From The Ground Up (Advice Thread)

Hello! I am Roland, I'm new to the forum and thought I should introduce myself before I start rambling.

Here goes.

I'm 14 years old, and I'm a total newbie to building robots.
I'm wanting to have building Robots as my active hobby, I no longer see sitting and playing Xbox all day as a sufficient and productive way to spend my life, I enjoy engineering and electronics from what experience I have. I also want to make my Grandpa proud before he passes away.
I'd like to say that I've looked into building robots for a couple of months now seriously, and have considered it for more than a few year - my grandpa was an offshore BP engineer, and whenever I visit we spend a lot of time in his garage making things (Which has given me a small amount of experience in using clamps, angle grinders, saws, drills and the spinney thing which makes stair banisters of which name surpasses me!) which gave me the idea to start. So I have come to the conclusion that my best bet was to get advice from real professionals rather than spending endless hours on Google. So I'm starting from right at the bottom. What I want to know is, can YOU help me with getting started?

Specifically, I would like to know,
What tools do I need?
Where and for what price can I get tools?
Where and for what price can I get internals?
What internals do I need?
How much space will I need to build featherweights?
Where can I learn the electronics and engineering to build one?
What method of transport other than trailer/boot (Which I would still have access to) would you suggest?
If I were to get into a bit of a bother, would anyone be able to give me advice on what to do?
How exactly do YOU deal with the risks of building robots?

So, those are my questions, I know it's a long list, and I thank anyone in advance for helping out.
Oh, and money isn't a problem, I earn round £60 a month from pocket money and helping my dad and I am looking for a part time job + whatever I earn from items I sell using amazon/ebay, I'm certain my Parents will support me when I have understood enough of it to be trusted to not do anything too awful and I can show myself as willing to act mature about it and to prove I can handle the responsibility.

-Roland (Sorry for the awful grammar)

Edit: I'm not expecting to have a robot in two months time, I understand this possibly and most likely will take a long time possibly more than a year, more than two!

Hello Roland and firstly welcome to the world of roboteering
Your questions are sound ones and we and i speak for all roboteers on this forum and in our community are very pleased to see new blood coming into our spobby ( sport / hobby) = spobby your questions will be answered from all over with different opinions from different roboteers and can take you in all sorts of wierd and wonderfull roads.
I for one will give you mine ,,,,,

1) First and formost design your robot draw it make it out of cardbord and tape ect but get into your mind what you want to make .

2) Tools : basic hand tools screwdrivers ,pliers,wire cutters,hacksaw,spanners,soldering iron, Oh and a HAMMER...

3) Where from ,,, car boots cheap tool shops ect..

4) Internals two cheap cordless drills will give you drive and speed controllers are available from most modelshops and online on this forum :: For sale thread, with the drills you get free batteries too ..

5) And on that note i will stop for now and give others a chance ...

6) Check out Roaming Robots online shop I know johnno sell the rat kits which is a good way to get into our spobby ..

Pete

Hi Roland, first of all, welcome to the forum and to the sport/hobby :)

In answer to your questions:

What tools do I need?
It depends on what you're going to use to make the robot. For plastics, a hacksaw or jigsaw for cutting panels out. You can use them on Aluminium as well.
If you don't weld, most likely you'l be bolting parts together, you'll want a good few different screwdrivers to suit (or allen keys if you use those kinds of bolts). Miscelaneoustools you'll want: adjustable spanner, hammer, file, wire cutters/strippers and a soldering iron and solder.

Where and for what price can I get tools?
Prices will vary depending on source. B&Q or Focus or alike is best place to start, though I'd get a soldering iron from Maplins.

What internals do I need?

Basic elements of any robot:
Drive motors x 2
Battery (how many depends on you)
Speed controller
Transmitter and receiver
Power light
Removeable link

How much space will I need to build featherweights?
Usually you can building in a shed, or if you can get a garage, all the better. I've built mine pretty much on a writing desk in my garage :)

Where can I learn the electronics and engineering to build one?

US :) we can help with wiring diagrams and any advice on the way we have built things and tailor it to how your skills are.

What method of transport other than trailer/boot (Which I would still have access to) would you suggest?

I used to carry mine on the trains in a suitcase :)

If I were to get into a bit of a bother, would anyone be able to give me advice on what to do?

Of course, thats what we are here for :)

How exactly do YOU deal with the risks of building robots?
I'll say this: SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT! Use all nessesary saftey precautions before working on the robot or using tools (IE: goggles, safety boots, etc

Hopefully this will give you an idea, I'll come back and elabora a little on what I've said

Hello! I am Roland, I'm new to the forum and thought I should introduce myself before I start rambling.

hi Roland, welcome to the forum!

Here goes. I'm 14 years old, and I'm a total newbie to building robots.

thats okay, we all have to start somewhere! im 13 but have quite a few robots :P the people here are really friendly and give great advice!

I'm wanting to have building Robots as my active hobby, I no longer see sitting and playing Xbox all day as a sufficient and productive way to spend my life,

good choice, although the xbox is awsome :mrgreen:

I enjoy engineering and electronics from what experience I have. I also want to make my Grandpa proud before he passes away.

having recently lost a large chunk of my family i can understand where your coming from

I'd like to say that I've looked into building robots for a couple of months now seriously, and have considered it for more than a few year

thats good to know, you would be amazed how many people come on here and ask random questions without doing the slightest bit of research :angry:

my grandpa was an offshore BP engineer, and whenever I visit we spend a lot of time in his garage making things (Which has given me a small amount of experience in using clamps, angle grinders, saws, drills and the spinney thing which makes stair banisters of which name surpasses me!)

i belive your refering to a lathe?

which gave me the idea to start. So I have come to the conclusion that my best bet was to get advice from real professionals rather than spending endless hours on Google.

good choice, the people here really know their stuff!

So I'm starting from right at the bottom. What I want to know is, can YOU help me with getting started?

sure, everybody here is usualy willing to share their knowledge, helped me a lot

Specifically, I would like to know,

What tools do I need?

obviously a few tools are needed but you seem to have a nicely stocked workshop that should be fine for featherweight robots, i made my first robot with tin snips and and a drillpress :mrgreen: , obviously that was my first robot and i have aquired a fair number of odd tools along the way

Where and for what price can I get tools?

the usual suspects, homebase, maplins, b&q etc

Where and for what price can I get internals?

ah well thats personal choice, and it varys robot to robot, but a few useful sites are http://www.technobots.co.uk/ , http://www.robotmarketplace.com/store.html and http://web.me.com/robochallenge/Robo_Ch ... Store.html , most first robots cost £100-£200 but as you gain experiance you collect parts so the cost will go down a bit over the years

What internals do I need?

im sure people will explain this better but the main parts to a featherweight are:

. drive motors (x2)
. speed controller (esc)
. transmitter/reciever
. batterys
.safety devices, failsafe (if not built in) power led, and removable link
.weapon (?)

but you kinda pick it up as you go along

How much space will I need to build featherweights?

a table or a workbench is all that is really needed (although a workshop would be better, they are genrally quite small so storage isnt much of a issue

Where can I learn the electronics and engineering to build one?

like i have said befor, the people on this forum are really helpful and knowledgeable

What method of transport other than trailer/boot (Which I would still have access to) would you suggest?

i put mine in the boot

If I were to get into a bit of a bother, would anyone be able to give me advice on what to do?

yep :D no worries

How exactly do YOU deal with the risks of building robots?

there are varius safety rules you have to comply too (look on the fra homepage) but really its just common sense, keep a level head and you should be alright :)

So, those are my questions, I know it's a long list, and I thank anyone in advance for helping out.

Oh, and money isn't a problem, I earn round £60 a month from pocket money and helping my dad and I am looking for a part time job + whatever I earn from items I sell using amazon/ebay, I'm certain my Parents will support me when I have understood enough of it to be trusted to not do anything too awful and I can show myself as willing to act mature about it and to prove I can handle the responsibility.

-Roland (Sorry for the awful grammar)

cool, good luck and welcome to the wonderfull world of robotics :D

Edit: I'm not expecting to have a robot in two months time, I understand this possibly and most likely will take a long time possibly more than a year, more than two!

it really depend on what pace you work at, iv seen robots built in a few days, but tbh its the ones that have more effort put into them that do well, and remember its likely to get improved and updated over the years

I'm honestly quite amazed by the response so far! You've all been very helpful, and I thank you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by razerdave

How much space will I need to build featherweights?
Usually you can building in a shed, or if you can get a garage, all the better. I've built mine pretty much on a writing desk in my garage :)

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I have an unused space in front of my conservatory that is facing a raised wall that I could cover in sheeting, store my tools in our shed and move them out to the space when I go to build, plus I wouldn't need a generator as I'd be right next to the house mains, or might that be too risky considering a wild robot could smash glass.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by team_orr

What tools do I need?

obviously a few tools are needed but you seem to have a nicely stocked workshop that should be fine for featherweight robots, i made my first robot with tin snips and and a drillpress :mrgreen: , obviously that was my first robot and i have aquired a fair number of odd tools along the way

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Unfortunately My grandparents live in Yorkshire and I'm in East Sussex! I visit them three times a year and it wouldn't be problem taking a half built robots up there for some professional help.
But I think I'm going to have to buy the tools myself, or have my parents help buy what we don't have.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by botmad

Internals two cheap cordless drills will give you drive and speed controllers are available from most modelshops and online on this forum :: For sale thread, with the drills you get free batteries too ..

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Does that mean I'd have to dismantle drills and re-wire them? Do you attach the axel in the same way you'd attach a drill bit?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by razerdave

If you don't weld, most likely you'l be bolting parts together, you'll want a good few different screwdrivers to suit (or allen keys if you use those kinds of bolts). Miscelaneoustools you'll want: adjustable spanner, hammer, file, wire cutters/strippers and a soldering iron and solder.

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If I wanted to learn to weld, what would be the best way to learn?
My mother owns a soldering iron and solder for her stain glass, do you mean that sort of soldering iron and the mix lead solder?

Anyhow, thank you all, I'm sorry you're being bombarded with questions, and I'm sure a couple are flaming obvious, but I really want to know as much as I can before I start anything! You really are a helpful community. :mrgreen:

-Roland

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roland

Does that mean I'd have to dismantle drills and re-wire them? Do you attach the axel in the same way you'd attach a drill bit?
If I wanted to learn to weld, what would be the best way to learn?
My mother owns a soldering iron and solder for her stain glass, do you mean that sort of soldering iron and the mix lead solder?

Anyhow, thank you all, I'm sorry you're being bombarded with questions, and I'm sure a couple are flaming obvious, but I really want to know as much as I can before I start anything! You really are a helpful community. :mrgreen:

-Roland

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Ok - drills. Yeah. Get yourself a couple of cheap cordless drills, take them apart, and the motor/gearbox units are what you use to move your robot around - the batteries are often kind of cheap and bad, but cheap and you can take the plastic packaging off to make lighter, more compact battery packs. You attach them to the wheels by unscrewing the chuck - there's a reverse threaded screw inside there holding it on - and putting a wheel on in place. The blue wheels you can get from robochallenge or wherever - they're the ones almost everyone uses - fit on nicely in place of the chuck, you tighten the screw up, and job's a good 'un :) I think robochallenge.co.uk has plain drill motors and mounts for them as well as the wheels - and radio gear and other useful things for building robots with.

As for welding, your best bet is to find someone with a welder - mig is probably the easiest to get the hang of and is fine for most stuff - and get them to teach you the basics, then get hold of a welder of your own and practice :rofl:

You'll be wanting a smaller electronics soldering iron ideally and a reel of flux core solder, you're joining wires and connectors.

Good luck with everything :) it's definitely doable to get a basic wedge robot together for the event at the end of September if you're into that idea.

I'm honestly quite amazed by the response so far! You've all been very helpful, and I thank you!

no problem, thats what we are here for :-)

I have an unused space in front of my conservatory that is facing a raised wall that I could cover in sheeting, store my tools in our shed and move them out to the space when I go to build, plus I wouldn't need a generator as I'd be right next to the house mains, or might that be too risky considering a wild robot could smash glass.

i used to stay with my gran a lot befor she died, so naturaly i took my robot stuff with me :-P in her house was a small conservatory which had no other use because all her possessions had been moved into her room, so i set up shop there, it was perfect but because the room was made of glass the light (and heat) comes in, so battery packs can get very hot and pop cells if your not carefull! one day i was testing a twakbot (stinger style robot) and it fell of my cradel i was propping it up on, hit the floor, started spinning and hit the window...yeah...not good, so yeah, sorry for the life story :p it should be fine... just make sure you do all your testing outside :P and keep your electronics out of the sun

If I wanted to learn to weld, what would be the best way to learn?

id buy a cheap welder of ebay, either mig or arc, most people prefer mig but i personaly prefer arc because i made a cheap homemade version + i find them better suited to my needs

Okay, I'm slowly starting to grasp it all, thanks again.

Few more questions before I start to get moving.

I have tip close by which tend to keep a lot of electricals, do you think it'd be worth me getting scrap parts and scrap metal from there, and if yes, what parts am I looking specifically for?

How do you keep within the weight limit?

I've read the FRA build rules, so I know what's what, but with rotating weapons it states you have to contact the event manager. Do Roaming Robots and Robo Challenge have any side rules to rotating weapons?

Thanks again everyone! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roland

Okay, I'm slowly starting to grasp it all, thanks again.

Few more questions before I start to get moving.

I have tip close by which tend to keep a lot of electricals, do you think it'd be worth me getting scrap parts and scrap metal from there, and if yes, what parts am I looking specifically for?

How do you keep within the weight limit?

I've read the FRA build rules, so I know what's what, but with rotating weapons it states you have to contact the event manager. Do Roaming Robots and Robo Challenge have any side rules to rotating weapons?

Thanks again everyone! :)

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hi,
im in the process of building my first robot with my brother so i cant exactly help much. what i can tell you is not to buy all the parts before you completely decide what you need. i started and bought £50 worth of motors only to find that i didnt need them. also if you want a spinner, i have been told not to build one as their are few events that will allow them.
your also right about not having one in two months time,i starting building mine over a year ago, but due to money problems i couldnt afford to pay for parts.
also you should expect to spend around £150-200, so far i think ive spent £150 (only need a few more bits).

as for internals, you need speed controllers (amount depend on how many drive motors), drive motors which you should get from robochallenge along with blue wheels. and a reciever/ transmitter.
you also wont need many tools to build the robot, all you need for wiring is a soldering iron or a crimper. i doubt its worth getting parts from a tip, unless you need sheet metal.
i guess to keep under the weight limit you will just need to weigh each part and work out how much it will roughly end up as.

Thanks for your reply! I realised something while I was at school, how exactly will I cut metal?
So what exactly should I use to cut metal?
And will any drill do to make holes in metal?

Specifically Ali or Steel.

hi I'm 13 and quite new too and my first robot 'Armourdillo' used steel and ali and drilled them with normal drills but don't use cheap drills or wood/ stone drils as they are not stong enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roland

Thanks for your reply! I realised something while I was at school, how exactly will I cut metal?
So what exactly should I use to cut metal?
And will any drill do to make holes in metal?

Specifically Ali or Steel.

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Hi, you can cut metal with hacksaw or angle grinder. You can drill plastics, steel, ali, polycarbonate with the usual metal drillbit.

You can also use a jigsaw fitted with a metal cutting blade to cut aluminium, and possibly some thin steels. Handy if you don't have an angle grinder but get fed up with the repetitive sawing motion of a hacksaw.

Off-topic, but looking at your avatar image, do you have any Roland instruments or connection to the Roland brand? Or are you just using it because it's the same as your name? :)
Just curious as I recognised the logo from my Roland drum kit and was wondering if you played an instrument.

Ahaha, mainly to do with my name, but we do have a Roland speaker and a keyboard scattered around the house.
Not that it's important, but I sing. xD

It looks like I'm all set, my parents have offered to pay partially on tools, I have a majority of them anyway, and I'm hopefully going to get taught how to weld by my Grandpa.
Plus I have space to do it too! (Rather excited!)
Safety first as always though. :mrgreen:

Thanks for the help so far. :D Any more advice is deeply appreciated, when I want to start building and need advice on that, should I keep it in this thread, or post a new thread in build diaries?

Wish I could sing properly :uhoh:

Sounds like you're off to a good start. In terms of space, I tend to build in my bedroom (I have to admit, my parents are very tolerant of this!) and only really go and work in the garden if what I need to do is a bit too much for in the house (sparks from grinding and such) so any space really should do :)

Definitely set up a build thread when you start building; I for one enjoy seeing and hearing how robots are coming together. You can either ask for advice in that thread or here, wherever you do we'll be happy to answer :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roland

Thanks for your reply! I realised something while I was at school, how exactly will I cut metal?
So what exactly should I use to cut metal?
And will any drill do to make holes in metal?

Specifically Ali or Steel.

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An angle grinder is your best bet for cutting metal - they're not that expensive, get one, you'll find yourself using it a fair bit. Saves you a LOT of time, and there are materials you'll want to use at some point which really can't be done any other way without something like plasma/oxy-gas/waterjet/laser/whatever, like hardox.

As for drills - any decent HSS bit will do it, make sure to use a center punch and WD-40 or whatever as cutting fluid. You don't need to mess about with cobalt drills or anything until you're working with pretty high grade alloys.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Metal Demons

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roland

Thanks for your reply! I realised something while I was at school, how exactly will I cut metal?
So what exactly should I use to cut metal?
And will any drill do to make holes in metal?

Specifically Ali or Steel.

---

An angle grinder is your best bet for cutting metal - they're not that expensive, get one, you'll find yourself using it a fair bit. Saves you a LOT of time, and there are materials you'll want to use at some point which really can't be done any other way without something like plasma/oxy-gas/waterjet/laser/whatever, like hardox.

As for drills - any decent HSS bit will do it, make sure to use a center punch and WD-40 or whatever as cutting fluid. You don't need to mess about with cobalt drills or anything until you're working with pretty high grade alloys.

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So will a 30 quid Bosch angle grinder do the trick? Or should I go for something better quality?

Works for me :)
(well, mine's a Black & Decker but same difference)

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Originally Posted by k_c_r

Works for me :)
(well, mine's a Black & Decker but same difference)

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HAHAHA! NEVER paid 30 quid for an angle grinder!! Any cheap angle grinder will work, you may have to replace it a bit more often but mine get a lot of use and last about 18months

Andy

Well I reckon mine was about £30 but I don't actually know as it was a present. Not that I'm complaining about having a more expensive model :lol:

Yep, agree Jamie more expensive models are nice but if it spins then where's the problem?

I actually splashed out last time (mainly because Focus had shut and the #10 ones weren't available without driving for an hour to get it) and got this one

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?a ... earch=true

It's got variable speed and a nice comfy grip. That said, the variable speed got moved to setting 6 (of 6) and hasn't moved since.

Really is a very nice grinder though.

Andy

As long as it can cut carbon steel plates and doesn't always break down it'll do. :D

Sorry for more questions, and thanks for your answers so far!

What program should I use to design a 3d/2d design of my robot? I know it's early, but it's fun messing about with different looks. (My first will be box shaped anyway).

Thanks. ^_^

-Roland

Really depends on whether you're just looking for visualisation and vague layouts, or accurate engineering drawings with the possibility of manufacturing parts directly from them or having someone else make them for you, possibly with a CNC machine?

Google Sketchup or whatever works fine for the first, for the second you'll be looking at learning a full-on CAD package (which I'd recommend anyway, though it's a lot more effort).

Personally, I use Autocad for 2D DXF stuff and engineering drawings, and Autodesk Inventor for 3D - everyone else here will have their own preferences though. Solidworks and Rhino3D are also commonly used.

i havnt properly read this thread so what im about to say might not tie in with whats been already said but, personally i could never build a robot on cad or anything in a million years, dont get my wrong i've used it before but for me its about doing loads of sketches on some paper and then making a cardboard mock up to scale- and then putting all the parts in the mock up and pretty much just building on from there.

depending on the way your building either box section chassis or the bulkhead way which ever, and how your cutting your materials by hand or by machine- personally cos i cut all my stuff by hand- don't get me wrong it takes alot of hard work lol but with loadsa cardboard templates to cut around -that i made from my mock up thats just the way i prefere doing things :D - near enough all i have is a cramped shed with a jigsaw, welder and just other basic tools nothing special so im happy enough doing most things my self but obviously theres certain things that i can't do so i get kenny or grant to do them for me.

so its really personal preference as to how you'd go about designing your robot

I really like the cardboard idea which was mentioned before and by you, my only trouble is that you can't erase things once they have been cut. It's like a final template, I need something for drafting ideas, to be honest I don't want to fork out a large sum of money for CAD programs when I may not actually use them very much. I'll use Pen and paper and possibly Google Sketchup (I'm on an Ibook G4 so it'll be quite slow) most likely for now, I'm leaving engineering til' when I have the experience to start building. Slow and steady wins the race.

More questions! Sorry as usual. :lol:

What are the opinions on manual arc welders? It's the type I'm going to use, but I'd like any tips you can give. :D
What thickness do you use for metal plating, and if it varies, why does it vary?
And finally,
What strengths of metal do you need for each part of a robot?


-Roland

hi

i started off with the paper/cardboard mockup, works great if your doing things on the cheap/simple,

however, having recently upgraded to cad systems i can tell that they are really useful, i started off with sketchup (good for rough ideas) then i got solidworks (good mix of all cad systems) and now have autodesk (awsome) also having recently gained access to a cnc macine its good to have detailed diagrams.

arc welders are great, and tend to be a bit cheaper than migs

jack

www.riobotz.com.br/en/tutorial.html

Thanks for the tutorial. It was very educational, but it's gone and created more questions! :lol:

What thickness steel do you usually use on a featherweight?
And what type of rubber should I use as a shock absorber?
Do you guys use kevlar or is it pointless when using a featherweight?

Thanks for your answers so far. :mrgreen:

-Roland

Hello

I´m trying to use as little steel as possible in my robot, because of the weight.
I´m using Aluminium 7075 to many parts instead. It´s a bit expensive, but it´s a lot lighter than steel.

Sorry for the bad spelling...

depends what you are going to use the steel for ali is good as a replacement aswell????????

you can use thicker foam aswell to shock absorb and its lighter

Kevlar as far as im aware has never been used in modern robots and i believe its Pricey++++++++ stick to well know materials, polyc, hdpe, nylon, steel, ali, ti and not forgetting the ultimate WOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! :rofl: (block of wood = champion)

alex

Kevlar sheeting is 20 pounds for a 5m^2 roll, I thought I would have a fairly thin steel sheet with a layer of kevlar underneath that and then a layer of rubber/foam underneath that.
Kevlar didn't seem that expensive, and could make up for the lighter sheet of steel, I mainly chose steel for welding purposes, but I'm looking into ali welding, I don't want to go into acid baths to remove slag just for a lighter armour that might cost more anyway, I could do a steel/ali mix, bolting the ali and welding the steel. :lol:

What are the pros and cons of using different materials?
i.e. Steel, ali, poly carb, wood etc.

Thanks as always for your answers so far! :mrgreen:

What kind of kevlar is that?

Kevlar 300g 2/2 Twill Aramid cloth

It would be placed between two rubber sheets and a steel plate on top or between a steel plate and rubber.
It would be used in conjuction with the metal to give support for the weaker parts of steel that would need to be reduced in thickness due to weight.

That's something like what I had in mind. :lol:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roland

Kevlar 300g 2/2 Twill Aramid cloth

It would be placed between two rubber sheets and a steel plate on top or between a steel plate and rubber.
It would be used in conjuction with the metal to give support for the weaker parts of steel that would need to be reduced in thickness due to weight.

That's something like what I had in mind. :lol:

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Expensive and a pain to repair. :lame:

Expense isn't a problem, and no pain no gain. :lol:
I'll try it once, and see how it goes!
Currently in Yorkshireland learning to weld and cut threads.
Going out to buy metal for a workbench later and should start building the bench this week.
Slow and steady! :D

I still don't know The thickness of steel you guys prefer? Do you galvanize it also?

I wouldn't stay up here too long, you might catch some ghastly disease :P

I believe it depends largely what you intend on entering the robot in - for spinners, the rule is 'as thick as you can get' and for anything else 2 to 3mm thick is the minimum you should be looking at for armour, although stainless steel and Hardox are both better than mild steel. If you can reinforcing it with thick plastic behind is a good idea as that stops axes and hammers from causing too much damage (in theory...)

Ultimately though how you end up mounting the armour is almost as important as the armour itself; series 7 of the TV show provided more than a few examples of thick Hardox plates being ripped off totally unharmed because the bolts holding them to the chassis weren't strong enough.

Regarding galvanized steel, I haven't actually seen any robots with galvanised panels because it then can't be welded, but I don't know much beyond that I'm afraid.

I hear you can buy galvanizing spray after you've welded you apply it.
You can also grind down the weld edges to remove the Zinc so you can weld, but that's a bit more risky. :lol:

I'd be looking at building a spinner since I see it as being the most simple design for me that contains moving weaponry, I'd have it designed so it would have front interchangeable weaponry so I could still go to contest which bar the use of spinners.

I was thinking of 3mm - 4mm Checkered mild steel plates, I always liked the look of footplates on a robot. :lol:

I wouldn't do a spinner for your first attempt to be honest...if you're looking at a design with a moving weapon do a lifter or an electric crusher of some kind, spinners are:

1: Rather dangerous - one of my (now retired) fleaweights was a spinner, and the entire robot weighed 75g with the weapon assembly weighing only about 15g maximum, and it still caused me a few injuries/cuts...any weapon on a robot is dangerous but spinners are even more so and the potential for damaging yourself - even if you work as safely as possible - is still high.

2: More complex and expensive than you might think - a properly balanced spinning mass, some method of gearing down the motor you use, the motor itself, and crucially a method of switching the motor on and off that will handle the current (either a very large relay controlled by a R/C switch, or a fairly hefty speed controller) is going to cost you a fair bit and take up a lot of space inside the robot.

3: Limiting in the events you can go to - you can't run spinners at the vast majority of events that run featherweights, if you had one you'd only be able to play with it once or twice a year at an event with a 2F grade arena (which so far only Robochallenge have, although I believe the RR arena can be set up in a 2F configuration if not for cost)

4: Rather dangerous - safety is always first when building and fighting robots so this point needs making clear! :P

If you've got your heart set on a spinner this can be a bit hard to swallow, and nobody's going to stop you doing one as your first robot if you really really want to, but a lifter or crusher is, in my view, a cheaper and easier (all you really need is the weapon itself, a linear actuator and something like a Team Delta dual ended relay board and you're in business for less than 100-150 pounds and hopefully with all your fingers still attached) way of getting an active weapon for a first time builder.

EDIT: I've just seen the interchangable section which makes a lot of this post look stupid and patronising, very sorry :P but I would still build a non-spinner weapon module first and do the spinner when you've got a bit of experience from that.

I had a small feeling someone might bring this up, and I have put some thought into it.

I thought about building the shovel first but I realised that I would end up building two robots if I were to then build a spinner afterwords. As changing the chasis might cause a bit of a problem so it'd actually be cheaper to build the spinner first.

The plan was I'd design the robot to have a drum at the front , but I'd only apply teeth once I had finished the entirety of the bot, and even then the teeth won't be sharp, and are most likely to be blocks.

That or I'd design the robot to have the space to hold the tech needed for the spinner and build the shovel to start, then go back to it once I have more experience. One problem I found with that was that I might not be able to accurately predict size and weight of each part needed for the spinner, and the best way to work it out would be to buy the parts, which would mean I'd have the bits and bobs sitting around my workshop for sometime.

*shrug*

Without teeth the drum would just be as hazardous as having a pillar drill or grinder. Probably less so.

I'm probably totally wrong. :crazy: