Thinking of making a few bots...

[ty4er]

Could use a bit of help :P

Thinking of building a featherweight flipper or rammer, budget would be around £600 i think (we arent the richest family in the world really :P) and i haven't done anything like this before >.<

I know a few things about it, but not much.

However i might make an antweight first, it depends on what my dad thinks due to me not seeing him often.

[Vertigo]

Great, always nice to see new people having a go themselves

Important question: Where do you live (UK/US)?

[ty4er]

UK, down south.

It might be a problem getting to events though.

[Vertigo]

Not at all, later this year, there are three down south, Worthing, Maidstone and Portsmouth, and I'm travelling six hours to all of them

Starting in antweights is fine, and can be a good idea, but there are also benefits of starting with a feather

£600 is a large budget for even a feather, Explosion was only £500, but as I said before in another thread, you have to build it well before budget begins to really affect the robot's performance.

For a featherweight, within your budget, I would suggest the following:

RoboChallenge blue wheels with nut insert, probably 100mm, or 75mm if your design turns out to be especially low, set of two, £29.00
http://www.robochallenge.co.uk/Events_and_Engineering/Mechanical.html
RoboChallenge horizontal motor mount, two sets of two, £38.80
http://www.robochallenge.co.uk/Events_and_Engineering/Mechanical.html
RoboChallenge 12v motor and gearbox combo, 4 motors, £61.32
http://www.robochallenge.co.uk/Events_and_Engineering/Mechanical.html
Scorpion XL speed controller, £64.28
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/products/0-SCORP-XL.html
Vapextech 12v 3300mah Ni-HM, two batteries, £48.00
http://www.vapextech.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2evapextech%2eco%2euk%2f&WD=12v%203300mah&PN=High_Power_Model_Control_Batteries%2ehtml%23a26#a26
ETRONIX EX4G Transmitter & Receiver set, one set, £42
http://www.robochallenge.co.uk/Events_and_Engineering/Radio_Gear.html
HDPE, amount depends on your design, atleast 10mm in all areas, 20mm where possible, around £30 (probably)
http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/HDPESheet/Black/
Turnigy Accucel-6 50W 6A Balancer and Charger with accessories, £14.08
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7028__Turnigy_Accucel_6_50W_6A_Balancer_Charger_w_accessories.html
12V 5A 110/240V 50/60Hz Power Supply, £6.12
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__6256__12V_5A_110_240V_50_60Hz_Power_Supply.html

Total cost: £397.88

That will get you a basic featherweight 4WD pusher, which should turn out fairly competitive if built well

Sorta like this: http://www.teamshock.kk5.org/#/featherweights-2/4540056154

EDIT: Oh, and watch these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ibaEOpYPAg&feature=channel_video_title#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVWZdTVhh2I&feature=relmfu#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9EaenXANGQ&feature=relmfu#

[Stagfish]

That guy has so many tools.

[nightcracker]

It's pretty much all standard, I'm more jealous of his working space than of his tools.

[SKBT]

Besides welding equipment that's pretty much the tools I build with.

@Ty: I do not recommend relay control like one of the videos shows how to make. It's harder to drive and just has more parts to break.

[Vertigo]

Besides welding equipment that's pretty much the tools I build with.

@Ty: I do not recommend relay control like one of the videos shows how to make. It's harder to drive and just has more parts to break.

So do I, a Scorpion XL is much more efficient and reliable

And I've got one in Explosion, so you're hearing owners experiences here, after over 3 years, it has not once broken or anything

[haz]

scorpion xls will run 4 motors?? i doubt that

[SKBT]

Sabertooth 2x25 or a Vantec RFDR22 will run 4 18v drill motors.

[haz]

yes they will, vantec is over kill though spend like £100 on some electronizes

[Vertigo]

scorpion xls will run 4 motors?? i doubt that

Would of thought so, pretty good esc from my experiences, although never looked into 4WD options

[haz]

i dont think so, its 12.5a per side, the scorpion xxl would be much better for 4wd but scorpions are quite awesome

[ty4er]

well i honestly forgot about this >.>

Anyway, School has not helped at all with time, luckily we get a week or-so holiday so i might be able to order some parts then.
Shame i'm off on holiday for most of it :P

thanks for the tips btw