Getting Started

[Gooders1002]

Hello Everybody,

I am aspiring Roboteer based in Oxfordshire. I am looking into building and battling Robots but I have no previous experience and could do with some pointers on how to design, build, program, test and battle robots.

So any and all help would be appreciated and hopefully one day I will see you in the arena.

Kind Regards,

AG

[R9000]

I'd say for a start, what's your goal? Do you have any designs in mind, and what weight class are you going for? I'd suggest starting with a feather or beetleweight. See the build rules PDF on this site for weight classes and regulations.

[Gooders1002]

Hello,

Thank you for the Advice, ultimately I want to go in the Heavy weight class, I have a few designs in mind but is there software I can use to digitally prototype the robot be for I build. Also are there any good guides on general building and what software would you recommend to be the controller?

Kind regards,

AG

[R9000]

I don't know about a complete guide per se, but there are plenty of threads about building parts of a robot, asking questions, etc. There are probably more resources on feathers here because they're generally simpler, but a lot of skills and knowledge carries over. For example, you can use the same kind of control method for pretty much all robots, that being an RC Transmitter and Receiver, controlling ESCs (electronic speed controllers) to power the motors. There isn't usually much in the way of control software unless you're modifying your ESC firmware or you have some autonomous function on your robot (which not many people do to my knowledge). Like I said before, many here will recommend you get your feet wet with a featherweight first, since if you have no experience, you'll make mistakes and they're a lot more costly in a heavyweight machine than a feather. That and, from what I've heard, just the time and cost of building a heavy can go much above what you originally expected. Ultimately it's up to you, but I'd recommend a featherweight to give you some experience first, unless you have ample time and resources. As far as I know for a controller, most people buy the Spektrum DX6i, which you can get reasonably with a receiver on eBay. You can pretty much use this on all your bots, unless you need a whole bunch of extra channels for whatever reason. If you want to start creating a digital model of your design, I'd recommend Sketchup, as it's what I use and it's free, but if you have experience with CAD programs like Autodesk or Solidworks, they're probably a lot more powerful.

[Eventorizon]

Welcome Alex

Your best bet is to look in the 'Build Diary' section of the forum. You are far from the first to ask for help so if you look for other posts similar to your own asking for help you will find links and advice to get you started (saves us repeating ourselves over and over)

Some of the good build diaries are Tormenta/Range, 360/720, my own Team Eventorizon one isn't bad either.

For designing your robot you can use Sketch-Up, or if you can get hold of a copy Autodesk Inventor or Solidworks.

For controlling the robots, many make the mistake that you need some kind of operating system or controller like an Arduino or Raspberry Pi (though some people use them to add extra functionality to their machines). Thankfully this isn't the case. You just need a Transmitter, like a Spetrum DX6, a receiver such as an Orange AR620, and then speed controllers such as the Hacked TZ85A and finally motors/gearboxes like Ranglebox Saturn 16's and RS 550 motors.

Building a robot these days is easier than you might think, you just need to know which parts to use and how to use them effectively.

[maddox10]

Welcome to our group Alex,

I second Alex B .

The useable parts are now more easely available, and we will point them out for anybody asking about those.

I started robot building in 2001, and had no clue whatsoever. The basement still holds hidden, but useless treasures from those days. Wasted time and money getting those...

it's also a question of what your capabilities are, and the acces to tools. Many a machine were build with just an anglegrinder and handheld drill, in about every weightclass. But having acces to more machines and tools speed up the proces greatly, and enlarge the pool of possibilities.
But take care, 1 resource is finite. Time.
If you spend 4 weeks to mill the gears for an über-gearbox, those are 4 weeks not used for anything else.

Another piece of advice. And again, it's that time issue. Search for teammates.
With more people, you have more time to build, even if nothing else comes with the team. But in most cases, it means also more other resources.

[swedemac]

Very well said guys . It is also a learning curve to this. Nothing beats experience. Maybe lots of good connections .
I would recommend also to have a buildingpartner. You may not always get along or have the same ideas but it is, in my opinion, better to have someone to share ideas and buildtime with .