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Thx. Yeah, it was. It was a pain to keep running at all and as much as I like the machine, it really does need a redesign to address a lot of the problems with it. I'll keep this version around for now but I am hoping to have a new shell and some various upgrades to what is there for EXR Cheltenham.
Antweights
With BotFest 3 in September, I've got a bit of work to do in getting the Ants I have ready to go. Typically, with the Ants I have for BotFest, I loan these out to a different driver because I feel that me competing in my own event is a bit contentious plus, I am normally running the main bulk of the show on my own so I need to run the administrative stuff as well. However, since BotFest 2, my Ants haven't seen any action in an arena.
Amai is running fine. It needs the shell welding/gluing back together in places but otherwise is pretty much ready to do. I did have to swap the battery out with a different one as I'll explain later. I finally picked up a DSM2 controller so Ramu will finally see some action in an arena now! I'll need to order a new LiPo for it as well but it will run again. The famous Skittles robot Osu has been retired from combat but I'll still use it in games and such. I need to check the LiFe battery in it but I suspect it is fine.
Ikari, on the other hand, was dead by the end of BotFest 2 and it went into that event very ill with a faulty motor and/or speed controller so it needed rebuilding. After salvaging some wood for a frame from the BotFest arena, picking up a NanoTwo LT and some new motors, Ikari 3.0 is born. It still needs painting and a bit more reinforcement but it is all there, ready to go. Because of the space conditions, I had to use the battery from Amai but in reality, this is not a big deal. It is quite quick and features a lifting arm mounted to the bottom of the robot to jack it up to act as a lifter (kind of like how Shu! worked).
Apologies for the rubbish photo, the lighting in my office is not great at night.
Attachment 9027
Next thing to do is get a new arena floor cut, painted and effects added.
Azriel
I've decided to take the plunge to refit Azriel with brushless drive following a successful conversion I did a few months back. I was planning to refit the axe motor with a brushless motor as well but I think that would require a bit more work to make it work correctly so for the moment, drive only. I'll be using XK-3674 1650kV inrunner motors in this one, which is a little narrower and longer than I would like but that is what I have so it'll do. I've also picked up another 3S LiFe battery so it'll be running at 6S LiFe.
If it turns out to be too fast on the 100mm wheels, I'll put this one on 75mm wheels because one of the things I liked about Azriel at EXR Bolton was the controllability of the machine. It'll always be a case of finding a balance I guess. By my calculation, the new motor/gearbox setup should be spitting out ~2300RPM on the output shaft ((19.8v * 1650) / 13.7) at full power which I think is ~27mph on the 100mm wheels and ~20 on the 75mm wheels. Might need to configure some limiting as well :P
Ramu
This is the Shakey robot I bought last year from Greg which until recently, I've not been able to run because I didn't have a DSM2 controller (thanks Euan!). It is a simple rambot and it does need a little bit of attention but it should still functionally work. There are little things I want to do to it, like paint the thing and perhaps remake the front wedge on it but otherwise, it'll go again. A new battery has been ordered for it.
Jibril
The designs for Jibril 2.0 are nearly done, down to picking the materials now and will be ordering the materials in one go at the end of the month. I'll be reusing most of the internal components out of Jibril 1.0x but replacing things like the silver steel shafts with hardened ones in places and locking down the gears on the axe gearbox properly this time because the Scythe has fired, in the 15.75:1 gearbox configuration, a magnificent total of one time during the entire weekend. I may also end up rewiring the thing because right now, the wiring loom in there is a bit pick'n'mix and as EXR Bolton proved, the soldering is a bit rubbish in places.
Is Ikari made of wood, or are my eyes messing with me? I'd really like to make an ant at some point.
I'll be interested to follow your brushless conversion on Azriel. I find the sheer range of BL motors a bit baffling.
Ikari really is made of wood and polycarb. All of my ants feature using it in various levels. Azriel's conversion is going to be interesting, in theory. In practice, who knows? :p It should be fine.
Azriel
So I thought I would go through the various stages of doing a brushless conversion. As a forewarning, I am not claiming in anyway that this is the best or ideal way to do this. This is simply the method I am using, your mileage may vary etc. Anyway, today I did the physical conversion and later on in the week/weekend, I'll do the brushless speed controller programming.
To give an overview of the things typically listed on a brushless motor, this motor is listed as a Turnigy XK3674 1650kv motor. That means that the motor diameter is 36mm and the length is 74mm and, for every volt applied to this motor when under no load, the motor will spin 1650rpm as I understand it. Originally, I chose this motor when I thought about doing a brushless conversion on Kaizen at the time. As a result, this motor is specced to run at 8S LiPo, meaning a no load speed of (3.7 * 8S) * 1650 = 48,840 rpm with a theoretical max current of 70A. For the budget I had at the time, it seemed to be the best balance of output speed and power I could find. Wherever I'll regret this later on remains to be seen.
Here are most of the parts I am using. From left to right, the Turnigy XK3674 1650kv motor, 2x M3x10mm bolts and a Gimson 13.7:1 motor with the 775 motor attached. The only thing not pictured is a 17T 0.6Mod pinion gear but as that is already attached to the brushless motor.
Attachment 9062
First thing I needed to do was cut down the M3 bolts a bit as the depth of the holes in the motor is quite shallow. If you are doing this, I'd recommend the 6mm bolts, I think they'll fit nicely. The next thing to do is shave the shaft off the motor with the pinion gear attached. The easiest method I found to do his is to get the pinion gear on the shaft as far back as the D shape goes and then cut off the excess. Not doing this will cause the shaft to foul in the gearbox.
Before:
Attachment 9063
After:
Attachment 9064
The next thing to do is get the 775 motor off. To do this, lay the motor on the ground and with a suitable allen key, undo the four bolts on the gearbox. These run the length of the gearbox to connect to an adapter plate between the motor and the gearbox. Make sure you don't, whatever you do, allow the assembly to be vertical as it will all fall apart and will require greasing and cleaning before reassembly.
Once the 4 bolts are out, pull the motor away from the gearbox, which will reveal the plate. Undo the 2x M4 bolts with the allen key.
Attachment 9065
Once the M4 bolts are undone, get the M3 bolts and place one in the adapter plate and then get the brushless motor and get that bolt in. Once done, swing the plate a little until the opposite bolt hole is lined up and then put the second bolt in. Note that not all brushless motors will fit this (under 50mm diameter I think should) and even then, not all motors have the right M3 or M4 spacing for this plate.
Attachment 9066
Once the plate is on, get the motor back into the gearbox, which will require a bit of patience to get it seated properly, especially given that the gearbox will want to seperate apart. I try using a pair of fingers around the face of the gearbox to the shaft to hold it in place as I am reinserting the motor. Once in, screw in the 4x bolts when it is all lined up.
The net result is this.
Attachment 9067
One thing to be careful is the gearbox, when opened, has a very thin metal plate to keep the gears in the gearbox. This plate often comes out with the adapter plate. Make sure that is placed back in the gearbox body correctly (i.e. flat) in the body before replacing the motor otherwise it'll prevent the motor from spinning in the gearbox and thus, seize it up.
Given the much narrower body of the Turnigy motor over the 775 motor, it might be worth supporting the rear end of the motor with a HDPE block. Next time, it'll be the ESC programming.
this looks really useful, is there also a slight weight advantage as well as the increased power ? double whammy
The 775 motor pictured weighs about 400g and the brushless motor that it replaced is about 310g according to the spec sheet, so about 180g saved so yeah, a little bit of a weight saving.
Azriel
So following on from the physical conversion of the motor to brushless, next we need to get the brushless ESC to run the motor in two directions as smoothly as possible. I do intend on putting out a hex file which I'll be using in Azriel but I won't put it up just now as I'll explain later.
A reminder: Your mileage may vary if you decide to follow this.
Today's plethora of parts on the square paper are the following from left to right: A USBasp programming device (this doesn't seem to be in stock at HobbyKing at the moment), a 3x and a 2x terminal connection block, a old Featherweight grade wiring loom (I seem to recall this came out of The Honey Badger 2.x) and a Redbrick 100A v2.
Attachment 9068
First thing first, I plugged in the motor into the 3x terminal block. I wouldn't do this in a fighting robot but for a workbench test, I found this to be sufficient.
Attachment 9069
I then broke open the Redbrick and took off the heatshrink wrap, which I am fairly sure would void any warranty it was under but given this is a fighting robot, I am fairly sure no warranty would ever cover this.
Attachment 9070
I then hooked up the ESC and the rest of the wiring loom together and picked up the 6S battery set from Azriel. As an aside, the below is how you wire up this ESC (I find the lack of colour coding annoying).
Attachment 9071
Now, at this stage, I tested to see if the motor spins at all (I might post a short compliation video of this soon) and it did. Great, so now it is time to get programming the thing. The USBasp programming device is a great thing, I picked one up when I was flashing TZ85As and worth its weight in gold. For those who have never used one, you need to line up the red dot on the device with the circle on the Atmel processor as below when connecting the two together and, as a aside, don't have the ESC on when programming. When the device makes a connection, it'll supply its own power to the ESC during the programming.
Attachment 9072Attachment 9073
And here is my bench test setup. It is fairly rudimentry but because of the proximity to the computer where I do the programming on, I can flash a new hex file pretty quickly.
Attachment 9074
Now originally, when I started this, I followed a few guideline settings from the Ask Aaron archives (http://runamok.tech/AskAaron/motors.html) but these do not work in this ESC/motor combination, just resulting in a lot of jittering. Now, in preparation for this, I watched a Youtube video on how AC motors work and figured that, in the SimonK code, the amount of power being delivered to the motor at startup was too much. To put it very simply, in the video below the hand is the amount of power being supplied to the motor and the fan is the rotor itself (2:01 in the video):
https://youtu.be/lV8iPKY-3ms?t=201
The standard SimonK code reads as the following:
Even under what I assumed to be the COOL_START variable, the motor jitters so I changed it to read the following:Code:.equ MAX_POWER = (POWER_RANGE-1)
.equ PWR_COOL_START = (POWER_RANGE/24) ; Power limit while starting to reduce heating
.equ PWR_MIN_START = (POWER_RANGE/6) ; Power limit while starting (to start)
.equ PWR_MAX_START = (POWER_RANGE/4) ; Power limit while starting (if still not running)
.equ PWR_MAX_RPM1 = (POWER_RANGE/4) ; Power limit when running slower than TIMING_RANGE1
.equ PWR_MAX_RPM2 = (POWER_RANGE/2) ; Power limit when running slower than TIMING_RANGE2
Now when I start it, the motor spins up OK for a bit but about half way into full throw on the transmitter, it jitters a little bit before resuming cleanly all the way up to full power. Clearly, I still have some way to go in getting the spot on but the fact is, I could flash both ESCs and Azriel would move fairly happily on them. However, it isn't perfect as the motor and the ESC get quite warm after a minute so there is evidently some work to go on refining this. As a test, I also put a KEDA 5663 outrunner on this as well and it jitters a lot more than the inrunner but this is proving to be a good basis to work with - even that motor spins up partly on the code I have running now.Code:.equ MAX_POWER = (POWER_RANGE-1)
.equ PWR_COOL_START = (POWER_RANGE/48) ; Power limit while starting to reduce heating
.equ PWR_MIN_START = (POWER_RANGE/24) ; Power limit while starting (to start)
.equ PWR_MAX_START = (POWER_RANGE/10) ; Power limit while starting (if still not running)
.equ PWR_MAX_RPM1 = (POWER_RANGE/8) ; Power limit when running slower than TIMING_RANGE1
.equ PWR_MAX_RPM2 = (POWER_RANGE/4) ; Power limit when running slower than TIMING_RANGE2
I'll try and update this over the weekend.
Thanks for the detailed write ups! It's great to see the kind of steps even if, as you say, there may be some variation in the nitty-gritty.
I'm pretty sure I could handle the motors conversion part but the programming of an ECU looks quite daunting for a novice , on a scale of one to ten , how hard is that programming ? .:roll:
Many thanks. With brushless tech, there is always going to be some variation, likely down to the different builds of the motors themselves along with any differences in the ESC boards themselves.Quote:
Thanks for the detailed write ups! It's great to see the kind of steps even if, as you say, there may be some variation in the nitty-gritty.
It does require patience and some knowledge of how AC motors work (as I noted in the last update post). To actually do the flashing procedure itself is easy enough with the tools I mentioned but knowing what values into put in there can be a lesson in patience. I'd say on a scale of 1-10, this is a 3 or a 4 though I should point out, my trade is software development so I probably have a skewed viewpoint on such.Quote:
I'm pretty sure I could handle the motors conversion part but the programming of an ECU looks quite daunting for a novice , on a scale of one to ten , how hard is that programming ? .:roll:
I've got it a little smoother on 6S LiFe but with that said, I am working on something to make the whole programming brushless ESCs easier to work on.
I'll have a update later in the week, parts for Jibril arrived today and I want to get on with that as well.
Jibril
So this robot... oh this robot. As I mentioned in my last post, the body parts arrived yesterday and last night, I did a mock build of the robot. This is the first robot I'll have where I did a little bit of CAD work on it.
Attachment 9087
Obviously, that isn't the finished look, there is a lot to do. This was more just to see what the robot will roughly look like. The side arms are 5mm ARMOX panels that should add to the look of this thing when done. I am hoping to get the basic bodywork done by the end of next week to start transferring all of the electronics out of the old robot into the new one. I am aiming for a day at EXR Colchester with this so plenty to do.
Jibril
I've started putting in the threaded inserts into the bulkheads. 20x M10 threaded inserts, it is a bit of a slog but at least progress is finally underway. At the rate of progress, I am hoping to transfer the drive components in by the end of this week. I may have to make a slight adjustment in the central bulkhead for the weapon as so not to compromise the integrity of the shell but it isn't a drastic change, should be fine.
Azriel
I've not had any time to work on the physical build but I've had some time to write up a program that makes alternations to the SimonK firmware so it should just be a case of plugging in some variables and it generate a file which can then be flashed to the ESC. I need to setup my test rig again to try out the new files being generated (and adjust if required) but I have some hope that it'll work (though I have just noticed a bug in it so... a way to go just yet :P)
Jibril
The basic body of the robot is now complete and ready for component installation. Unfortunately, real life has reared its head and I've just not been able to get as much work done on it as I would like. At this rate, I am unlikely to make it with this version of Jibril to EXR Colchester so what I might do, barring a massive leap forwards, is to build a proper axe support and reinforce the gears in Jibril 1.1 (to make it 1.2) and run that at EXR Colchester for the day before running Jibril 2.0 at EXR Maidstone.
Currently weighing in at 13.9kg with the top panels and the bolts to hold the lids down. Now that the basic bodywork is done, I can start adding in the internal components to make it actually move. I will say though, the overall shape so far is rather inspiring. Guess that shows how far I've come in building these things. Would like a rematch with Earthquake one day. :D
Attachment 9116
Azriel
I'll be putting Azriel back together over this week I think. I need to get some new wheels and wheel hubs but nothing that can't be sorted fairly easily. It'll be interesting to see how the brushless drive performs in this machine. Since Jibril is still going to be using its F30-150 motor, I can't swap out that into Azriel until the A28-150 motor goes into the new robot so for the moment, it'll be sticking with the CIM motor.
Been quiet here, huh? I needed time off from robots but slowly getting back. I am still planning on going to EXR Colchester for the Saturday only.
Jibril
So as I've mentioned, I'll be running Jibril 1.2 at EXR Colchester but, space permitting, I might bring the frame of 2.0 as well. I've taken the old axe bearings out and have made up a new deadshaft axe mount. It needs some brackets but once that is done, a bit more strengthing work is needed on the axe gearbox before it goes all back together. I plan to work on this over the week so hope to have something to show on Friday.
Azriel
Started getting the wheels ready to refit onto the robot which won't take very long. Because of the limited amount of time to go until EXR Colchester, I'll probably stick with the HDPE axe shaft for now. Again, should be done fairly soon, just a case of reassembly.
BotFest arena + Ants
The BotFest arena has been dry fitted and mercifully, the one piece floor fits without issue. Tested filming with an action camera yesterday in a few mock battles (since I was on my own, I was driving both robots with each hand) and it looks good. The floor definitely wants painting and detailing but I can do that the week before the event. The Ants are as ready as they'll ever be.
Great to hear about the arena, I'm going to every event over the next month & legit looking forward to Botfest the most. :) Hoping Jibril does well at Colchester too (good luck with the drive there & back).
Aww, thanks! :D I am looking forwards to the event as well, it'll be good to see everyone again.
Azriel
I wired up the robot, flashed the second ESC and tried to get it mobile. It worked for a brief, glorious moment before one of the gear pinions came loose in the gearbox. I don't think, based on what I have seen, it is going to be any quicker than the old 775 motors but there is definitely some improvement in the software to the speed controllers, it is still stuttering off the line. I'll also need some HDPE panel to sit the thinner motor on cause I can see it wobbling in there.
I also definitely need new Gimson hubs again :S
Jibril
Tomorrow, whilst at a D&D session, I'll be working to get the Scythe working properly again. All the parts are available now, just need time to sit down and actually mend it now. Batteries need charging and that drive grub screw needs replacing and threadlocking.
However, after EXR Colchester, all will be changing. This version of Jibril will become the new Kaizen (just to confuse everyone some more :P). Likely not to be an axebot but I've not really decided on the weapon yet. That means the CIM motors will be staying in this robot. I might pickup some more for Jibril 2.0, depends on the money really. Got a lot planned for 2020.
May you roll many 20s for your scythe wrangling!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ocracoke
Jibril
So I didn't get a chance to work on the Scythe on Sunday but over the last few evenings, finally the Scythe is back together!
Attachment 9131
The new mount feels way more solid than the original one. The gears themselves are marginally less meshed than the last go around so in theory, it should swing easier. Definitely felt like it will. Annoyingly, the 1st stage output gear is still slipping on the shaft so I need to get the screws out, drill the shaft with indents for the grubs to sit in and then put it all back together. Ideally, I should drill all thy way through the shaft or key it but as this version is being "retired" as an axebot, I only need it to last EXR Colchester.The slipping drive grub screw has been replaced with a new one and threadlocked so it shouldn't fail again.Tomorrow is battery charging, reassembly and testing hopefully before being transported for a 5 hour drive to Colchester one way.
Jibril
The robot is back together and on the trolley, the drive looks fine and will run on Saturday. The Scythe is another matter. It runs but the 1st stage output gear is slipping badly. Now what I think is happening is that the flats on the gearbox shafts aren't flat enough and/or are in the wrong place so the locking grub screws are just sliding on the round shaft. I know this technique works because the 2nd stage pinion has this and that does work - it hasn't moved.
I can't work on the robot on Friday, I desperately need sleep so I can get up very early AM on Saturday to be on the road to get to Colchester before the show starts. So yeah, that is going to be fun getting the gearbox dismantled, worked on and then all back together before the show starts (I jest, this is likely to take about 40 minutes to do). I need to get some long reach Allen keys and it should be fairly obvious where to make the flats.
Jibril - EXR Colchester
Another one of those long drives again. Took 5 hours getting here and as near as makes no difference 10 hours getting home. I got diverted from the A14 onto the M25/M1, then an accident on the M1 blocked everyone up and then the M6 between junction 14-15 was shut too. Like Portsmouth and Burgess Hill, this is one of those "all weekend or nothing" events for me.
Got to Colchester and setup on a table. In terms of MWs, we were only having whiteboards this time so in with You Little Ripper, Backlip and Gaston. Anyway, got ready by threadlocking the output gear on the 1st stage and fiddling with the TX controls to limit the end points. The hope was that it would resolve the control issues I have been having with this robot.
The first fight proved the basic idea of the end points worked. It wasn't wheelspinnng as much, a little too much, turning felt too slow but the forwards/backwards motion was OK. What wasn't was the Scythe. I did a test beforehand, Sycthe moves. In the arena, nothing. Got lined with Gaston, nothing. Then I got flipped and you know how this goes by now. Ended up being flipped OOTA by You Little Ripper.
The damage was as follows:
- The Scythe gear shaft was bent in two places. Ended up having to cut the shaft to get the gear off. The new mount held up though.
- The grub screw I replaced on the drive fell out so lost drive on one side.
- My hopes and dreams. :S
After a bit of time to cool off, found a replacement threaded shaft, cut the old one up and rushed to get the new shaft mounted. Managed to get it on just before the show started along with the drive again. I readjusted the end points again but alas, the Scythe still wasn't firing. I spotted that the gears were not meshing and despite repeated efforts, it wouldn't mesh.
The second fight went better. With no weapon, I rammed Gaston several times, taking a few blows from the spinning disc. Backflip then flipped me onto my back and tried to right me. In the end, this worked but then one of the battery leads fell out. Now, if this was a single battery to the weapon or drive, this would be "better" because it wouldn't affect the other circuit. However, these batteries are in series driving both the weapon and drive so when the lead came out, it killed both.
Still, Jibril wasn't as badly hurt as the first fight. The Scythe came out relatively intact and once the lead was reinserted, the drive was fine.
I'll be bringing this robot to BotFest 3 along with the frame for Jibril 2.0. The only change I might make is to increase the bore on the mount to drop the output gear down a little so it meshes properly. After BotFest 3, the internals of this 1.3 version is being moved to 2.0.
All that driving Lucy-shows dedication, don't you just hate it when you get diverted at night especially
and you can't find your bearings and the Sat Nav just wants to take you back to the start of the diversion.
Hope to see you at Robodojo again.
Thanks Colin. The last major drive is to EXR Maidstone but that is not for a while yet. Got Marlow for the BW Championship the weekend before as well but thankfully not going solo to that. I'll have to see if I can get the time to go to Dojo again, might even be able to compete next time :P
After BotFest 3, it is the big move to get everything into the new shell. I've also decided to completely rebuild and redesign the axe mechanism and Scythe after what happened at Bolton and Colchester. Taking the gears to MOD 2 and when I looked at it, the ratio I can get to is something in the region of 20/24:1. That with the A28-150 motor, which is 3HP at peak should translate into a more "effective in theory" mechanism.
The Scythe will have a new shaft which will move the pivot point a little further up the shaft to permit a counterweight and reduce a little bit of stress in lifting the 3.5kg axe head.
:(Quote:
Originally Posted by Ocracoke
That is some dedication to do all that driving for a couple of fights!
Always a pleasure to read your event reports, Lucy. Sorry it didn't work out especially well (especially the trip home - I think I'd be far angrier about that), but sounds like you've got the bugs figured out!
I've got the driving sorted but the Scythe... nah. Now that BotFest 3 is out of the way and people have gawked at the... brokenness of it... the robot is going to be gutted down to the shell. The new build will solve a lot of the issues this one has been seeing but first, I really do need to get Shu! sorted first. That is half sorted, just needs a front panel and wiring sorted.
Oh, I also need to replace a motor in The Honey Badger 4.0 despite it never having been in a fight. Looks like I had a bad batch of MFA motors come through or I damaged them in a 4WD beetle test ages ago (probably the latter).
Shu!
I've finally got some time to work on this one. It is being completely rebuilt since the last one met it's fate at the last BW championship. Featuring 6mm HDPE and 4mm polycarbonate with 30:1 MFA motors, it should hopefully prove more durable than the last version (PVC does not make good armour). The drive is now operational and I should have a video of it moving around for proof of mobility by tomorrow.
The weapon remains the same, a nice bit lifting arm but although the mechanism is fine, the wiring isn't. Got it wired and and put the removable link in. Next thing I know, smoke and heat. Couldn't get the link out so I yanked the battery out. Got a nice blister and a couple of scorch marks on my fingers for that. So that is a new weapon wiring loom in need now. :(
Attachment 9171Attachment 9172
Shu!
Spent a bit of time fixing the weapon arm onto the body and then filming for the proof of mobility. Obviously not finished yet but it is getting there. I also misspoke in the video, not the UWE but the BW championship.
https://youtu.be/y1IliLNBSRk
The Honey Badger
Oh yes, it is back but perhaps not as you remember it. It has technically been ready since March-ish time when there was an event planned in Shrewsbury but I've only just replaced a damaged gearbox on the drive, so here it is. I may still fit a self righting servo onto this one, need to weigh it accurately to see what is left.
https://youtu.be/gHYusU-iVxE
Nice work. Did you keep the original eyebrows for The Honey Badger? I have to say they're my favourite bit... :P
Hahaha, thanks. The originals were some black electrical tape but they would be too wide for this one, so I took a length and cut it length ways to make it thinner.
"which was last seen at Manchester being blown apart"
Who would do such a thing? Sounds like a right arsehole :lol:
Hahahaha! :lol: Its the risk we all run when going in the arena. It happens :P
A few days before the BW championship, for better or worse, here is The Honey Badger 4.0 and Shu! 2.0
Attachment 9187
I've installed a basic battery cage in both so that they don't fly about and secured down the links. Shu! is the main entrant and, obviously, hasn't fought before but bar a new set of drive motors and wheels, all the electrics are the same from the 1.0 version in a much tougher body. The Honey Badger is the reserve but I hope to have it in a whiteboard or something during the event. Who knows, it might just work this time :P I am hoping to stage a test battle between the two this evening.
BW European Championships
Another early start at 4am, getting on the road for 5am. The journey down wasn't too bad, not was the journey back up mercifully but I really do need to get a proper night's sleep before the event. ~5 hours is not enough.
Got to the venue and got setup there before finding out that The Honey Badger was the main, not the reserve. I recall why this was now, I didn't think Shu! would be ready in time. After a bit of discussion with Shane, both were in the competition but this is where a problem arises. It is a rule that it is 1 robot per driver. So although I could enter both, I needed a second person to drive one of them, Shu! in this instance so I asked Dave Baxter (of Mini Kev Awe fame) to drive, so many thanks to him for doing so.
Now, you imagine that both would be fully working and such. Hahahahaa, no. Shu! broke its 2x5A speed controller so it could go forwards and backwards but turning wasn't happening. Although it passed the tech check, I also got told it couldn't use its weapon as the arm hit the batteries so I left the locking pin in for the fights it was in. That, indeed, was my fault, I cut the back plate slot too far back. The Honey Badger was OK.
The Honey Badger vs Bunny vs Concrete Donkey
This fight lasted a mere few moments for me. One good hit from either of the spinners and the link came flying out.
Shu! vs Rev 4 vs Gear down for what?
This fight went exactly the same way. Straight hit to the back of the robot and wheeeee, link came out. Did better than we thought it might though.
So both robots were in the losers melee. The top two go through to the next round, bear this in mind. Sadly, I can't remember who which robot was fighting but in both fights, The Honey Badger and Shu! came third in the losers melee (so close!). In both cases, the tyre came off the wheel and in the case of the Badger, the whole robot stopped responding. Bleh.
The Honey Badger also fought in the Gladiator rumble. Sadly, this didn't go very well either as Bourbon 2 clipped it, cracking the polycarb and the wheels came off the robot. Link stayed in though :P
All in all, this was a disappointing day but damn, some of the fights were spectacular. I think this might be time to call time on Shu! and build something else. I've been toying with the idea of being a vertical disc or drum spinner, I have a 5045 motor for the job. As for The Honey Badger, I think I might fit it with a front hinged flipping arm and HDPE sides, not polycarb but for now, I need to concentrate on Jibril 2.0 for EXR Maidstone.
Yeah, the spinners in the BW champs eclipsed mine for sure, I'm currently building a chassis upgrade for Naginata my horizontal spinner :)
Hahaha, looking forwards to seeing it. I can't work on mine until after the MW championship.
Jibril
So the new body needs more work than I've got time for at the moment. I'll have it ready by the championship but for EXR Maidstone, I'll adjust the axe blocks so the gears definitely mesh and just work over the existing version to get it running. I really want to see the Scythe work.
Azriel
I've got it sort of half running. For EXR Maidstone, I hope to test out the brushless capabilities of the drive but I'll need to retain the current axe. I've drawn up a new axe for Cheltenham/Next Year which I'll get plasma cut and when the F30-150 motor comes out of Jibril to be replaced by the A28-150, the F30 goes in Azriel with a single stage ~6:1 gearbox.
Some updates
Azriel
I am going to put Azriel on hold until after the MW championships. I don't think I'll have time to work on it before Cheltenham. That being said, I am thinking of completely rebuilding this one into something a lot more scarier (still being an axe bot). Stay tuned on that front.
Jibril
Lots of work done here. I tore down the axe gearbox and finally secured the first stage output gear properly so it won't slip any more. I've also repositioned the axe motor so it meshes more cleanly with the gearbox so now it is just a case of remounting the final output gear with some new blocks. I've placed the final gear directly on top of the pinion gear rather than forwards of it, again guaranteeing it'll mesh and then have made some new blocks to mount the shaft on.
Everything is here now, just needs assembly and a quick test fire to make sure it'll work. Hopefully will have an update tomorrow.
EXR Maidstone 2019
Maidstone happened. It was a 3am get up and didn't get home until midnight with 3 hours sleep behind me (though I had 14 hours the night before). I think this wins the award at 280 miles distance one way for "longest trip" this year. Ironically, Burgess Hill and Colchester are, for me, more difficult to get to. Anyway, got to the venue at 9.30am and got setup next to MassBot which I helped get ready but they didn't run on the Saturday.
After putting the batteries in and tech check, I was ready to go... or so I thought. The first fight, Jibril was loaded into the pen, powered up OK, got to the arena door fine and then... it broke down at the door. The drive on one side failed completely. This is the second or third time that this has happened and I was furious. In one way or another, this robot has broken down in every single fight it has ever been in and not even making it through the door on several occasions.
So yeah, upset.
After a quick diagnostic, the problem was the grub screw again. I've just not had the time to get the drive sorted and this is what happened. A new grub screw went in and it was loaded into the pen for the second fight. Again, the drive failed. This time, it was the U bolts holding the motor in had come loose. I quickly pulled the robot back and tightened up the bolts. It went in the arena but as it passed over the threshold, guess what? The drive on that side failed again.
So I ended up in the arena running on one wheel for the fight against Backflip, Audacious, Raphael, Gaston and Bump and Grind. To be honest, it ran OK, even the Scythe fired once or twice but it was a very, very ill robot. Ended up upside down and with the Scythe jammed, game over. 560 miles for 1 three minute fight. :(
There is worse news. The new version of Jibril will not be ready for the MW championship. I mean, I could rush to get it ready but I think that has been the problem all year, rushing. I am therefore going to hold off on that until 2020 and enter the 1.6 version of Jibril with the drive sorted and a new, thicker shaft (Nat, I might purchase another 20mm titanium shaft for this). I've got a Scythe CADed up for Azriel, it'd need only a few changes to run in Jibril.
So yeah, Maidstone was a nightmare. Time to focus on improving the durability for Cheltenham. To that end:
- Drill the motor shafts and put M5 bolts through them to replace the grub screws.
- Retighten EVERYTHING.
- Rebuild the axe gearbox to include a larger end stage gear, 20mm big.
- New Scythe from 10mm ARMOX with a counterweight.