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hello every body went to robots live at hemel and got some advise from marco who gave me this web address.i and my son have always wanted to build a fighting robot but was always put off by money and lack of knowledge so as you can tell new to this but i hope you can help me and my son build and source good parts many thanks paul
Depends on what size and type of Robot you want to build, Featherweight is the best starting point, couple of drill motors, some polycarb, + your choice of weapon.
have a look on Commercial Sale section, James or Ewans sites have info, and parts, otherwise look on the For sale.
My first advice is to check out as many competitor webistes as possible, it will give you ideas and the start of the techincal bits of the hobby. Get something of a design, either do sketches on paper or there are some cheap (free) CAD programs around (try gmax - how i started). Then come back here and ask for peoples feedback.
There are always people around on here to answer technical questions. For parts a good place to start is:
http://www.technobots.co.ukhttp://www.technobots.co.uk
Ideally start with a featherweight as it will help develop your skills, especially in fault finding which is very important in robots.
Any questions, you can email me - address on profile. But read as much as possible and you will learn, it is how I got started by reading Tornados team diary (http://www.teamtornado.co.ukwww.teamtornado.co.uk).
Ed - Team Turbine
http://www.teamturbine.co.ukhttp://www.teamturbine.co.uk
- (check out the feather diary page)
I would agree with David and start with a featherweight (12kg).
Download the rules from the FRA homepage and have a read through them. Anything you are unsure about, just ask on here.
Do you have any ideas of what kind of a machine you would like to build? I suggest building something more than a simple rammer as it makes it more exciting.
A few sources for parts,
http://www.technobots.co.ukwww.technobots.co.uk
http://www.gimsonrobotics.com/www.gimsonrobotics.com/
http://www.robochallenge.co.uk/www.robochallenge.co.uk/
http://www.robotmarketplace.comwww.robotmarketplace.com
The last site is based in the states but has a number of more exotic parts :)
put off by money and lack of knowledge
Paul we can help with our knowledge every one here will help you But money we carnt but looking forward to helping you
(I do speak for us all)
http://www.teambeast.co.ukwww.teambeast.co.uk
Popular Speed controllers include the Electronize ( youll need 2 ) Sabretooth , Scorpion XL or the newer XXL.
Then ..NiMh batteries approx 3300mah..of a voltage to suit your motor requirements plus a suitable charger.
Transmitter and reciever .....the NEW Spektrum DX6 2.4 Ghz is a popular choice but MUST have the BR6000 Bot Receiver option .
Have a browse through the Forum ....youll find loads of information that has been posted.
Paul, 12 months ago i didnt know anything about electronics, fabrication and that, when i started asking questions it scared me a bit as their was so much to take in at first,from how to mount wheels, what motors,speedos,batteries,charging batteries, the list was endless. my advice is read all the old posts in featherweights or heavyweights, you will learn heck of alot from these, you will find alot of questions answered somewhere. or ask people here, someone will always answer.
this forum has all the knowledge you would need. I had never used a welder, or anything... but i have just built my first fw from scratch and to be honest i was surprised (not how easy it was) but that it wasnt as hard as i thought, if that makes sense. i researched the internet watching videos on how to weld and stuff, im by far no expert and compared to others on here im sure my welding is crap but i believe i have built a very competitive machine. also i found my daughter who is 8 can help with feathers, she has her own and loves getting involved, but for me personally i found the heavies she could only stand and watch, heavies do have their good points mind, to watch and for the audiance their second to none.
start with a fw, personally if you were looking to get straight in heavies i would buy something built (and im not saying that cos im selling mine!) but if you want it to last nowadays im still a long long way away from building a hw myself that would be competitive against robots like terrorhurtz. if you go to a fw event and watch the likes of little spinner, scorpian lem you will see that even though they are only 12kg they are very powerful and destructive. i actually enjoy fw more than hw but thats probably cos i get a bit out of my depth with hw. keep going to events and dont be afraid to ask to have a look in a machine its the best way to get experiance. you can build a feather quite cheap nowasays with places like gimsons, robochallenge and that. its when you want to upgrade it with the fancy bits that you can spend some serious £££.thats what happened to me when i started competing i saw all these nice chargers and controllers and saw the difference in performance and control. but ask the team with block of wood it finished 4th in uk champs and ask him how much it cost him to build. on the other hand if you want to pay someone to build you a fw robot their are companies like robochallenge.
thats my advice if it helps.
(Message edited by ady on September 17, 2007)
Heavyweights are 8 times more fun than feathers. :lol:
and 8 times worse on your back :)
All part of the charm. :)
8 times worse on the wallet.
lol whats a wallet ?
ps tell me lad
pound for pound, the smaller the robot gets, the more expensive it gets.
The cost of the parts in my ant is more than its weight in pure silver. :)
A wallet is a somewhere that I keep my money ......till the wife wants it.:uhoh:
Glad you found your way to the forum. I think the advice given has all ready surpassed anything that I could say. I sugest getting some good email contacts and before purchesing anything get an opinion from some one who knows there stuff.
I also would like to say that sometimes getting something shipped from the USA can be cheaper,as I have found out recently.
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/store.htmlwww.robotmarketplace.com/store.html
However http://www.technobots.co.ukwww.technobots.co.uk is an exellent site for near enough everything.
Good luck!
sometimes getting something shipped from the USA can be cheaper
That one depends on how awake customs are when your parcel arrives in the country.
A lot of times even with customs and taxes it is still cheaper. I always add vat on both the product and shipping costs of the package, so I know what i can expect to pay.
Try buying Motor /Gearbox combo for a heavy for under £10.00, Leo.
You lost me. Why would I want to?
Just an example of how cheap you can start building a feather, very difficult to match in a heavy.
well, ive built a heavy under 200 pounds, and feathers never got that low with me.
But yes, you can make robots as cheap or as expensive as you want.
Still I dont like drillmotors so i never pay so little as 10 pounds.
I suggest you read the rules.
If you havnt already that is:)