of the bot, making it as difficult as possible for an opponent to reach. I wouldn't worry too much about random knocks taking it out, as long as the connectors have a good grip you should be fine.

Thank you for your advice The cable tie idea is a good one!

[willcaddy]

The pink unicorn was a resounding success!........ish xD

Hello again everyone!

It's been a little while since I've been able to get on but the Cheltenham Extreme Robots show which seemed so far away went extremely well!

Big thanks to my brother, my friends Jon, Nathaniel, Dave Paul, Matt Andy and Joe for getting me through the event!

Here is the build video and part 2 is the actual event in case you want to see
https://youtu.be/eIWPur0QD8I

The main problem from the event was that I had two motors fry themselves and a gearbox is also toast now lol I learnt a hell of a lot about motors and gearboxes and how they fit together etc. So my question would be is there a way of having a more robust drive system then attaching the wheels directly to the gear motors? This worked well but as you can see in the video, wasn't all that strong compared to the other robots there. Would it be better to have a chain driven drive for example? Also I have been looking at the P60 gearboxes for more strength also, any thoughts? Andy mentioned Johnson 600s too?

Thanks a lot everyone as always xD

All the best

Will

[Ocracoke]

So my question would be is there a way of having a more robust drive system then attaching the wheels directly to the gear motors?

You could drill through the shaft where the wheel overlaps and put a bolt and nylon nut on it. I ended up having to do this with another robot at EXR Manchester to keep their wheels on but it works.

This worked well but as you can see in the video, wasn't all that strong compared to the other robots there. Would it be better to have a chain driven drive for example? Also I have been looking at the P60 gearboxes for more strength also, any thoughts? Andy mentioned Johnson 600s too?

For general power, what sort of voltage are you running this at? P60 boxes are generally quite strong (all metal affairs as I recall) but if you were after a simple solution as the box would need to be assembled, Gimson sell a neat geared motor for about £50 which I've used before in The Honey Badgerquite happily (https://gimsonrobotics.co.uk/categor...tary-gearmotor). That comes with a 775 type motor that has plenty of oomph for the FW class.

[willcaddy]

For general power, what sort of voltage are you running this at? P60 boxes are generally quite strong (all metal affairs as I recall) but if you were after a simple solution as the box would need to be assembled, Gimson sell a neat geared motor for about £50 which I've used before in The Honey Badgerquite happily (https://gimsonrobotics.co.uk/categor...tary-gearmotor). That comes with a 775 type motor that has plenty of oomph for the FW class.

Thanks for the reply!

I'm using a 22.2v 6s LiPo with 2 BotBitz 85a Esc's. The motors are Rs-550s motors which I checked can handle 24v but maybe I'm just pushing them too hard? The pin idea is a good one! I'll try that because we did have a wheel come loose. I'm ok with a little complexity with gearboxes but I'm still rather new to all this lol. Would an all metal gearbox be tough enough to mount straight too then? Cus at the minute the wheels are screwed straight onto the original cordless drill gearbox.

Thanks again!

Will

[Ocracoke]

I'm using a 22.2v 6s LiPo with 2 BotBitz 85a Esc's. The motors are Rs-550s motors which I checked can handle 24v but maybe I'm just pushing them too hard?

Nah. If they are rated for 24v, the 22.2v LiPo and the 85A speed controller are more than enough. I've ran 4x of the Gimson motors on my middleweight robot Kaizen and that had enough grunt to work happily for a little while but couldn't take the pounding so often ended up blowing one or two after each event. Your arrangement is OK.

Would an all metal gearbox be tough enough to mount straight too then? Cus at the minute the wheels are screwed straight onto the original cordless drill gearbox.

It may be worth checking your gearbox at the moment to see if any of the stages are plastic. An all metal affair will be more reliable when it comes to a pushing contest or flooring it. However, pinning the wheel to the shaft will be the same regardless of the gear material because the shaft will be made of metal.

[McMullet]

Love your videos Will, and the glitter!

Was the "spike" meant to look that rude?