motors

[muchalucha]

Re: motors

one pre hacked servo motor is like 30 quid though , and a ddrill motor is ten , so its cheaper to build a FW

[Ellis]

Re: motors

That's a very twisted way of looking at it though, Tom. Although I guess there isn't too much of a difference in price, but it's an unfair quote, because you could spend thousands of pounds on a single piece style armour, use top-end motors and a super expensive radio system for an AW, when you can use drills, second hand ESC's and wood for a FW.

Money wise, they would probably end up costing around the same. I recommend (I have not yet built a robot) you op for the FW option

It's cooler, too

[typhoon_driver]

Re: motors

go for the featherweight........my latest one is only costing nearly 2K :P

But seriously, drill motors are the way to go if you are starting out.

[RogueTwoRobots]

Re: motors

Just thinking about it, feathers can be done for pretty cheap these days :shock:

Two drill motors: ~£20
Two 'blue' wheels: ~£15
2.4GHz RC gear: £40
Potentially Tom W's low-cost speedo: £30
Batteries from drills: no extra cost
HDPE (as an example) for chassis/armour: £25 (guesstimate)

So that's ~£100 for the major parts. Add a bit of extra cost for fixings or wire and that's really not that expensive. And then you've got something that you can throw into a whiteboard and have some fun with. Has it ever actually been that cheap to build a FW using entirely new parts?

As for the FWs vs AWs debate, its all down to personal preference. The best way to decide, if possible, is to go to a FW event and an AW event (or one event if both classes are running) and see which one you get more excitement from watching, then opt to build for that class. I would go for featherweights because I feel their larger size enhances the joys of battle, but others would argue that you can get just as much enjoyment out of antweights. So all down to what you prefer

[muchalucha]

Re: motors

when i get micro controllers sorted out , theses esc's could be as cheap as 20 quid !! As for the hdpe , i built my latest FW ( making its first appearance on sunday !) almost entirely out of craigs of cuts from saint ( thanks for those craig ). and when i have bought hdpe in the past , for a FW its only been about 25 quid , and the planet 5 2.4 ghz systems are only 35 quid ( no pound sign on my crappy keyboard)

[team_orr]

Re: motors

tbh tom i think my heavy can pwnize your feather

well its personal prefrance, i personaly like the vibe of a ant event but a biggy is kinda ncie with all the dimmed lights etc. you could always do wat i do and make loads of both weight class

[Guest]

Re: motors

£15?

for a pair of wheels!?!

[typhoon_driver]

Re: motors

15 quid ain't a bad price for a couple wheels.

[Ellis]

Re: motors

If you want cheap wheels, go and buy some adult-size rollerblades. The wheels are strong and are designed to take the weight. With a rubbery, sticky grip and generally not far from 10cm in diameter, it's good deal, especially since you often get 4 wheels on each blade, making for 4 two wheel drive robots or 2 four wheel drive robots.

The only downside is that they are quite skinny, and very little rubber actually touches the ground (otherwise, whilst skating, there would be too much friction for it to be effective), meaning the grip wouldn't be incredible, but for a flipper bot or something, they'd work great

Wow, I wrote more than I thought

Ellis

[RogueTwoRobots]

Re: motors

Sorry, not £15 for simply a pair of wheels
Its £15 for two good-size, high-traction, great quality (as used by Razer and Behemoth) wheels that come complete with nut inserts to allow you to screw them straight onto cordless drill motor shafts.

Go to Homebase and pick up some large (178mm) wheels with average traction, moderate quality and with nothing more than a simple hole drilled through the middle and you'll have spent more than £15.

That said, it is perfectly possible to make very cheap wheels out of wood and bike tyre, or to pick up second-hand wheels from somewhere that you can adapt to suit your bot.

[joey_picus]

Re: motors

I paid $12.10 for some Banebots wheels myself, they're almost as good as (if not better than :P) the blue wheels from what I've seen/felt...also slightly more convenient for me as I'm using strange shafts :P

[muchalucha]

Re: motors

i paid nothing but nothing for my wheels :P , thanks again craig

[rallikas]

Re: motors

Some OT
When i started thinking about my bot.... (it 6kg but its not so much smaller than a fw)
Two drill motors: ~£0
Two 'green' wheels: ~£0
35/40MHz RC gear: £5
Microswitch speedo: ~£5
Batteries from drills: no extra cost
everything else: free
HDPE (as an example) for chassis/armour: £1 (free leftovers)