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Thread: University featherweight battle

  1. #11

  2. #12
    Personally I think it would be easier/cheaper to try running a compressor system, get a 32-40mm bore ram, a 12volt air compressor used for pumping up your car tyres, and a little 3/2 valve and find something to use as a buffer tank (old power fire extinguisher or metal sports water bottles work well). It won't be the most powerful setup but will give you enough to lift/flip robots over.

  3. #13
    Yohooshi
    Guest
    Thank you everyone for replying so quickly!

    @bitternboy

    Hopefully the driving aspect won't be too difficult, no problem!

    @RobotExtreme

    Thank you very much for the advice, I do plan on doing future builds after this assignment but I the only thing is that for this assignment we get marked on our build quality so it is expected that we make our own MSC. With that in mind I'll ensure I take extra care when securing the MSC to the frame of the bot.

    @lowndsy

    I've just looked that up it could have been it says that it used wheelchair motors but I can't find anything about the speed control, but it probably was!

    @Runsler

    Yeah we'll only be using the robot against other bots made by students. I do know of one student that is using an ESC but he has been on robot wars and battle bots before so I think it's ok if he uses it. I would much prefer to use an ESC but I think that we do get marked on the build quality of our MSC, which is a shame.

    We did consider making a vertical spinner because we thought it would be easier, that is done by just adding a separate motor and spinning the object, right? The only problem is that we aren't allowed sharp bladed spinners it would have to be a blunt spinner such as 'Carbide' in the most recent series but we didn't know what material to make the spinner out of as this has to be lighter than what is used on the heavyweight robots.

    Thanks for the advice on the pneumatic side of things I'll get my group to do some calculations around that.

    @maddox10

    Ohhh ok, I get that explanation, thanks for the help

    @harryhills

    Will do, thank you for the offer

    @blazerbotics

    That could prove to be very useful and cheaper, I've just briefly looked it up and that sounds good. Thanks for the help

    @everyone

    Thank you all so much all of this advice is great

  4. #14
    1.When securing it, try to implement some kind of "buffer" between frame and MSC to absorb some of the shocks that are likely to happen.

    2. "easier"... well it's a question of perspective. basically it is "just adding one more motor", but you also have to put an additional ESC (or MSC) into it to get power to it. Also, modern spinners use always almost brushless motors for that, and those just won't work with an MSC (as far as i know). You'd also have to balance the spinner, and have something to mount it that could take the forces involved. Actio = Reactio -> the same force you put into the other bot in a crash goes into your bot. on a vertical spinner maybe even more, since your bot is stuck against the ground, while the other would likely lift off and divide the energy between the crash on contact with the bot and the crash on contact with the floor. And well... mounting fast spinning things so they won't get damaged from shocks, don't heat up or anything else... one more thing to think about that might be new stuff to electronic guys So... all in all, principle of a spinner might be easier, but it has to be very well executed. Else your bot is likely to destroy itself, and something in it's surrounding, so testing that would be complicated and dangerous.

    But not being allowed to use sharp spinners won't be a big problem here, since most spinners don't try to "cut" (would be kinda pointless vs. hardened steel and only split seconds of contact), but rather work with blunt force and try to deliver as much energy as possible in one hit, rather crushing/bending/ripping off/flipping/kicking than actual cutting. If the enemy uses MDF plates a cutting spinner is tempting, but anyway... most just use a bar, a disc or drum with one or more "teeth" (each quiet wide, so more for hitting than for cutting) or in that weight class a beater style weapon is quiet common, too.
    And for the material: it doesn't have to be lighter, just smaller than a heavyweight.

    Not wanting to spoil any plans, and personally i think a flipper is the cooler bot and can usually self-right without problem... Just since you were already thinking about it, i wanted to mention these things.


    (oh, and don't give too much on my advice, i am really new to all this stuff and just building my first bot... a featherweight vertical spinner with a beater. Just because for what i have on equipment and knowledge the pneumatic stuff would be more complicated for me, and the gyroscopic effects of these bots look really interesting. Also, my driving skills just won't be good enough for a flipper, i'd never flip anybody but myself. So if anybody here corrects me: they are right.)

  5. #15
    Yohooshi
    Guest
    @runsler

    Thanks for all of the tips, we have decided to go ahead with the flipper and I'm about to buy the parts.

    .

    Can someone please inform me if these parts are compatible together and if I buy a 12V solenoid actuator would the set up work and does anyone know what valve I would need to buy.

    https://www.bzpaintball.co.uk/12oz-c...with-pin-valve (Co2 tank)

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NORGREN-PR...sAAOSwRQlXdSr4 (ram)

    Thanks

  6. #16
    Yohooshi
    Guest
    Okay so...

    Sorry for the lack of updates

    The battle took place and I got beaten by my fellow university classmates in both battles that I had. A long story short is that I went through 7 electronic speed controllers by blowing them up, I asked numerous lecturers and classmates about my wiring and they said that it all seemed fine I think it was just down to how cheap they were. Because of this I had to revert to using my mechanical speed controllers as mentioned earlier in the thread. I used carbon brushes as contacts to the circuit boards and I really wish I hadn't because they got so hot that they caused my servo to melt during the battles which meant that for both fights my robot ran for about 15 seconds before both wheels stopped moving.

    In other news I'm planning on building another robot and now I'll be on my own time scale and I won't have to rush to get it build in 2 months.

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