Pneumatics and cheap radio receivers/controllers

Hello lads, I'm skilled in 3D printing, CAD design, a reasonable amount of miniature engineering (I work for a model company called Narrow Planet) and construction which isn't really relevant unless I make an arena!
And after a decade long hiatus from having any interest in robot combat, I've been dragged back into the hobby by a few game freelance designers to create a non profit extensive mod for a game called Robot Arena 2. (See link http://robotwarsra2.webs.com/ )

Since my interest has been rekindled I've been wanting to build an ant-weight that functions and resembles a heavyweight rather than having a skittish mound of wires and servos dancing across the table. For my first crack at making an ant, I would like to build something very similar in shape to Iron Awe 7 that includes a working Pneumatics system and makes use of geared down 6/8mm x 12mm coreless motors rather than the eBay specials that have gearboxes attached. I would like the outcome to look solid, move itself along slowly so it's controllable, but have enough kick in it to shove itself underneath another robot and for the pneumatic flipper to be capable of throwing another ant around 3inches in the year at least... And for all this to somehow cost less than about £70-£80. I'm wanting to build this to out my skills to the test so I'm not too bothered about materials, as I only intend on making my first robot to play around with but put on a damn good show for my nieces and nephew.

I know that I'm probably asking for a lot but I would like this to be a cheap project.
Cheers,
Adam

You're going to want to head over to http://robotwars101.org/forum/ for this kind of thing. You'll get much better advice as most people here concentrate on the larger classes. Antweights have come a long way since twitchy servo drives.

Cheers mate, I'll have a waddle over and see if there's anything relevant. I've just came across one particular thread that has me a bit concerned. http://robotwars101.org/forum/viewto...tart=30#p48923

Pneumatics are dangerous at any scale. However Dave Weston's robot Stewie proves that electric can be pretty potent too.

The quick reply option on this forum seems to be a nuisance with IPads. Anyway, yes if I can find an electrically powered alternative then that would be my preference giving the fact that I have no knowledge with pneumatics. I've had a search for the lad you mention but I can only find a single picture of his ant rather than finding information on the system he uses. Do you happen to know a source where I can find out more about what he uses ect?

Scott's pneumatic setup is:

Tanks- Custom made
Valve- VM1000 (from RS components)
Ram- Lego 48mm (from ebay or bricklink)

I'd say you'll struggle to get something working reliably within your budget. I've been working on a pneumatic ant and never got it to work reliably and effectively. It's pretty tough, Antweights have been going for about 13 years, and there have only ever been 2 decent pneumatic ants. Lots of people have tried, but they always fail or aren't that spectacular. Mind you, having said that, the most successful antweight ever is a pneumatic flipper, so when they work, they work very well...

Also, why avoid the "ebay specials"? With a budget of £70 you won't do better than a pair of them for a tenner. Smaller motors will be more expensive and less powerful.

I'd recommend getting the basics first, like transmitter, receiver, battery, battery charger, speed controller, motors & wheels. Even if you get all the cheapest stuff available, that's still going to eat up most (if not all) of your budget. Then once you have a moving chassis, then start work on the pneumatic system. It's no good having a kick ass pneumatic system if you don't have a robot to fit them to.

But if you do have your heart set on pneumatics on a budget, get on bricklink.com and see what's for sale. You can probably get enough for a basic lego pneumatic system (tank, ram, valve, pump & tubes) for about £20, or even less if you're able to make your own tanks. But a word of warning, that is more likely to go boom (It was a failure on the custom tanks of Scott's antweight in that link that you posted).

My apologies I should have explained in my earlier post, my budget is for the electronics only. Being a builder, we have a lockup near Newcastle Airport that has several sheets of steel, ranging in thicknesses. (Haven't a clue where they came from in all honesty) Regarding the motors, my other trade being miniature modelling I have access to a range of motors such as mashimas and tenshodos. With the intention that this antweight is only going to be used for 'exhibition matches' against a few of the RW toys, I'm not really after that much speed.

Re-pneumatics: I don't quite like the look of the Lego parts in all honesty, I have access to milling machines and if I were to go down that route, I'd rather machine my own rams and tanks. But after reading what Harry has to say and reading up on Scott's experiences, I think a fast acting, strong servo would be the best answer. The problem is that I know nothing about servos but O have read up on Dave's site that he uses a 'HPXF Park flyer servo,' so my next question would be what on earth is it and where would be the best place to source one from?

Cheers.

Hobby king is your best bet. http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking..._JR_Plug_.html

Dave's site is out of date I think. Stewie, and a few others use http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...InZHoW84vD_BwE

which is nice as it has metal gears, less prone to stripping. He runs it at a slightly higher voltage which gives it its potency but of course can reduce the lifespan. Friendly bloke, more than happy to help with info or tips, have a search for Razerdave.

Somebody call? :)

I have a new website that's still in progress, totally up to date.
I highly recommend the Hitec HS82-MG servos, same weight and power as the HPXF's, only marginally slower (only a trained eye would notice), and has metal gears, no stripping (which the HPXF's did too many times for my liking).

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...oads/image.jpg
The current Stewie.