Rules on use of Axe

[cidade]

Hi there,

Iam quite a newby on this subject, so I would like to use your knowledge of robots and their weapons.

I thought of creating an huge axe on my bot, driven by a torsion spring. What do the rules say? I mean, how long can the axe be and are there any limitations to its sharpeness? What is the maximum of power such an axe may produce?

Thanks in advance!

[razerdave]

Rules on use of Axe

There is no limit on anything for an axe except pneumatic operating pressure (1000PSI). If you can make it operate powerfully on a spring, make it sharp enough to split a hair, and as long as a limo, you go right ahead

Im a big fan of axes and Id love to see a new one

[teamhunt]

Rules on use of Axe

Hunter D1 was originally boing to be an axe, but the motor was so powerfull the gear had all of its teeth cleaned off!
I need help as well! :sad:

[leorcc]

Rules on use of Axe

Are you Dutch or Belgian Paul?

[woody]

Rules on use of Axe

Overberg, Utrecht?
If so Dutch.

[Mouldy]

Rules on use of Axe

there is the size limit applyed to all robots of 1.2 metres in any direction.

Sharpness - i wouldnt make it to sharp, it will go blunt very quickly.

[cidade]

Rules on use of Axe

Wow, thanks for all your thoughts. I think it is possible to store a lot of energy into a torsened spring. Especially with a combustion engine with enough cc to use the maximum litres of gasoline (.5 litres I thought). Being a math student I tried finding the maximum amount of energy that could be stored into a spring mechanism. Any physicans around here to answer this question?

And by the way, I do live in Holland.

[woody]

Rules on use of Axe

http://www.engineersedge.com/spring_torsion_calc.htmhttp://www.engineersedge.com/spring_torsion_calc.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_(device)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_(device)

http://www.docfizzix.com/pdf-files/activity.pdfhttp://www.docfizzix.com/pdf-files/activity.pdf

I hope that one or all of the links will help.

(Message edited by woody on November 27, 200

[pressure]

Rules on use of Axe

A very sharp, powerful axe will make you very unpopular! At the live events its about scoring points to win not destroying your fellow roboteers machines.
Terrorhurtz is a goog example, very powerful but it has a blunt, aluminium axe head and is used with a degree of compassion. (unless you start to beat it!)

[leorcc]

Rules on use of Axe

Hey Paul, you might want to check out http://www.dutchrobotgames.nlwww.dutchrobotgames.nl as well.

[typhoon_driver]

Rules on use of Axe

Paul the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to stay away from IC engines unless you have ALOT of experience with them and even think long and hard about using them.

To compress a spring you are going to want a lot of torque. At low revs an IC engine just does not have a huge amount of torque. It gets this around the 2/3 rpm range which means you need a clutch. You will also need to be able to start it from inside the arena without touching it incase the engine stalls in battle (and believe me it will do). This means an electric starter which is adding more complexity to the design.

Electric motor, far few working parts to go wrong, it has all its torque at lows revs (where you want it) and they are generally cheaper and easier to maintain.

The biggest headache I had when on robot wars was the petrol engine we used in typhoon 2 to spin the disc. Dont me get wrong, there are nice advantages such as being able to have a seperate energy source for the weapon and your fuel not counting in the weight limit but then you also have to consider if the events you will enter will be able to run an IC engine. A lot of indoor events cant.

Ok I have waffled a bit but hopefully you can pick out some nuggets from all the waffle.

[cidade]

Rules on use of Axe

Thanks for all your comments, especially Gary. I watched some stuff on youtube of the competitions and was thinking, that could be more spectacular with flying pieces of robots all over around. At the opposite, even if it is possible to construct a destructive robot I had in mind, a lot of effort of your fellow competitors is undone in three minutes. Can I expect a certain level of respect for the bots, like not totally destroy your enemy robot?

For the IC engine, I can imagine it will be though, but many hurdles have been overcome right? As long as the engine - with sufficient cushioning - can bear the blows and it keeps running turned upside down, how many more problems can you expect?
Besides to start with, isnt it relatively easy to implement a cross bike engine with clutches? After all, all is set and done.

The electric engine is much easier indeed, but with increasing power, the costs will rise proportional (maybe even exponential).

[mjm]

Rules on use of Axe

Dont worry Paul. Build it. A bit of damage is no problem. And in modern day events, no robots are trashed. You can expect a high level of respect for robots and Roboteers.

[maddox]

Rules on use of Axe

Paul , I had a 250CC adapted crossbike engine around in 2002. Its 12 kg, with the gearbox milled off. Without starter motor.And that was watercooled. An aircooled model (obsolete now) is even heavier. Youll need a Tillotson or Walbro diafragma carb to work in any position- normal floater carbs are very fickle about that-

But I ask only 1 question. How are you going to lock the axe against the power of the spring?

[typhoon_driver]

Rules on use of Axe

Paul if you wish to go for an IC engine then I wish you all best but I would still advise against

Dont worry about people destroying your machine. I have a rule when it comes to fighting in the arena, if my opponent is still moving then he is still fair game, if he has stopped then I stop. Most roboteers follow a similar unwritten rule.