Magnets, how do they work?

[Ellis]

There is nothing wrong with using magnets, at least in theory, to make a robot seemingly heavier. But in the arena, a rambot with a shallow wedge knocking into your machine at 15mph will very likely unstick it, as will a flipper. I imagine most FP flippers could lift a robot "weighing" 80kg quite easily anyway, as Mario says.

The main issue I see is the strain on your own robot, if you go for serious downforce. From a mechanical point of view, your robot's drivetrain and chassis has to be strong and stiff enough to prevent buckling under the forces, which is entirely possible (Grant's new axe feather will have around 100kg in downforce, note it doesn't actually have any tyres, just aluminium!), but will take some good design and construction. From an electrical standpoint, the strain is even greater, the drive motors will have to work much harder (effectively you're driving a heavyweight with featherweight kit), which will at very least shorten their lifespan if not burn them out on first testing. Because the motors are working so hard, you speedos will have to be able to handle the current draw, and your battery beefy enough to supply it. Of course all wiring would have to be able to move this current around too.

Point being it's not quite as simple as popping a few magnets under your bot and thus becoming flipper-proof.

Having a little in the way of downforce to give you the edge in grip over the opponent is viable, though. Even just a few kg of pull will be within the range of the average feather drive and will give you a serious advantage over other machines.

edit: oops, I wrote short story, sorry!