starting a battle robot

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saladtossser
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 6:03 pm

I just did a sumobot for a school computer engineering project. But i want to go farther
the plan is to make a R/C combat robot under 3 pounds for beetle weight fights, and if we have too much weight and have powerful motors, then maybe go for the next weight class.

me and maybe one or two friends will take the electronics out of a cheap R/C toy and make a motor controller with four relays (can't afford r/c radio, receiver, and speed controllers at the moment):
Image

we might get a decent R/C radio and receiver later on

the motors are courtesy of a good friend of mine, these say 26V on them, and the white gearbox is very good and is solidly mounted on the motor, the output shaft has a flat face i need to utilize:
Image

the frame will be just small enough to fit all this stuff in it, and will feature a ramp. made out of angle and flat aluminum we can get from home depot or canadian tires, and some plastic (probably lexan) which i think home depot has some and my shop teacher has tons of. here is the concept (the clear area is plastic, solid grey is aluminum or steel):
Image
Image

does anyone has tips, suggestions, ideas? anything wrong with the frame design? i need to make either good wheels or tank treads, and perhaps gear down from the gear box to the wheels.

EDIT: frame is planed to be 8" by 6" by 1.5"
Last edited by saladtossser on Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 7:41 pm

whats your weapon going to be, or is a sumo bot a "pushing bot"? right now I'm currently in a F.I.R.S.T robotics team we are getting ready for our first match in a couple of weeks but in the off season we have the resources to compete in battle bots.
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saladtossser
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:26 pm

haha our school wish we could enter FIRST, we got $2000 from TD bank but we just can't get anymore money

weapon... i want a vertical spinning blade right in the middle of the ramp
i would cut a slot there and then re-enforce the edge with 2 stripes of aluminum, and see if i can put a small blade, about 1.5" in diameter, there and hook a belt to another motor, or use plastic gears

more concept drawing coming soon for weapon placement

if i do make a weapon, then i'll have to get a $60 r/c missile tank! coolest r/c toy ever! but just because of the extra control functions

oh and the sumobot is totally unrelated.

edit, concept for layout
Image

edit: how am i supposed to get a 26V battery (plus other electronics) to fit in there? i want rechargable ni-cd batteries or lithium... not 9Vs, any suggestions anyone? should i change the ram's angle to give me more room?
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MrCrowley
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:53 pm

Have you seen Grant from mythbusters robot? He had a really good idea of using that pneumatic ram with a spike on the end,it crashed down with huge amounts of force about every 2 seconds, that would be a good weapon.
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spudkilla
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:57 pm

Dude you need to be vexed! I own this kit, and it is the best robotic kit eva!!!!!! www.vexlabs.com
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saladtossser
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 9:15 pm

MrCrowley wrote:Have you seen Grant from mythbusters robot? He had a really good idea of using that pneumatic ram with a spike on the end,it crashed down with huge amounts of force about every 2 seconds, that would be a good weapon.
ooooh yea, Grant is my fav, Jamie have that kickass mountain dew shooting vending machine robot though

i bet a ant weight on sozbot.com can shred those thin aluminum peices on one of them vex thingys :P but i bet my computer club would find it interesting

probably can't have a hammer on there, pneumatics is out of the question because of the size i'm shooting for right now since i need a reservoir and/or a pump. if i have a damn good servo that can lift 3 pounds i might consider something like a flip arm, but right now i am definitly capable of a saw[/youtube]
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 9:22 pm

Don't use plastic. You will just strip them. I personally don't like wedge type robots. This is my kinda robot http://www.battlebots.com/meet_the_robo ... asp?id=224 .
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saladtossser
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 9:56 pm

awe the bending looks hard to make and mount... but i guess i need something to stop somebody to simply ride over me... i can have 2 flat sections at increasing angles, then a short vertical section, thx

i'll make another model and see how it compares
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:07 pm

the rechargeable vex batteries are more than enough. mine last me a couple hours
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Tom: "But most of us are morally ambiguous, which explains our random dying
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spudkilla
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:11 pm

i know, but wire two of them in parrallel or find 7.2 volt batteries
pyromanic13
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:14 pm

saladtossser wrote:haha our school wish we could enter FIRST, we got $2000 from TD bank but we just can't get anymore money
you should look into a grant from nasa...
Movie dialogue: "The good die first."
Tom: "But most of us are morally ambiguous, which explains our random dying
patterns."
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saladtossser
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:22 pm

maybe we will, think they will give money to a canadian school?

oh and 7.2 isnt enough, the motors needs 12 to 26, and i really really want 26 to compete against those pro hobby motors others use.
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:28 pm

well as for the "stop ppl from driving right over me" part...i wouldnt really care...given that i have a 1.5" spinning blade on th top of me. i would kinda hope they drive over me, good bye other robot :evil2:
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judgment_arms
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:10 pm

Hehehe, get one of them “DRODZ” automatic BB guns and mount in it use a servo to pull the trigger. Or forget mechanized weaponry, use a wall of spikes, or just one big blade/knife on the front, basically a skewer. If you use a circler saw blade, get one of those portable Skill saws.
Wedges have a lot of drawbacks but they have their good points too. I prefer the walker platform, eight long legs towering above the other bots with a big pneumatic/hydraulic skewer in the center that shoots down pinning the opposing bot to the ground. Or a tracked bot with a BIG, fast hydraulic/pneumatic jaw to grab the other bot and a smaller more powerful jaw to slice the other bot in two after the first jaw caches it. But both of those are going to be MUCH bigger than the one you’re planning to make.
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zeigs spud
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Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:15 pm

or just make one that is a bomb to throws gasoline then lit matches lol!! :lol: kools sofar tho
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