Featherweight Build Tutorial - Research

Hi folks,
(audience participation required further down)

Over the past few weeks I€™ve been toying with the idea of creating a video tutorial of how to build a relatively simple featherweight spinner. This came about when I realised that I had enough spare parts to build a second drum robot, combined with the creation of several new threads on here that were asking the same questions that have been asked numerous times before.
The tutorial would take the form of video €˜chapters€™, covering all aspects of building a featherweight robot, from the design stages through to construction and combat. Essentially it would be a video version of Rex€™s Robot Challenge, but brought in line with current parts, materials and technologies. With any luck, once everything€™s made, all the chapters can be placed in a thread and €˜stickied€™ so that it can serve as a reference to new builders and anyone who has a question regarding the construction of a featherweight robot.

Obviously this wouldn€™t be the one and only way to make a featherweight robot as each roboteer€™s approach and build techniques differ and vary. While the aim is to complete a functional robot with active weapon, it will by no means be the €˜perfect€™ way to create a robot.

As the tutorial will be based around my way of working, I have figured out what a lot of the content will be already. But there are some things that I may take for granted as easy that others could benefit from with a tutorial video.
Two examples which have caught my eye in these threads over the past few weeks are building your own battery pack, and making wheels/inserting nuts. I initially hadn€™t thought about focusing much on them in the video since I€™m used to them, but thinking about it from a beginner€™s viewpoint, I realised a few minutes detailing how to do it would be beneficial.

In case there are any similar things (like these examples) that I may have missed, can I just ask what you would like to see included in such videos? For example, have you ever thought about making your own Deans mount, but don€™t know how to go about it? If so, let me know and I€™ll try and include a section within a chapter covering it (as long as it€™s within my knowledge!)

This is going to take a fair amount of work but I feel something like this is much needed. If all goes well, the completed robot will be ready to compete at the next full combat featherweight event.

Thoughts and suggestions welcomed :)

P.S. Once the main robot is complete, I hope to add Appendix chapters covering weapon systems for an electric axe and low-pressure flipper, which would be documented as trial-and-error as I progress with the builds for Grond and my flipper respectively, but that€™s a long way off yet!

Nice idea mate but you'd be wasting your time- its not for a lack of information that the same questions get asked again and again, it's a lack of intelligence from the noobs who don't use the search function... Plus to make a spinner IMO. You should be able to come up with the design your self and have a good idea how to implement it... Alot of people seem to struggle to just make a drill motor pushy bot made out of plastic...

... That'll probably offend someone, but in advance - i don't really care :)

I think Mr turbulence is right, the only thing that might help beginners like me is a wiring tutorial

Personally, everybody who does a video tutorial kinda misses the point I found the best about the RRC in the first place. Which was it was in a magazine, it was on paper & I could take it to the shed to follow the instructions.

I acknowledge that video is good at showing you tricky bits but IMHO the inconvenience of needing a video player & quality of video doesn't compare to even a printed sheet of paper.

I think the video would be a great idea. But would miss minor details such as joining/cutting materials etc. The main thing for new roboteers like me is the wiring, what gets plugged to where, fail safes, links, led, esc, bec, v tail mixers etc etc. But That would answer alot of questions and be a great help to many persons. Maybe start off with a base plate with the motor mounted on it and take the video from there.

See how much of a hit it is on Youtube etc and then add different videos like, lower pressure pneumatics where new roboteers could buy parts and make a flipper without cutsom machinery etc.

In all I personally think its a good idea.

Billy

If you were asking what to cover in it I would say:

Wiring including tx/rx etc
Making custom batteries
custom link holder (deans power link)

If you were to cover the above any young person could watch the video and have a go making a robot themselfs

Sounds like a good idea to me, can never have too much knowledge kicking about on the net, especially when it comes to new comers making something as dangerous as a spinner.

As far as making things like batteries is concerned, is there any real point? I mean, it seems almost as cheap to buy something pre made if you're looking at NiCad/NiMH and if you're going for LiPo then thats your only option, and that seems to be what we will all be looking at as standard in a few years time. Also, I cant see drill batteries lasting very long in a speed 900 drum spinner if thats what you were planning to make packs with. Making wheels/nut inserting is probably a good call though. As for deans mounts, seems a bit on the easy side to me, even for newcomers. Just basically attacking a bit of plastic with a drill and gluing it in really, but saying that, doing those things anyway won't hurt I suppose.

Personally, I wouldn't take anything for granted, start from scratch and go from there, but as there seems to be a big call for wiring diagrams that could maybe just be a file linked through the description of the video that once people have watched it they can print off and take with them as a reference. Could probably be linked along with things like this forum, the stickied thread, rules etc. maybe even suppliers (especially if you're using parts like the Gimson motors)

Also, if you're looking for any parts or a hand to make the robot give me a shout and i'd love to get involved, even as a cameraman if you need it. Don't want it costing you a fortune or taking up all of your time/giving you an excuse if Drumroll still sucks :lol:

video is a great idea as a lot of newcomers may prefer to be shown how to do something like that rather than being talked through it, it's how I learned a lot in very little time

I agree with mr turbulence over there

Id take up anttazz help and ideas

I know exactly what Dave's saying but one of the issues I had when starting of was 'information overload'. There is a lot of great stuff on the forum but some thread have hundreds of posts, are repetetive or conflicting, matters of opinion, describe equipment which is outdated or not available anymore. There are some genuine nuggets of info there too.

Now we have our new web site maybe will see the emergence of the long awaited wiki which would be cool and then I would fully agree there is no excuse.

A video is a good idea but i do feel it would get lost pretty quickly after it's posted so again, a good insert into a wiki would help.

A moderated wiki is just what's needed. The Riobotz tutorial (all 367 pages of it) tried to tackle the issue but is ineffective in it's format and lack of adaptability- similar content on an inter-referenced wiki would be much more useful.

Thanks for the replies, some interesting points raised.
I should add, another reason for contemplating the video tutorial was the non-emergence of a wiki. It's been talked about several times over the past year or two but nothing has come of it yet. If I was a beginner, having a wiki to refer to for information would be easier than letting a bunch of videos load up and then trying to skip to the relevant part. As Ceri mentioned, it's sometimes easier having something solid in your hand that you can take to your workbench and refer to when it comes to making stuff. If a wiki pops up now we have the new homepage, I'd welcome it and refrain from doing the videos as they would become somewhat unnecessary.

Quote:

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But would miss minor details such as joining/cutting materials etc.

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That's one area I would be hoping to cover. The bot chassis would be Nylon so I'd mostly be covering cutting it and drilling/tapping holes. Obviously there are other different methods but I need to limit how far into these alternatives I go otherwise the content of the videos will be excessive.

Wiring seems to be the main area that people would like to see covered thoroughly. Tony mentioned this as an idea and it was the one I was thinking of: having a video on wiring that shows everything getting connected up/soldering joints etc, but then had an image file that can be linked to showing the circuit connections that can be referred to easily.

I've written up a rough chapter list so far:

----------------------------------------

Chapter 1 - Design:

- Establish intent and design
- CAD/paper/cardboard models
- Pile of parts
- Material selection


Chapter 2 - Chassis:

- Base plate construction
- Bulkhead cutting/drilling/tapping
- Component mounting locations


Chapter 3 - Drive:

- Mounting the motors
- Melting a nut into a wheel
- Attaching a nut-insert wheel


Chapter 4 - Power:

- Mounting the batteries
- Fitting power distribution bolts
- Mounting a removable link
- Installing a power LED


Chapter 5 - Electronics:

- Fitting the speed controllers
- Fitting the weapon control
- Installing the radio gear
- Wiring the system up


Chapter 6 - Weapons:

- Making the drum
- Fitting the weapon motor
- Assembling transmission


Chapter 7 - Finishing touches:

- Test of failsafes
- Test of weapon system
- Armour
- Paint
- Practice and full-scale testing


Chapter 8 - Summary

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Hmm, just hit a possible issue. Just realised that most videos will probably come close to the 15min max limit on Youtube, with 8 chapters that could be well over two hours of footage. I doubt even the most enthusiastic beginner is going to sit for that long watching some random build a robot.

Maybe worth just building the robot and documenting it as a build diary (as per usual) but with a short video thrown in now and then to cover areas such as wiring, nut inserts or cutting/drilling/tapping.

Think I'll need to spend a bit more time considering the logistics of a video series vs. usefulness and practicality. Will mull things over during the next few days.

most beginners would probably watch the parts that they are having problems with the most which differs from person to person so it would be good to have all the information on there but the build diary with videos is a good idea and at the end of the day it is your choice

I was considering, for each weight section, having a sticky thread(s) titled weight class for beginners: motors/batteries/radio/materials, and then relative diagrams (Andy hibbard has a great thread with a diagram of every possible wiring configuration in antweights), and if they are sticky then newcomers will have a good place to start and ask questions on said subject. I will do it if o one else wants to.

Also, a video tutorial would be great but maybe not a spinner :p

Some good ideas here which could help to stop the same questions being repeated over and over again. I think having a sticky thread for each weightclass with some general info may be a good idea.

It also got me thinking that it may be an idea to film a Tech Check so that the newcomers know what to expect when they get to an event and that they can be sure in advance that their robot will be allowed to compete.

Im about to start a heavyweight how to build a simple robot along these lines too !! 8)

I posted on facebook about it the other day !

John
Roaming Robots

A tech check is a brilliant idea also. With a heavy weight getting done then its only right that a feather gets done. It could be a stick thread with lots of short videos displaying a part each. Example video fir wiring, a video for making wheels etc

I was going to do it bit by bit in the various sections rather than one big build diary. I may need some assistance with diagrams for heavyweight pneumatics.

Dave, I think we can talk about those diagrams soonish....

Ok, I was thinking of these for section headings in each section.

Motors and drive
Batteries
Speed controllers and wiring
Radio gear
Materials
Weaponry (possibly a separate thread for pneumatics and hydraulics in HW's)

I was going to have pics and links relating to the various items therein (pics of a drill motor and a link to the Argos page for it)

yeah the above chapters would be fine.

8 chapters Jamie is a lot of info but if they are in sections (ie small videos) then people will watch what they want. And if at some next event someone can film a tech check of a bot then that would be a good video also to add.

Been giving this a bit of thought and, with the number of weekends left until April (roughly, since a full-combat event is likely but no date confirmed) and me being busy on a few of them, filming a comprehensive build guide and completing the robot in time would be a tight squeeze, and I'm currently enjoying being able to build without rushing anything.

So my plan is: build the robot as planned and compete with it then, once there's a quiet spell, pull it all apart and rebuild it along with a video tutorial detailing various aspects (as suggested or requested).
Will, if you're happy to spare a few minutes during some down-time at the next feather comp, I could film you doing a tech check on this tutorial robot (and perhaps a flipper/axe/rambot, to show the variations) and edit it together to make a short guide for the forum/homepage.

If all goes to plan, and I will do my darnedest to make it so, I will be going to the FW champs. I have an HD camera and several years of practice with Sony Vegas (a professional editing software). I'd be very happy to help in any way I can!

y not just use these, ( not mine, but very good) http://teamorr.com/how-tos/how-to-build ... ght-robot/

Just read your post Jamie and I'd be happy to film a couple of tech checks for the guide

Excellenty, thanks Will.