Team Bodge Job

That is definitely odd. Our motors sparked hard but never blew on their own, 100% of their failures were due to being stalled on the end of a locked up gearbox. I suppose if the gearbox were really resistant (debris/wrong grease?) and you were literally banging the motor back and forth at high RPM, it could blow, but even then I would expect it to just spark a lot and get hot. Not healthy for it but not fatal. You could experiment with another motor, yeah, you may have had a dodgy one all along.

yeah I thought it was a bit odd, the gear boxes moved easily, and the grease wasn't to thick. and it was back and forth a few times, but not a massive amount? i think the drive motors current should be limited a bit any way due to the speed controllers. but its the axe one im mostly worried about. being turnt hard back and forth. Should I change it for an 18 volt motor from gimpson?

If you want it to last, yes. I don't think the motor is at risk, though it will deteriorate faster than in other applications, the risk will be in the gearbox. Slamming a weight back and forth, plus having an olvervolted motor, I can't see it lasting long.

If it's a 36:1 gearbox you could make it 18v and change to 24:1. You should still have loads of torque to swing it round and you'd have a more reliable setup, whilst making it faster than it is at 12v in those tests.

edit: you may find it lasts longer if take some weight out of the weapon head, too. If it's a kg or two then the momentum behind it may just destroy the gearbox when you use it in anger.

Perhaps before you do anything you just build it as planned. If it breaks, you have options, if it doesn't, you have a powerful weapon.

yeah ill just leave it for now, I should have a proper test Sunday, and then a years improvements for the champs. although i cant make many other events this year which is annoying. I hope there's another RC Autumn thing, preferably with fighting so I can get some spinner testing in before the champs next year.

wired it up completely now, although the motor wires are to ridged, so im going to change them from 14 awg to 16. and one of the speedos is still glitchy so i have contacted dimension engineering. And depending of if the snow has cleared I may give it a test tomorrow on 18 volts, but the drive wont be working as only one speed controller is working properly.

I have also weighed it and it weighs 13.4kg with no top, so im going to have to loose some weight somewhere if I want a sustainable top.

undoubtedly the best conditions to work in... :P

Now that's dedication! I've bought what work I can inside though a day or two in the shed will be needed soon if this snow doesn't clear up

Yeah! im not sure why im so eager to get it finished, I dont have an event for another month!

Done a little work, new base and back. and did 18 volt testing, and the motors definitely don't like 18v :uhoh: . so going to change to a 14.8 volt lipo (i presume i have to buy one and that people dont want me taking a cell out of the current one?).

I changed the base plate for 6mm HDPE to 5mm HPDE to save some weight. And the bake was replaced so the robot can run on the back wheels at all angles. And to make it easier to have a strongish the top at the back. + it looks awesome!

and I can finally say:

little to no work on the bot, just tested the robot on a 24:1 gear ratio as the last one broke at 36:1, but that broke too! may change it to 2 speed 900 size motors (stolen from bruiser 2) and use them, but i don't know if they would have enough power to self right at the small 5:1 ratio, what do people think?

here is the video on Ben's build diary, http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/thre...688#post440688
thanks ben!