HardWired II

[Flag Captured]

Cheers Mario! That'll work then - I think going for the hardox base with bits of stainless for where the magnets will be might be the best bet, now that I've thought about it a little more -Your suggestion of a frame to put the magnets in beneath the machine to get them closer to the floor will definitely be the route for magnets underneath the main body, I was just thinking for at the front to keep the wedge close to the floor. Could be worth having magnets built in to the bolt-on planer blade...


In other news, now that my university coursework is done, I can start getting back to robots a little more. I'm going to be building a replacement for HardWired II for the Robot Wars/ Robots Live events. I say it's a new machine, but it's just the insides from HardWired Evolution in some new HDPE bulkheads, and probably an axe made from a drill motor and some old bike chain/gears. Just so that I can throw it in and not worry as much about it getting absolutely battered. Of course, Balsa Steel's also going to be going to the Barnsley event if I can get it there for its first outing. I have all the scrap parts laid out ready to put together, it'll be funny to watch I hope!

When I've got a bit more money to spend on it this summer, I'll be upgrading HardWired II and other things with the HardWired fleet if I can do... Still looking for some cheap full-pressure pneumatic stuff if anyone's getting rid of any rams or whatever!

[mrsam]

I wouldn't bother with a drill motor for the axe the gearboxes just lock up

[Flag Captured]

...What's this? Could it be? AN ACTUAL UPDATE?!

I finally designed a concept for HardWired 3 (HardWir3d?), it's a very primitive version of what I intend to end up with, but it shows where I'm headed with it. Hopefully I've not subconsciously nicked anyone's design too, I apologise if I have...










Where are the wheels? I can't do wheels in sketchup.
Where is the tooth on the disc? I can't do teeth in sketchup either.

But yeah, as a basic concept, that's what I'm aiming for. As it stands, it's huge. 140mm wheels. 432mm x 582mm at its widest points. 230mm diameter disc. Well, it's huge compared to HardWired II at least, anyway haha.

Hardox front panel, with aluminium bulkheads and hardox outer structure, with layered 20mm HDPE bolted to that. Back plate will be 6mm Hardox with a few thin pieces of HDPE on the back to soften the impacts but also give spinners something hard to hit.

This machine will run some magnets to keep it on the floor, but will mostly have wide tires (inspiration taken from Rango there) to put down as much force as I can - it's not going to be magnet-heavy probably, just enough to keep it constantly on the floor. It's going to be all about speed, it'll be able to push another machine obviously but the intention is to make this silly fast so that I can charge into things and send it flying, much the same as how 720 did this year in its fight with Night Fury and Tiny Toon (I think) - quick charge and out of the arena. It's not going to be designed to cause damage, more as a kinetic energy flipper. Going to try and get that speed out of brushless drive, depending how it gets on in HardWired II.

The main change is that I'm going to be building more of this one on my own, I'll still need help with some of it but I'm going to at least try and build more on this one than I did with HardWired II so I get an insight on how I'd be able to fix up my machines, and build my skills up. This basically means that it's going to fall apart after the first hit.


Quick update anyway to show how it's all going. Work won't start on either HardWired II or 3 for some time because money, but I should have a good run at it when I save up enough for it. More updates on the rest of the fleet incoming!





Should mention too, the reason I'm calling them HardWired II and HardWired 3 is not to irritate people, rather to avoid confusion - III looks strikingly similar to II haha

[SamO]

How you gona got that in weight?

[Flag Captured]

It's going to have a few redesigns yet, but the actual machine is pretty much just the front two bulkheads (aluminium) and then there's a huge airgap at the side with the wing type things I've got. Going to redesign heavily though to get it better and more weight efficient if I can. Only going to be a hardox frame though, mostly HDPE for armour which will help.

[Eventorizon]

As for the size, I just cant see it being that big and being in weight. There is nothing wrong with having a 230mm disc but at over half a meter long it will turn like a beached whale. I am assuming that the wheels are towards the back.

The overall shape is good but I am sure you are over estimating the space you need.

[Flag Captured]

It was a complete accident that it ended up that big! I'm only going on sketchup measurements, change everything to about 70% of those sizes and it's a lot closer to what it should be, would like it to be not a whole lot bigger than HardWired II truth be told. Probably going to make it flatter and more sloped towards the front too so that I can keep the disc a little larger, no way it's going to stay that size though, definitely. Again, it's just sketchup's measurements and it was mostly designed for the look at this point, so I've got a reference to work with and improve on I suppose.

[Revsmin]

Yeah, you are looking at 20kg+ there! Sounds like a great concept, but far too big, you're challenging Project X for biggest feather ever ( it was 500x470x75mm). Not only that, but it looks easy to topple given a good hit.

[Flag Captured]

It is, I'm planning to have it a lot smaller for the actual machine. Probably about 70% of that, at the most and not as long. Truth be told, 'HardWired 2 with a disc on it' is what it'll end up being like, I just want it a little wider so I can squeeze more in there like I'll need, as well as having bigger bigger wheels. Little more angular to account for the disc too.

Plan is to use 3.2mm Hardox and 20-30mm HDPE for the armour, so it'll have to be small!

[overkill]

What's the plan for when it gets flipped? Are the wheels going to be large enough for it to drive inverted or will there be some self-righting mechanism? I'm not sure that thick HDPE over 6mm Hardox is effective; just using thicker Hardox is likely to be better.