Wooden Robot Class

[Ellis]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

I don't think wood cutting saws have been tested enough to be considered safe. As far as I'm aware the risk of shattering teeth off against metal side walls has yet to be assessed.

Oooh, fancy, 500 posts. Nothing next to my nearly 7,000 on another forum but still.

[PJ-27]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

We went through the possibilities of 'reduced' spinning weapons in non-full combat arenas a while back and the conclusion was no.
In fact the conclusion was no wooden robot events at all in their arenas, no time for it in the schedule etc.....

Robochallenge on the other hand can take spinning weapons, and did embrace the idea at their Yeovile event, unfortunately I couldn't make it, and I don't think anyone else had a robot ready.

As for the danger of manufactured blades they are banned, but I was asked to go ahead and make BitzaWood so RoboChallenge could see how they performed on a bot. Again I think this was intended for the Yeovil event, but alas......

[Eventorizon]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

So off the shelf discs are banned? That seems a little odd (though sensible too) It has to be one of the few occasions where we roboteers would be using something for its intended purpose! I have just bought 2 blades to go on our wooden machine...
Its not a massive issue as we can simply take the blades off at the RR events and the like and run the machines as rambots but surely Robochallenge would be ok with running off the shelf discs. Do we know the exact reasons?

[PJ-27]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

This is all in the topic somewehere.

The short of it is manufactured discs pose all sorts of issues. Although the RC arena can contain anything, it's an arming up and personal safety issue.

Hopefully at some point we'll get a chance to run BitzaWood and then RC can ok or poo-poo manufactured discs in their arenas.

[Eventorizon]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

This is the improved version of the one I posted earlier...
[attachment=0:1y139f0w]Internal Reveal Saw 01 Back Mod B.jpeg[/attachment:1y139f0w]
Invertible as Ellis suggested with twin 136mm circular saw blades at the front driven by a Speed 900 at about 4000 rpm.

CAD weight is 12kg. This should be very accurate as I weighed the sheet of MDF I got and calculated its tensity 0.607g/cm^3 and I can weigh all the other parts with digital scaled. Nice and precise.

Though if these saws turn out to be illegal I will have to think of something else or have some others cut specially.

Additional: It probably is in another thread, almost everything is even 'kitchen skink'

[archie2000]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

this week at school i have 20hrs of woodwork continuous
and I'm making a birdhouse

[Eventorizon]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

You could build 4 in that time I am sure, then sell the other 3

[Eventorizon]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

What about just cutting our own blades like we do already? This is based on a Makita wood rip saw. Cut it from some Ti and chamfer the edges alternately... hey presto your own single piece wood cutting blade!
[attachment=0wcy8cy7]Custom 16T 130mm Rip Saw Blade 01.jpg[/attachmentwcy8cy7]

[PJ-27]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

Thanks for posting the density of MDF, lots of people will find that useful.

I don't think making your own Titamium spinning weapons in this class is really in the spirit of things, but I do see how you're mimicking wood working tools to fall withing the rules which is a neat solution.

[Eventorizon]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

I know the Ti is over kill but its what we have (oddly that, we never normally have anything!)

Copying the standard wood blades seemed the simplest option cos thats what its designed for only we would not have to worry about any small teeth flying off as we would with the commercial blades.

How about 2 or 3mm Aluminium rather than the Ti, would people prefer that? Though the alu would be much more likely to fail in battle in comparison to the Ti which could mean dangerous shrapnel...

[Anttazz]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

Why Ti or Alu? Why not wood?

BOW has been using it for years and if it gets busted then you replace it with another 20p piece of wood rather than £££ for a chunk of Ti. Could use a small electronics box to house all the expensive bits and just have an agreement with other competitors that they don't destroy that bit if it gets torn out. I think the point in the class was that its cheap to repair and easy to destroy, therefore more interesting to watch.

[Max]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

He is suggesting aluminium or titanium for his blade. Personally although I like the idea of wooden tools as weapons I don't think it should be mandatory, you don't want to over limit people and there aren't that many wood working tools that can be turned into weapons apart from blades, you could use a chisel as an axe but that won't. Be effective and won't be using the tool the same way.

[Anttazz]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

Oops, sorry I got mixed up with what was being said on the last page of this thread about ti mounts and ali wedges and steel frames.

I must be tired

[Eventorizon]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

How about everyone list all the wood working tools/techniques they can think of, regardless of how practical they might be as weapons, and then we can look at the ones that will give us the greatest visual spectacle (i.e. bits flying off...) and see how safe/unsafe they are...

Drill & Drill Bit
Jigsaw & Blades
Circular Saw & Blades
Chainsaw
Miller & Cutting Heads
Band saw
Hammer & Chisel
Sander (All types)
Steam Bending
Router (Miller Variant?)

Another possibility... we put a weight limit on the amount of metal allowed. Say 5% of the robot max, 680g. You still say no metal armour but then people can use that weight to fit metal bearings, shafts, a pulley and a disk. By the time you have got the mountings done you might only have 400g for the disc itself. If you ban titanium and case hardening of materials (before or after purchase; so Hardox is out) then you can limit the amount people can/want to spend as well.

[archie2000]

Re: Wooden Robot Class

i like the band saw and steam bending.
bitza wood would be bitza dust