The cover is parted from the block of aluminium
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The cover is parted from the block of aluminium
I used a large cutter on an angle to create an dish in the top cap
The head is complete! Just needs a tooth or 2 now :)
Here is the drawing for the new arm linkages which will be machined from Titanium. Quite a complex shape.
First the flats are machined
Then the finer detail is completed
Finished! The complex shape allows the arms to pivot as well as raise. They weight just 17g each! Who ever goes against predator please dont break them :)
The story so far :) All the bits bolted together in place. Really pleased with how its looking.
From now on Il take some better pics for you all :)
Right then. Ive started work on Predator again. Working on the drive system which will be Bosch 35w motors. Im making complete new axles as I'm not convinced by the spline onto the nylon gear. Silver Steel rod ends turned down.
2 axles turned and ready to have the squares machined
Squares machined onto the shafts and Ive machined the same square into the nylon gear. All fits nicely together.
The next stage is to get the head running. I am just designing a single tooth ring that will be machined and set into the base of the disc. I cant find the gear I made anywhere either so may have to start that again :(
This Bot is a thing of beauty, brilliant machining skills, it makes my day looking at the pictures
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabe01
Thank you very much Gabe01 thats really appreciated!
How did you make the shafts for the Bosch's?
Looking awesome James... Makes me want to get 360 back together.
Got a bar of 12mm silver steel. Truned both ends down to 8mm with a 11.5mm wide section in the middle at 12mm diameter. Then i put it in the milling machine and faced off 1.5mm off the 12mm diameter section on all four sides to give me a nice 9mm square with radius corners. I then used a 3mm cutter to mill out the squares in the gears.
Cheers dave! ye get it going although I wouldn't want to put them both in the arena together lol!Quote:
Originally Posted by mr_turbulence
As everyone else has said; this is awe-inspiring. It's not fair that us chopping-board-wood-screw-drill-motor guys must fight machines like this!
ALL is fair in love and war. :mrgreen:
I last saw Predator at the 08 champs where it was the frame, dome head, arms and tail. I thought that was just a few bits and pieces done, but had no idea just how much work was involved making even those few bits! And also that none of it was machined via computer, but by hand, makes it all the more incredible :)
It'll be a great day when this debuts in the arena for the first time, but as has been mentioned, I don't think anyone will actually want to damage it!
Really appreciate all the kind comments guys thank you.
Yup Jamie, it's entirely hand machined. No CNC parts in Venom or Predator. We do have a CNC mill now but there is something nice about machining by hand.
Maybe that's the best form of defence! Make a machine nobody wants to break lol!
Was at the Gadget Show last year too wasn't it? Remember seeing it with its fellow miniatures (think it was 360, minimoth and venom) on the podium. Does look like an awesome machine. Does the tail have a purpose or is it just to add some extra awesomeness?
Mainly for extra awesomeness lol. It's controlled by a 35kg servo so it does have a bit of power to help get itself free if other bots get stuck on it. All the joints are rubber mounted to it is designed to take impacts and keeps opponents away from the back of the machine which will house the rx and all the mechanism for the self righting arms. So it does serve a purpose however only a small one.
I do still have the original 0.6mm titanium tail which I was thinking of mounting to a base plate and attaching a servo to make it operational then selling.
:lol: That would be awesome, was messing about with that tail last year for a longer time than I spent in the arena, a good 10 or 15 seconds!Quote:
Originally Posted by james...venom
Looking really impressive James!
I think you have inspired many roboteers with these great build pics.
Looking forward to seeing more build pics and Predator completed and running!
Thanks Sam really means alot, cheers. NST is looking savage! that is an awesome piece of engineering!
Looking very good, amazing you can get in all those details by hand! I dont think theres very much chance my weird plastic box spinning thing will give you any trouble, but if we end up in a fight, il go half throttle ;-)
An inspiration, art in metal
Thank you very much for the kind comments guys.
Well just finished for the night. The past couple of days I've been looking for the main drive gear for the head but cant find it anywhere? So ive got some new gears and just finished the main gear now. Its a new gear ratio which means I can now use a scorpion brushless motor. Looking at the HK3226 so its not crazy but should be plenty for the disc. Besides I cant fit a bigger motor in! This means I now need to create a whole new aluminium head block which is a pain but will be worth it in the end.
This pic shows the standard gear and the cad drawing for the disc. I need to turn out the gear so it fits snuggly into the head.
Turning the inside edge so it matches the inside of the head
Finished turning and now im drilling the bolt holes
Hey presto! gear finished. Fits nicely into the head :)
I was just thinking the other day there are no bots in the UK with direct drive on a spinning weapon. (Except LS4 maybe...)
Are you not worried about stripping gears?
As long as you get the PCD of the gears correct then there shouldnt be a problem. Ive gone for MOD 1 gears here which I think will be fine. Ive also used a gears with more teeth on to create the same gear ratio so I have a bit more 'meat' on the drive gear. Only testing will show if it works so fingers crossed. as the head cradle is rubber mounted that will absorb a bit of the shock. Also the disc is tilted so the machine will probably fly when it hits.
Will be fine... 360 used direct gear drive and never broke a tooth.
Looks amazing James nice work :) I rember seeing this at your work when it was part done and thought can't wait to see it working that was years ago :P Fantastic looking thing
Thank you very much Alex !
Just made some custom bolts for the arm pivots. Looking good so far. Next step really is to make the head plate and the tooth ring. Then I can get cracking on finishing the drive system and the arms mechanism.
how are you planning to power the side arms?
There will be a pivoting screw thread which both arms attach to. This is powered by a worm gear to get a high ratio with an astro to power it. It's quite a complex movement the arms make. They are designed to be parallel when the arms meet at the top. Obviously the arms are tapered and if you had a simple hinge on them they wouldn't sit flat on the ground when they are down. So as the arms come up they pivot inwards aswell to create the nice lines. It's just down to the linkages really. Iam just finishing off the design for the arm mechanism and it's really nice and tidy. Will be pleased to see it completed.