Testing the waters robot building

Hello there

Earlier this year my misses got me and my boy 2 tickets to watch robot extreme event in Guildford, been a long time since i had watched robot wars and must admit i think i was a bit more excited to see it then my boy, what an amazing show we loved it, my boy came straight home and started researching how to build robots and ive been getting pictures weekly of his "next greatest robot idea" not seen him so enthused about a subject in a long time.

Over the weekend we surprised him with a visit to the Amberley museum to see the robots live event, and once again my boy was hooked, so after the nod of approval from the misses we've been given permission to build our own YAY!

Now a little bit of history, this isnt the first time he has been into a new hobby, and being the supportive parent i try to be, i get him all the things he should need and spent a fortune only for him to fall out of love 2 weeks later.

So as a compromise, weve decided not to build a fighting robot just yet, more of a robot the will do the basics and see how he feels after that, if he still like it then we can get the proper bits he needs

So at the moment im looking to build on a budget, bought some 1000rpm 12v motors off ebay, and just bought a big sheet of 10mm HDPE after reading their recommendation on here.

Now read that the botbitz 10a speed controllers are good for what we need, but they dont seem to be in stock on ranglebox, so im looking for an alternative, doesnt need to be anything special, just fairly cheap.

Also im looking into hubs and wheels, i believe the shaft size on the motor is 4mm and is a "D" shape anyone know of a good wheel an hub combo?

IM sure there will be loads more questions as we get more involved, but thats all i can think of for now, any help will be truely appreciated

Kieron

Hey there, welcome to the forum!

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So at the moment im looking to build on a budget, bought some 1000rpm 12v motors off ebay, and just bought a big sheet of 10mm HDPE after reading their recommendation on here.

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Good start, HDPE is pretty versatile and easy enough to work with. Are the motors geared though? Might not be an issue with Beetleweights mind.

As for speed controllers, if the motors are brushless (so three wires out of the motor, a +, a - and a sensor wire)... perhaps something like this though I have not tried this one myself - https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...ontroller.html

Is there a basic design in mind?

these are the ones i bought

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-12V-DC...72.m2749.l2649

it says gearbox on them so i assume they are gear but until they arrive and i can tear it apart i dont know the quality

looking for a brushed controller im afraid

As for design im going with a basic flat chassis and bolting everything to it, once i got that sorted i will move onto something a bit more exciting.

If they're the typical 1000RPM 12V gearmotors, they'll be brushed. I'd recommend Rory Mangles' BeetleTwo. It's a dual channel Speed controller so you only need one for both wheels. For that you're looking at £42 including delivery in the UK. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...d_NTRY9Lg/edit

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As for design im going with a basic flat chassis and bolting everything to it, once i got that sorted i will move onto something a bit more exciting.

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That is fair enough. When I was prototyping my Featherweight, I bought one of those wooden garden stands on castors and simply screwed/sellotaped bits into that until it moved. I bought a set of similar motors which were really too small for a Featherweight but ideal for a Beetleweight so along the right tracks there.

thanks for the suggestion R9000, might give that a go, im sure that will make things easier when it comes to putting everything together, looking for hubs/wheels, would the banebots T81 wheels and hubs fit straight on?

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Originally Posted by khevolution

thanks for the suggestion R9000, might give that a go, im sure that will make things easier when it comes to putting everything together, looking for hubs/wheels, would the banebots T81 wheels and hubs fit straight on?

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Depending on the diameter of the motors gearbox axle (4mm IIRC) these hubs will work

http://www.robotshop.com/uk/hex-hub-s40-4mm-1wide.html

or duel wheels these

http://www.robotshop.com/uk/hex-hub-s40-4mm-2wide.html

and i uses these wheels myself

http://www.robotshop.com/uk/rb-ban-94-orange-wheel.html

thank you, was looking at them, I know it seems like a silly question but i can see how the grub screw goes into the hub and onto the motor shaft, but how does the wheel stay on?

Whats postage speed like on the robotshop site, i got one inpatient boy wanting everything to arrive tomorrow if it was possible.

1. there is a locking ring.

2. not sure about delivery as mine was delay thanks to DPD but it is quick.

also you where talking about the ESC, you could get them from bitbotz directly but it from Aus soo yeah

Ahh was wondering what that was for, makes perfect sense now thanks

no when i thinking of going for the beetletwo dual channel one, just want to have a good look through the documentation first.

Received a couple of bits now and started work on the base last night and made a very basic form of motor mounts to drill into the base, been looking into the ESC and im really close to pulling the trigger on the beetletwo speed controller recommended earlier on here, just want to ask, if im reading the manual right, the ESC has built in mixing so would a normal pistol grip controller work, only asking as i got pretty decent one already from my RC racing days