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Thread: Electric Axe featherweight - first build of FW

  1. #31
    Wow it's been a month since my last update.
    What's happened? Well quite a bit.

    Sourcing some hardox 3.2 mm is difficult, and my supplier can only get 6mm so that's out of e question.
    Found some nice plate that will do for now tho, so just need to add braces to mount these on.
    The chassis is now bolted together using some wood screw inserts.
    New motor mounts made for the drive motors.
    Wiring has been 50% completed and still not made the ax or motor mount for he axe.
    What I did do tho is find my linear actuator which just so happens fits in the slot for the axe mech, so I could in theory have a lifter...

    Pics to come

  2. #32
    Sourcing 3.2mm Hardox ain't difficult. Any commercial end user of SSAB steel can order a sheet.
    Problem, a sheet is 6x2.5m

  3. #33
    Thats the reason why i have to stick with this stuff i found and not Hardox at this stage, 6x2.5 is alot for me, and the cost of getting it lasercut by Kcut was too much just for what it was.

    Once i have had my first proper FW battle, then i can invest in more materials,

    Attached is my pneumatic rams i have for reference to a sale.

    20171005_092735_1507206161045_resized.jpg20171005_092720_1507206158922_resized.jpg
    Last edited by Roboteernat; 5th October 2017 at 13:34.

  4. #34
    Some updates
    With great big thanks to Katch and his old Hard-Ox bodies, i now have some Hardox which i will cut and shape to suit the armour for the feather. This was the only thing stopping me from progressing with the build, oh and the base plate!
    I intend to use some of the metal to shape some side panels so that there is armour on the side and not just relying on the 12mm HDPE.

    I have reworked my motor mounts as the same as i suplied to a roboteer from 15mm HDPE, however this does mean my 4 mounting holes on the back panel are now over too much by 2 mm, so may have to modify something for this, perhaps a plate to support it and enlarge the holes sideways. Too much and the motors will not fit nicely and could bind on the side wall if there is too much of a bend made from impact. Hopefully the Hardox side panels will stop this.

    I may also use the hardox to reinforce the base as i could end p using Polycarbonate 6mm as my material for the base plate, i dont want it to flex too much, so the supports will be made to reach across the whole width of the bot.

    My axe motor mount needs to be machined but i have the 15mm HDPE for this and will make a mounting plate from 3mm aluminium.

    The hardox is a godsend and will get things back on track. Am wanting to compete in Portsmouth (home town) and perhaps meet with the Chris in Southampton

    Progress shots to come!

  5. #35
    So i borrowed my uncles angle grinder (Alan Grinder) and bought some new disks for it and cut up some panels from one of the Hard-Ox shells. From this panel I have cut out the 2 parts that form the sides of the bot, 4 pieces in total. Unfortunately the edge strips were curved and have somehow remained curved, probably due to the heat applied when they were welded together to make the shell of Hard-ox.
    This means i have mirrored the pattern and cut out the reverse side to allow the curve to shape the other side. this doesnt read well. bit of an annoying day at work today.

    Anyways, i nopw have 4 roughly cut out side panels to weld together.

  6. #36
    i really cannot leave it a month without updating this build however the lack of funds has caused no progress, except for this week, well today...

    Last week my collegue gave me an arc welder, one of 3 he had lying about, so that was greatfully received, and after some needed TLC, the welder is a wonderful machine.
    I was also able to borrow an angle grinder from my Uncle, and after purchasing some disks from ScrewFix i was on my way to rescuing some panels of Hardox from the donor chasis of Hard-Ox.
    Today, i was able to shape some of the side pieces, and giving them a facceted look to the curves by cutting almost all the way through and folding along these lines.

    Sadly however, my auto darkening welding mask that i already had for some years ran out of battery power so i couldnt actually weld anything.

    Tomorrow i will grab some batteries and will commence.

  7. #37
    So now i have signed up for Portsmouth and Cheltenham, i need to make some progress. - Brief update as i cant really type for a long time!

    I have been grinding the Hardox and welding, machining the brackets to hold on the plates.
    Wiring has started, but im after 2 more TZ85A looking at alternative hobbyking turnigy ESC, otherwise its the Feather 2 from Alex.

    I have aquired an electric actuator from a mobility scooter that just tilted the seat, it fits inbetween the gap where the Axe mech sits, and im thinking i could use it for a small lifter if the axe doesn t pan out. Testing on a 4S battery is good speed so with some level advantages i should be able to lift something before it drives away from me!

    The one question i do have is the base...

    Im thinkinng i may go for 6mm Polycarbonate as i have a large sheet available for me, but maybe HDPE? aluminium?
    What do you guys use?

  8. #38
    I have gone off the idea of a base made from 6mm Polycarbonate, although i have a huge sheet from the tip - someone threw it away, was a shower screen! i feel like i need the strength, and should i be upside down on the receiving end of an axe, it can shatter.
    So perhaps i need a trip to my local-to-work scrap yard and see if they have sheet titanium going. i have managed to get some bits from them before, so why not!
    Anyway, this weekend being a snow day weekend, i thought i would get on with some robots stuff. Sadly today was a plan to grind the panels for the front out of the Hardox sheet but alas, it rained! So no outdoor stuff to be done.
    i did make a start on my cabling and soldered on some motor connectors and plugged it in to my Electronise esc, although im really wanting to get the TZ85A. Sadly the stocks accross the country are none.
    Luckily, i headed to my local fav auction website and randomly checked for TZ 85A esc, and wow, one appeared. So i grabbed it!
    Now i have 2 TZ85A esc for my drive controllers instead of the electronize ones (i have 4 of them now)

    The axe mech, im starting to think about using chain drive instead of single pulley as this is the way most rooters go. plus simply bearings, or bearing boys have an offer on.

    I also wanted to print out some sample motor mounts for use on my bot - i sold 4 sets of them to someone after them for an R2D2, i wonder how he got on with them? Sadly i needed solid works to work on my laptop, but i couldn't access the activation portal so couldn't transfer my license from my work machine to my work-at-home machine. Therefore, i never did make these. Will just have to make them Monday at work on my CNC Mill.

    Oh well.

    So the next plan is to at work, use solidworks to correctly check what model of motor mount im using.
    2. modify the motor mount to fit the new rear chasis shape and mounting options.
    3. check that 18mm HDPE is good enough on the motor mounts.
    4. machine up brackets to hold on the rear
    5. go to scrap yard and find a suitable material for the base. Design has limited it to 6mm max.
    6. grind out the front panels.
    7 re-weld the other side panel that i did badly.
    8. program and test the ESC tz85a
    9. rewire everything including the lights.
    10. oh yeah... the axe mechanism

    the list can continue...

  9. #39
    Well, i deceided to take apart the linear actuator gearbox, as it was a solid lump of aluminium, with the aim of machining the block for less weight. Sadly in the process i knackerd my motor - the magnets snapped and i cannot remove the motor to reinsert the brushes, so i think it was a gon excercise in not doing that again!

    So onto the next bits. My motor mounts for the drive are being machined as we speak.

    As i continue to develop the chasis, im thinking now the base will be 10mm HDPE, i need to strengthern the backbone through it, so this is being upgraded to 20mm HDPE instead of 12mm.

    I have therefore ordered more materials, including sheet of 10, 12, 15 and 20mm HDPE in black.

    The axe mech has been continued, and have sourced appropriate metals for the spindle and motor mount. I have glued the magnets in the motor for the axe, but feel i should also continue to develop the lifter should the motor die.

    Anyways, pics to come.

    Thanks

    My material stock has lessense

  10. #40
    This reads like an exciting build diary, though I have to ask. Are there any pictures?

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