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Hi everyone this my first post so be nice lol. Well i am new to building robots. I have decided that i will use two drill motors for the motors but i dont know where to go from there what else do i need to drive this thing. Is there anywhere that has diagrams or anything thanks for any help thanks
chris
I was part of a robot team about 8 years ago so didnt really do alot as i was only 12 at the time, I just drove.... and in those 8 years ive built an antweight myself and have just started on my featherweight... SPEAK TO PEOPLE is my best advice and Listen and if possible Watch and Learn. There are lots of useful info on youtube etc...
The basic equipment:
Transmitter
Reciever
Aerial
Motors
Battery(s)
Speed controllers
Wheels
Chassis
Armour
Maybe even Gearing + Chains/Belts if your making a basic pushbot
Welcome to the forums :D.
Before you jump staright into building you will want to decide what weight class you are going for. You said you wanted to use drill motors, these are pretty much only used on featherweights (FW for short), ant weight (150 grams, 100x100x100 mm) tend to use modified servos and heavy weights use pretty much any very large DC motor, such as electric wheelcahir motors.
Presuming you want to build a FW, there is a few things you will need:
* armour/a chassis, needed for obvious reasons hehe. Its a good idea to look at photos of other peoples bots, decide what you think looks good and sketch it out with a rough idea of what size the components are going to be.
* Motors/wheels. As you suggested, cordless drill motors are a greta choice for your first bot and also come with battery packs! albeit rather awfull ones. but they will do until your sure this hobby is for you. Those ~£10 drills available from argos or B&Q are fine for this. especially for a first robot, there is no point spending loads on drills. Drill motors are easy, cheap pre made power units with gearing and all, but the hard (or expensive) part comes with wheel. Many have tried to just bolt wheels on using the little blakc screw that goes into the end of the drill motor, most (including me :lol:) have failed. if your confident using a tap and have a good understanding of the required steps it may be worth tapping your own wheels so they will screw onto the end of the drill motor. however there is a much easier, but quite expensive alternative. Robo challenge make these wheels that just screw onto the end of the drill motor shaft and are secured with a little black screw, they are known as blue wheels due to their blue colour. They are expensive but they will last through all of your bots shoudl you decide to upgrade and are very very good at what they do. http://web.me.com/robochallenge/Robo_Ch ... nical.html , you will want the 100mm blue wheels with nut insert.
*Radio
Just incase you didnt know, the radio is the bit you hold (the transmitter or TX) to control the robot and also the little box (the receiver or RX) in the robot that tells the motor what to do simply put. The radio always was the big investment for the new roboteer, costing hundreds for a half decent radio. New radios however are as chepa as £30 shipped and will last you a life time. There are 2 main methods you will encounter that transmitters use to talk to the receiver. These frequencies are the same as the frequencies on a real radio, like your car radio. they are also very different, but it gets very confusing from there for a welcome post hehe. These 2 methods are 2.4Ghz and 40 MHZ , you may also encounter 35 mhz (airplane use ONLY), and 72 Mhz (Only legal in the USA). there are others but they are less common and not suitable for robot use. 40 Mhz is the older technology, it has a very large anetnna, is (apparently) more suseptable to interferance and it is possible to be using the same frequency as someone else (can be VERY dangerous in combat robots!!!!) for these reasons 40 MHZ is beign phased out and eventually banned. being replaced by the far more modern and generally better 2.4 GHZ. 40 MHZ has its fans, and in truth there is nothign wrong with it, but for the same money i strongly suggest you use the newer and soon to be only 2.4 ghz techology.
A good and very cheap 2.4 ghz radio is the one available from giant cod, i own one and despite the first one i received not working correctly, the replacement has worked great in everything from ant weights to carbon fiber radio control gliders.
http://www.giantcod.co.uk/gianitcod-24g ... 03779.html
* esc or speed controller
The esc (electronic speed controller) is the bit that takes the power from the motors and uses it to make the motors move when the receiver ( and by effect you) tell it to. Choosing an esc can be extremely difficult for the new roboteer as just googling the word esc will bombard you with rc plane ESC's that really arent suitable for robots (only forwards, no reverse).
The following esc's are a good and cheap choice for drill motors:
* sabertooth dual 10 A, http://www.technobotsonline.com/saberto ... or-rc.html a bit expensive but a VERY good esc that will last you a long time throughout all fo your robots to come.
* 2x mtronics eco 27, these are cheaper but you will require 2 of them, they are limited to 12 V max and wiring them can be tricky for a beginner. http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/sh ... sp?id=5575
there are other options but they are the chepaest i could think of.
I will add materials, wiring, and safety systems to this later, my fingers hurt XD.
Thanks so much for all the information that people have givven me i look forward to reading the rest of the report that has been put on here you have made things abit clearer. Them videos are great too gives me a visual picture. For the chasis does anyone know where you can get the plastic that is used in the video do bandq sell it. I carnt wait to get started. will have to see if there is anyone near manchester that i could maybe meet with and see there robot. Are there any robot fights near manchester just for the future. Thanks again everyone that has posted on here and i look forward to reading some more tips
chris
I think your nearest event in the near future is Preston in March
A good bet for plastics is directplasticsonline. http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/
The shipping is a bit steep but its worth it. Its also well worth checking out their clearance section as thats stupidly cheap and theres onften some good bits in there.
Id advise HDPE as the the best plastic for a bot, if you want somethign stiffer (but more birttle) for structural parts polycarbonate is good, but quite expensive.You should be able to build a basic ram bot from just hdpe.