Simply saying hello

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to say hello and give a quick intro.

I have been a long time fan of RobotWars, watched avidly from series one. I am older now, and so are the kids so I have more free time and have finally taken the plunge and will build a robot. I was inspired when i saw the Haynes manual on Amazon. Ordered it and saw the instructions, I was immediately convinced I could manage to make something, even if a clone. So I got designing and have some ideas I hope to share soon. Probably going to build a featherweight but wewill see where it ends up. I will treat it as test of my skills and see where we end up and make sure I enjoy it. Can't imagine it isn't for me but hey, you never know till you try. I am reasonably handy when it comes to DIY, am capable around computers, and am not scared of electronics or plumbing, but I would not consider myself skilled or an expert in any area. That said I am really looking forward to designing and building a robot and hope to see some of you at a battle next year.

Simon

Hey there, welcome to the forum! :D

Thanks - I was reading one of your build threads earlier.

Just being a sponge at the moment soaking up all the info I can. Lots of useful posts. Seems a really good community.

Welcome to the forum.

If you ever need any help, just ask around, I'm very certain that everyone on here would be more than happy to help you out. :)

If hands on experience in a reasonably equipped workshop is needed, consider a trip to Brussels.

Hi and welcome aboard! As always, looking forward to what you come up with, make sure to keep us posted.

Welcome to the forum!

"Location - Scotland"

Whereabouts in Scotland are you based? There are a few of us on here up this way :)

I am in Stirling at the moment. I have moved around a lot. I am from England - Matlock Derbyshire originally (sorry not born and bread), Sheffield for Uni then Scotland. Aberdeen originally before Inverness, short stint in Wiesbaden Germany and then back to Scotland and Stirling.

I will put my first notes on my bots in my blog. While i am still playing around it's probably best before I start a thread in a forum not knowing exactly what I build.

Pretty central then, and not too far from the RW arena. I'm up in Aberdeen now and Gary's a bit further north near Mintlaw. A few of us are in or around the central belt too.

I'd say pop up a build thread to begin with anyway. Even if you're not sure exactly what you want to build yet, you can always reach out with your ideas or if you need advice or anything. Good luck with it all. It can be a frustrating and expensive process at times, but it's entirely worth it once you get in that arena :)

Welcome,

Only tips i can provide,

Build where your experience lies, IE don't weld if you don't have easy consistent access - use bolts and threads or helicoils / timeserts in plastics.

Read at least 50 build threads before you start buying anything

I haven't competed but i have spannered at the side of a fight and help another builder and i learnt more from 6 hours with him than i did any other way.

All advice is just that, take it as it is intended HELP ? GUIDANCE nearly always on this forum they are trying to save you grief because they have already done what your about to do and it won't work or they can help you get it right first time.

Once you get started building be prepared to blow any budget you set, .. so don't set a budget just build it as best you can afford.

Once you built something take it to a live event and find your failure points.

K

Thanks to everyone for the welcome. Really nice to get so much feedback and support.
I am definitely going to be on a steep learning curve. I have been reading the threads and some of the skills are quite incredible, seeing TechAUmNu PCB design for example.
With a bit of luck my ESC arrives Monday (got a mystery delivery email confirmation - no sender info) but unless it's for my wife it must be my ESC. But today is about clearing space in garage. Gumtree watch out.

One more thing - seen various folk using CAD to get design right avoiding clunks and so they can order prefabbed/pre-cut parts. Has anyone used OnShape? I have had a play and it seems quite capable, but I haven't used CAD before. Last time I did 3D modelling it took my Atari ST 2 days to render one frame - lol - that was only the early 90's now its in the damn browser in near real time!

Just in case you are confused - I changed my name

After signing up I realised my name was too similar to Team Death. They were very nice about it and said it was OK by them, but to avoid confusion and any idea we are in some way connected I have asked for my name to be amended. Some threads appear to show as Team Deathly still, but posts and related avatar are updated with my new name Deathly Hallows.

Hope that clarifies it for everyone.