RogueTwo Robots

**daveimi** · 16th March 2014, 22:12

I've been building all sorts for years with a few basic hand tools but am umming and arring about getting a decent drill press.

**Flag Captured** · 16th March 2014, 22:37

Are those side panels sloping inwards slightly towards the drum end or is that my eyes? Looks good so far, too - aluminium seems to be the 'in thing' this year!

**RogueTwoRobots** · 17th March 2014, 00:22

Is the milling machine yours and if so are they expensive?

Yeah it's my own machine. Got it second-hand last year for £500 but the tooling/clamps necessary for doing basic jobs was another £150 on top of that. Can easily see those costs spiralling as I get more proficient at it and buy fancier cutters.

Nice work jamie, howa you finding the milling machine? Would you recommend one?

Finding it very handy so far, albeit a slow process, partly due to the time to set up the work piece. The travel in each axis is also quite limited in relation to this size of robot - and Drumroll's a small robot at that. But for what I need/will use it for, it's perfectly adequate. And it'll be ideal for making beetles!
As you can see from the pictures, it does help in making higher quality robots and even though I've had a few blips here and there, in the grand scheme of things, they haven't affected the robot in any way. I'd recommend one if you have the cash and space for it. Mine's in a corner of an 8x6 shed so space is tight but workable, however the coolant system is a bit crude (me spraying coolant out a bottle and it running into a drip tray to re-use) because I don't have space to fit a pumped system or the inclination to clean up the workshop every time the coolant sprays everywhere!

I've been building all sorts for years with a few basic hand tools but am umming and arring about getting a decent drill press.

A drill press is a cracking tool, adds that extra bit of accuracy and downforce required to get through some materials while keeping the drill bit properly aligned. I got my drill press from B&Q for £60 and it's served me well. It's not as precise as some higher-end models but that was never really something I was aware of too much. It feels a bit clunky now in comparison to the mill and I was contemplating selling it, but decided to keep hold of it now as it still has its uses.

Are those side panels sloping inwards slightly towards the drum end or is that my eyes?

Just your eyes

Either that or my machining has gone horribly wrong!

**RogueTwoRobots** · 17th March 2014, 00:41

Update

Got another chunk of work done today, though still tonnes to do. Chassis has been bolted together, baseplate's been fitted, motors have had their pinions pressed on and drum shafts have been cut and drilled/tapped. Had to rig up a ghetto drill press to drill the ends of the drum shafts as there wasn't enough vertical travel in either the drill or mill to accommodate them normally:

Sat more of the parts in to check that everything fitted:

And then lifted it up and got rather concerned by the weight. So stuck everything I had to hand on the scales to see what it was sitting at. The result wasn't as bad as I was expecting:

I need to swap the pulley on the drum for the proper, wider one which will add a few grams, still got a few bits of hardware for the drum shaft to take into account, and the brushless ESC isn't in the pile of parts. Will also have wires, internal brackets/supports/anything else and top panel to add on so it will be tight, but I've not taken any weight out of the aluminium yet so I'm confident enough of getting it within the limit.

**mrsam** · 17th March 2014, 06:35

That looks amazing can't wait to see it finished

**Eventorizon** · 17th March 2014, 07:24

Hmmm, the only thing that seems to be missing is the weapon ESC, a couple of pulley the belt and the top armour. It should easily be in weight! Cant wait to fight it :-D

**PJ-27** · 17th March 2014, 09:34

720s looking good! ;p

Ali really is the in thing this year, which makes me a sad panda as it doesn't spark.

**RogueTwoRobots** · 23rd March 2014, 21:15

Update

Got another weekend of work done. Had hoped to make a start on getting Onyx & Carcinus ready too but things on Drumroll ended up taking longer than expected so they'll have to wait till the next weekend I'm down (which will be the last one before the champs).

So with Drumroll, the mechanical side of things is pretty much done. Got a dividing plate made up for the battery compartment, got the drive motors greased up and run in, top and bottom skids for the front have been made, brushless motor has been mounted, polycarb top panel has been fitted, as has the armour. Two of the triangles that stop the bot resting on its side got smashed off against Galactus last year, so welded some new ones in place. I think I'll remake the armour after this year's event, the current stuff is looking a bit worn, though it will still hold up.

So it's mostly wiring up the electrics left to do, plus make a mount for the link/rx/LED. Then it'll be time for a coat of paint (bye-bye shiny) and, hopefully, some testing. Got new belts on the way for it as some plonker overlooked something in CAD and moved the drum shaft closer to the robot, meaning that the nice, perfectly fitting belts that I used to use are now as loose as Katie Price's undergarments. The new belts look like much better material and are cheaper than the old ones, so I'm just waiting to see what the catch is - probably the wrong tooth profile or something!

Anyway, I managed to wire up a quick test rig to see how it drives with the new motors and ESCs:

Pretty happy with it so far, can see me keeping it on 50-60% rates most of the time but it'll be nice to have the extra speed should I need it.