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Thread: Team Kaizen Build Diary

  1. #341
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    The Honey Badger
    Unfortunately, I ended up with what turned out to be the C-Virus on the Friday, a couple of days after I finished the rebuild (which I filmed hastily) so the Badger didn't see any action at Chatham. Felt pretty rotten about it having to pull out at the last minute but it had to happen, I just wasn't well enough to drive 5 hours one way.

    Jibril & Azriel
    This has a knock on implication for Robots Live at Stoke. By the next weekend when this event is on, I should at least be testing negative but it does mean getting hold of parts is tricky. The RoboClaw ESC needs some work to make work in the existing wiring for Jibril. Azriel is fine to run. I am rather glad not to be running solo these days.
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

  2. #342
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    Robots Live! Stoke 2022
    Going into this, I knew Jibril needed some work. The axe worked fine but the drive needed some addressing so as we got into the event, off came the side to work out why the gears weren't meshing. It looks as if the base plate had twisted so one side of the wheel support was lower than the other, causing a lack of decent engagement. Some washers went in and a test drive later (including a slide into the pit) and it seemed to work OK. It still wasn't engaging fully but good enough to fight with. Azriel needed only minor fiddling before the event.

    Jibril
    Saturday was interesting in that I managed to get into the Heavyweight competition with F7 as a cluster, fighting Tenshe, Yoton and Uriel. I think the gear started to slip right at the start of the fight but I definitely got a few good blows in on Uriel before Tenshe enforced flying lessons and I ended up on my back. I appeared to have no power as the axe didn't respond at all, nor did the drive. It transpired that one of the battery cables had wrapped itself around a wheel and tore the wire off the connector in a familiar repeat of Cheltenham 2019. Doh.

    The Sunday morning we arrived late but as there wasn't any HW whiteboards running in the first event, I took my time and adjusted the wheel properly so the gears meshed correctly. In testing, Jibril is very accurate in driving. I can point it in "a" direction and get it where I want to go without it spinning off. However, the axe was a casualty where the grub pins on the pinion second stage had failed. It was "working" but there wasn't very much power being transmitted.

    However, because it was driving fine, I was OK with throwing it into a HW melee at the end of the second show. This ended up being against Tornado, Gabriel, Switch, Thunderchild and Eruption. This effectively became a repeat of the first fight where Eruption flipped me clean out of the arena. Apparently they had been told not to do that but meh, I was just glad to have a MW that was working.

    Jibril needs some work before the next event. Obviously the grub pins need fixing, the axe needs reattaching and some tidying up of the electronics but otherwise still works OK.

    Azriel
    The featherweight went into 6 Melee battles and by the end, was quite worn out. The batteries aren't charging fully anymore, the alignment on the axe gears has failed so in the last couple of fights it was tempermental as to wherever it worked or not and most crucially, despite multiple attempts at repair, the wiring situation meant that it was constantly cutting out.

    That being said, it survived one of the melee fights and came close to doing so on a few others but now is the time to completely overhaul and rebuild Azriel. Bear in mind, this robot was put togteher on a shoestring budget and from spare parts dating back as old as The Honey Badger 2.x so its done well for what it has in it.

    I am hoping to debut Azriel 2.0 at EXR Colchester later on this year.
    Last edited by Ocracoke; 25th July 2022 at 12:47.
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

  3. #343
    Any update on the BotFest4 video?
    Powerhouse Robotics

  4. #344
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    Any update on the BotFest4 video?
    Unfortunately no. I've been moving house and practically all of my stuff (including the computer that I do all my video editing on) is currently in storage. This is also why BotFest 5 isn't happening this year either. I am hoping that once I can get to the arena and my camera, I can run BotFest 5 (and finish the BotFest 4) video but this is highly unlikely until next year.

    I gave Colchester and Maidstone a miss this year for the same reasons but Cheltenham is relatively close to me and I wanted to finally iron out issues in Jibril so it can at least give a good fight.

    EXR Cheltenham 2022
    I must confess, Cheltenham was quieter than I expected but with 4 MWs in play (Backflip, F7, Audacious and Jibril), we did at least get our own slot. The FWs being a prematch warm up thing I am still unsure about but heck, it was good to give Azriel 1.0 a final run before its retirement before 2.0 is built.

    Azriel did OK for what state it was in. It survived 2 of the 3 matches but the electrical gremlins were ever present. The chassis is pretty twisted from being ran over at RL Stoke and the axe gears are now pretty EOL. 2.0 is going to be smaller and denser with a better axe ratio (I am anticipating 9:1).

    Jibril needed some prematch tuning. After a donation of a new grub screw from Tom (Backflip), we answered the burning question that had been a question mark since the debut of the 2.0 version - can it self right? Answer... yes but only if the axe is in the "fired" position which is more than the 1.x ever could. In the "rest" position, the axe doesn't have enough leverage to self right properly.

    However, the rebuild work paid off. Jibril survived all three melee matches, the axe worked properly... somewhat and the drive worked... mostly. The first fight, we proved it could self right and the axe kept on working but in the second fight, one side of the drive packed up and the axe stopped working. Examination showed the motor grub pin fell out. Given I had drilled the other side with a M4 pin and lock nut, I did the same on the failed side. I also fiddled with the clearences in the axe gearbox to get that to clear (there is a design flaw where the first stage output gear almost interferes with the second stage shaft).

    Third fight, I'll admit, I got lucky. Pretty much from activate, the axe stopped working again, much to my dismay and the drive once again failed on one side. However, I managed to keep it going on the one working wheel and both Backflip and Audacious suffered breakdowns during the fight so by a technicality, I won the fight.

    Examination post match showed the wire for the motor popped out of the crimp connectors connecting the motor to the Roboclaw ESC. I reattached it and soldered all 6 connections for added security. The axe wiring harness, and I am sure this is from all the banging the robot went through in the fights over the weekend, just sort of fell apart. I think what I'll do is unsolder the EC8 connectors on both sides, attach and solder big ring connectors, get a piece of HDPE board and use some bolts and lock nuts to attach the connectors with to make a more secure connection.

    Prior to this event, I was convinced I was going to retire Jibril 2.0 because, as those who have seen the machine over the last year or so, it has been problematic to be nice about it. Blown ESCs (anyone able to fix a Ragebridge?), failed gearing, chassis flexing to name four problems. If you include the 1.x series, which was a real headache, Jibril has been a fairly catastrophic MW.

    That being said, the team name is Team Kaizen, continious improvement and I think this event, with the culmination of a win, proves this robot does work. Therefore Jibril will not be retired and make its way to a 2.1 verson. There are definite improvements to be made, including:


    • Thicker, angled side arms (with rolled edges rather than sharp angles)
    • Longer, heavier axe with a rolled head rather than a sharp edge. This does go against the Scythe-Axe which I am working on retaining in the new axe. The existing axe is a bit too short to reach the opponent.
    • Regeared axe for a slightly faster fire rate.
    • Weight reduction where possible


    That seems like a lot but really it is only the axe gearing that is the major work. The new axe and side arms is going to be a bit of CAD work which I can have done offsite.

    This does bring me to the other CAD work I am in the progress of doing. Kaizen 2.0 is, hopefully, going to be built over the winter. Don't get me wrong, Jibril is (now) a fun robot to fight with but Kaizen I have a bit of rose tinted glasses for. It fought in the original MW revivial in 2018, just one year after I started doing fighting robots seriously.

    Azriel 2.0 will be, by comparision, pretty much a weekend project. Parts of that have been trickling in over the last year or so and so they are just sitting around waiting for assembly.

    Next post will be the usual end of year review.
    Last edited by Ocracoke; 14th November 2022 at 18:41.
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

  5. #345
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    So here we go, the review of Team Kaizen in 2022 and what may be upcoming in 2023.

    This year has been dogged by issues specially in relation to a house move and the subsequent renovations to the place which has taken up 3/4 of the year. I've got some of my tools out of storage but my main stuff is still in storage and has been since the start of the year. This includes the BotFest arena which is why BotFest 5 didn't happen this year and my computer is still in storage as well with the BotFest 4 footage.

    Antweights (Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu & Ramu)
    Nothing has happened with the Ants though I did dismantle Ikari for a rebuild. I am hoping once the ants are back with me to go to Ant Freeze next year.

    Beetleweights (The Honey Badger)
    The Honey Badger has been to a few events this year but, in my view, has underperformed. Don't get me wrong, it is fun machine to use, pretty much all THB robors usually are but I think it need a serious rework to be a threat in the arena. My sheet materials are currently in storage so I can't work on it just yet.

    Featherweights (Azriel)
    Azriel has been to a fair few live shows this year where its age is beginning to show. It has struggled to be effective in the arena and even just keep running. The wiring, which if you remember was a recycle from 2017(!), is falling apart and has caused some shutdowns in the arena that has mullered its chances of doing well. After being ran over by Robots Live! newest FW house robot in Stoke, the chassis has also flexed to the point where the axe practically no longer functions.

    I've been talking about retiring the 1.0 version for a while and this time, I mean it. The 2.0 version I've been working on designing to be smaller, harder hitting and more reliable. Updates to come in the new year, I think I might build it as a time challenge thing.

    Middleweights (Jibril & Kaizen)
    Jibril has been surprising to put it mildy. My woes with this machine are well documented here but in Cheltenham this year, it finally came good and won a fight. It broke a drive pin and alli its wiring in doing so but it did work so next year, there will be a 2.1 version as I've previously described.

    Kaizen 2.0 is currently in design on the whiteboard and in CAD. Like its predecessor, it will be an axe/hammer. Trying to keep the design under wraps until I start building the thing but I am hoping to have this build and tested before the MW championships this year, whenever that will be.

    Events (BotFest)
    It is my intention to resume BotFest as soon as possible when I get my arena back. BotFest 5 is likely going to be like BotFest 4 with it being a day long AW only event with whiteboards throughout the day. However, I already have designs to expand the event to include heavier classes and have it potentially as a weekend long event. We shall see.
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

  6. #346
    Merry Christmas, Lucy! Hope 2023 goes a bit more smoothly for you!

  7. #347
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    Awww, many thanks Andrew! Indeed, merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and everyone else as well!

    Aye, I hope it goes a bit smoother as well, might even be able to make Dojo one of these days! :P
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

  8. #348
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    A minor Christmas miracle has occurred. The OrangeRX TX6i transmitter that was damaged in a past event I've managed to put back together. Some of the switches were broken off and the switch body was left in the 2 position which the OrangeRX won't allow.

    For future posterity, you need to:

    1. With the transmitter off, bring both the left and right sticks down to the bottomost left and turn it on. This will bring up a factory menu.
    2. Go to Channel Test and verify that all the "Sx" values are set to 0. Correct if not (I had to slide the remenants of the switch to the correct position).
    3. Turn off and turn back on.

    This means now I have both a DX6i and a TX6i at my disposal, which is neat.
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

  9. #349
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    The Honey Badger
    After the last time the robot fought, I spent an evening rebuilding the robot, specifically the flipping arm that was damaged in its last fight. The motor that drives it has been around since Shu! 1.0 and it is very much old. Cleaning out the gearbox, there was an ever so minor wiring fire but I've redone the wiring to fix it.

    I also chopped off the leading lip of the front by 10mm or so so with any luck, it should be easier to get under opponents.This will be the last 4.1 version of the Badger. The 4.2 version will be a full rebuild.
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

  10. #350
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    The Honey Badger
    The robot took part in a Judges rumble during the Liverpool Scouse Showdown event where I feel confident in saying it won the popular vote, even if I did end up in the pit at the very end of the fight!

    Having given it some though, I am going to decommission the 4.x series and get to work on a 5.x version of The Honey Badger which I am hoping to have ready by the third Scouse Showdown event.

    Kaizen
    Think I forgot about this? :P I spent an evening in CAD working out the dimensions of the overall robot and fleshing out the axe arm shape along with its first axehead. I can confirm that this iteration of Kaizen will be 4WD like its predecessor. I am reluctant to post designs until I've actually built the thing but I am aiming for EXR Newcastle for the debut of this, despite the news from EXR about MWs.
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

    AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
    BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
    FW: Azriel
    MW: Jibril, Kaizen

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