Author Topic: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD  (Read 44557 times)

Offline Conraaa

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #60 on: September 04, 2012, 01:25:42 AM »
Yay for more Robot Wars info!

Do you know anything else about Voodoo Child aside from it not competing?

It was similar in design to Wheelosaurus and had little armour evidently. Unless he was going to put some on after.

Oh I had to think hard about this one. When I was there I am pretty sure I heard growling noises so yes. But this was nearly 10 years ago so my memory is a bit sketchy on it.


Do you have any cool stories or interesting anecdotes about being at Robot Wars?

God this is like skype all over again. I'll just list off whatever I can remember and you can judge for yourself

-There was another robot supposed to be in the Middleweight Final of Series 7. It was called Voodoo Child and made by the same guy who created Broadsword. However it never competed due to hideous exposed wiring and looking even more flimsy than it's predecessor. I don't think it even got through the door.
-Jayne Middlemiss made my sister cry. Purely because she wasn't Phillipa Forrester. Me and my father were happy talking to her, but my sister wasn't for some reason. Even though she had done the whole interview thing a year earlier for Extreme 2. I remember her saying to my father "I'm sorry! I'm making your children cry!". This is also probably the reason there are no pre-battle interviews for that match.
-The Typhoon guys were very nice. Contrary to popular opinion.
-The TAN guys were very nice aswell. So I might be slightly skewed when I say it's one of my favourite robots.
-In the pits, over the 2 times we were there, we were stationed near; Pussycat, Typhoon, Barborous 2 'n' a bit, Thermidor 2, Behemoth, TAN and possibly Dantomkia.
-Those remote control booths were like sodding ovens.
-I remember being smug because Phoenix (our second robot) was shaped in such a way Growler couldn't bite it. So instead it nearly got launched out by the floor flipper.
-At qualifying (Yes a middleweight bot had to do that, I think my father may have been trying to pass it off as a underweight heavy though.) I remember we faced a robot that was not dissimilar to Series 3 robot Armour Geddon. I also remember seeing Shove and thinking it was the new house robot to be announced next series. And seeing The Mouse on a static display and wondering what the heck it was. I got to sit next to TerrorHurtz though and that was very cool.

I'll edit in stuff if I remember anymore. Please note this is from years ago so my memory is a bit rusty.


Awesome!  I do appreciate the chance to pick your brain, as someone who never got the opportunity to see Robot Wars in-studio, this is all fascinating.  Is there anything else interesting about Phoenix or Malc that we wouldn't know from watching their TV appearances?

Malc ran off of 2 wheelchair motors and the spikes were static. So they would never "Work" like Jonathan Pearce said they would. Phoenix ran off of EV warriors and the lifter actually worked! Shame we never got a proper chance to use it though. We had severe control issues with Phoenix. It was damn near undriveable. That's about it, really. They weren't that interesting.

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #61 on: September 06, 2012, 11:00:30 AM »
Anyone know anything about Garm aside from the basics?

Offline R1885

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #62 on: November 11, 2012, 12:36:36 AM »
I see:
Don't bother with Copals, they have plastic gears. I suggest the Finger Tech Sliver Spark motor. http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-FT-SSPARK-50.html, I have the Gold spark motor, and it works great. Sliver Sparks have bigger teeth, reducing the chance of striping.

Don't bother with the mounts, they won't fit the sparks, even if they did, you would have to bond the mounts with a lexan surface. If you really want a mount, use a finger tech mount.http://www.fingertechrobotics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ft-bearing-block. It comes with a ball bearing pressed in, so it won't cause to much strain on the motor shaft.

The wheels are fine.

Dave's hubs are fancy indeed, but the Finger Tech hubs(http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-FT-LITE-HUBS.html) will work just as well.

Avoid Tactic products. Use a Spektrum Dx5e(http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-SPM5500.html) with the Hobby King Orange rx(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__11965__OrangeRx_R610_Spektrum_DSM2_6Ch_2_4Ghz_Receiver_w_Sat_Port_.html). Costs less than that Tactic system, and will work far better.

That ESC is nice, but the Finger Tech Tiny ESC(http://www.fingertechrobotics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ft-tinyESCv2) is better. It works great, and are way lighter than the Saber tooth.

That battery is WAY over kill, that's a huge chunk of your allowed weight. A smaller battery(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18204__Turnigy_nano_tech_850mAh_4S_45_90C_Lipo_Pack.html) would be much better here.

You haven't selected a charger. I'd recommend the Turnigy Accucel-6 50 watt(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7028__Turnigy_Accucel_6_50W_6A_Balancer_Charger_w_accessories.html).

1/16 thick aluminum is way too thin, go with 1/4 thick UMHW plastic(http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=12550&step=4&showunits=inches&id=785&top_cat=181), easy to work with, super strong, and light weight.

1/8 Grade five titanium heat treated would work wonders for a good spinner killer plow. Check Titanium Joe(http://www.titaniumjoe.com/6al4v%20sheet.htm)!

A good way to mount your stuff is high strength Velcro, of the highest quality.


Hope that helps you a little.

Offline R1885

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #63 on: November 11, 2012, 10:10:56 PM »

This helped a LOT, but I still have some questions:
-Can I get the titanium pre-bent and cut to size? Depends, but it be easier to cut it your self.
-How would I cut UMHW plastic? Also, how would I put all the armor pieces together? You can cut it an ordinary hacksaw. You can put it together with Plastite screws, they're made just for plastics. In a pinch, though, wood screws will work also.
-Aren't Hobbyking parts poorly made? Luck of the draw. The Orange RX are used by many users here, and Turnigy products are at least decent.
-Where would I buy the Velcro? Any hardware store will have it. Super high strength can be found online.

Also, some other notes:
-I had no idea copals used plastic gears, this info helped a lot.
-That tiny esc looks hard to work with, I wanted the sabertooth because it seems easy to use and there's a bunch of tutorial stuff for it at the robot marketplace. All the Tiny Esc needs is a little soldering work to use. They don't need any thing else, you can adjust them with the calibration if needed. The mixing can be done with either with the transmitter or the through a stand alone mixer(Required if you want to use a gyro.)

Offline SKBT

Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #64 on: November 11, 2012, 10:36:27 PM »
I see:
Don't bother with Copals, they have plastic gears. I suggest the Finger Tech Sliver Spark motor. http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-FT-SSPARK-50.html, I have the Gold spark motor, and it works great. Sliver Sparks have bigger teeth, reducing the chance of striping.

Don't bother with the mounts, they won't fit the sparks, even if they did, you would have to bond the mounts with a lexan surface. If you really want a mount, use a finger tech mount.http://www.fingertechrobotics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ft-bearing-block. It comes with a ball bearing pressed in, so it won't cause to much strain on the motor shaft.

The wheels are fine.

Dave's hubs are fancy indeed, but the Finger Tech hubs(http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-FT-LITE-HUBS.html) will work just as well.

Avoid Tactic products. Use a Spektrum Dx5e(http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-SPM5500.html) with the Hobby King Orange rx(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__11965__OrangeRx_R610_Spektrum_DSM2_6Ch_2_4Ghz_Receiver_w_Sat_Port_.html). Costs less than that Tactic system, and will work far better.

That ESC is nice, but the Finger Tech Tiny ESC(http://www.fingertechrobotics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ft-tinyESCv2) is better. It works great, and are way lighter than the Saber tooth.

That battery is WAY over kill, that's a huge chunk of your allowed weight. A smaller battery(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18204__Turnigy_nano_tech_850mAh_4S_45_90C_Lipo_Pack.html) would be much better here.

You haven't selected a charger. I'd recommend the Turnigy Accucel-6 50 watt(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7028__Turnigy_Accucel_6_50W_6A_Balancer_Charger_w_accessories.html).

1/16 thick aluminum is way too thin, go with 1/4 thick UMHW plastic(http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=12550&step=4&showunits=inches&id=785&top_cat=181), easy to work with, super strong, and light weight.

1/8 Grade five titanium heat treated would work wonders for a good spinner killer plow. Check Titanium Joe(http://www.titaniumjoe.com/6al4v%20sheet.htm)!

A good way to mount your stuff is high strength Velcro, of the highest quality.


Hope that helps you a little.
This helped a LOT, but I still have some questions:
-Can I get the titanium pre-bent and cut to size?
-How would I cut UMHW plastic? Also, how would I put all the armor pieces together?
-Aren't Hobbyking parts poorly made?
-Where would I buy the Velcro?

Also, some other notes:
-I had no idea copals used plastic gears, this info helped a lot.
-That tiny esc looks hard to work with, I wanted the sabertooth because it seems easy to use and there's a bunch of tutorial stuff for it at the robot marketplace.

sabertooths suck don't use them.

hobbyking radio gear is badass.

850mah is way too big. you need 300mah. tops

1/8" ti is like 220 armor thick. you could do 1/32" and be fine.

also your shape is stupid. try a more conventional wedge shape and see how that looks.

you can buy velco at walmart

you can bend 1/16" ti with a pair of plyers and a blowtorch. just heat up till orange and bend.

Offline SKBT

Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #65 on: November 12, 2012, 06:15:04 AM »
2 2s 300mah packs in series will get you 4s

i reccomend using nutstrip to hold the robbot togeather.

also your robot shape is still stupid.

Offline R1885

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #66 on: November 12, 2012, 09:29:56 AM »
You would need two Tiny ESCs for a bot to work.

Offline R1885

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #67 on: November 12, 2012, 12:14:46 PM »
Thanks guys, I think I have everything now. Just one more thing:
also your robot shape is still stupid.
Could you please explain? It's both invertible and uses a plow, like antweight champion ShazBot.
Shazbot has a better shape, its plow is attached to an arm, the bot it self is a box shape.

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #68 on: November 12, 2012, 12:45:00 PM »
Are thwackbots legal in the 30lb Sportsman class?

Offline R1885

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #69 on: November 12, 2012, 01:04:54 PM »
Are thwackbots legal in the 30lb Sportsman class?
No, thwacks are not active weapons.

Offline SKBT

Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #70 on: November 12, 2012, 02:07:50 PM »
Are thwackbots legal in the 30lb Sportsman class?

no. the weapon has to function independently of the drive.

Offline SKBT

Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #71 on: November 12, 2012, 04:45:06 PM »
you can make it smaller. if you can make it smaller is better because you can go thicker on the armor. you can use nutstrip for anything.

i don't like your plow because it will be a pain in the butt to make and attach. if you were to attach it you could probably have an internal vertical 1/2" thick uhmw wall and attach it with a pair of .25" lag screws. I'd personally go with a generic wedge instead of the plow shape.


also what is you experience with building things? i'm asking so i can help give you better advise about how to go about this project.

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #72 on: May 19, 2013, 02:44:47 PM »
Anyone been to Bot Blast before? Do the safety c usually happen the day before or the day of the event?

Wanted to know mostly because we're planning out the trip to the competition now and if I screw up then it'll be all a waste

Offline SKBT

Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #73 on: May 19, 2013, 03:25:41 PM »
yeah, i went to bot blast last year safety c started at 9ish on the day of the event.

for safety c you want to have a way to have your wheels off the ground, a power disconnect and if you have a weapon a way to disable it. it also must stop moving if radio contact if is lost.

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #74 on: May 19, 2013, 03:59:25 PM »
Awesome, thanks.

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #75 on: May 20, 2013, 09:04:55 AM »
DP

Few questions regarding power switches:
What would you guys recommend as a good switch for an ant? Also, how does it get wired with the rest of the bot? Zipdragon's tutorial doesn't have a switch...

Offline SKBT

Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #76 on: May 20, 2013, 10:27:20 AM »
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-FT-MINI-SWITCH.html

and you want to place it between the battery and the esc's

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #77 on: May 20, 2013, 04:36:17 PM »
Awesome, thanks. Now to wait for all the parts to come in...

Offline Badnik96

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #78 on: May 20, 2013, 06:28:34 PM »
So am I right in thinking the wiring would look kinda like this?

(credit to ZD64 BTW)

Offline MikeNCR

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Re: Robotics Questions MEGATHREAD
« Reply #79 on: May 20, 2013, 06:44:10 PM »
So am I right in thinking the wiring would look kinda like this?
(Image removed from quote.)
(credit to ZD64 BTW)


Not quite, the switch will split the red wire only in the case of the fingertech and most common switches.