The sheet of HDPE sounds good. There is a neat guide on here for cutting HDPE (https://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/threads/14279-a-basic-guide-on-how-to-work-with-hdpe?p=474927) which I would definitely recommend reading.
The Sportsman category at RoboDojo is definitely a good laugh, worth going to. I am nearly never able to attend them with it being on a Sunday.
Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots
AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
FW: Azriel
MW: Jibril, Kaizen
It's alive! IT'S ALIIIIVEEE!
Also attempted a test drive in which no video was captured until the second the wheel fell off:
Had some difficulty getting it started again after reattaching the wheel though. Have put the batteries on charge and will check again later. Hopefully haven't blown anything. Still, I am so happy that it has worked!
Yay, well done! I've had wheels come off like that before, it'll come as to how to secure them well to the gearbox as others has demonstrated on here. Next step I guess is to secure it all down and then start building the body around it?
Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots
AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
FW: Azriel
MW: Jibril, Kaizen
Definitely! Would still like to do a few more little bits like changing the drill battery out for a LiPo and finding a more space efficient way of mounting the drills than the drill casings before I declare the internals "finished". I haven't decided how the robot will look yet, but I have a general idea in my head. I'll have to get thinking before the HDPE arrives this week!
Great stuff! I love the extremely short test drive video!
Seriously though, you're doing well too even have test driven it so early on. Our first test drive was to get into the starting corner in our first fight at Robodojo in January (didn't end especially well...)
Good luck with planning the rest of the bot - are you using CAD or just winging it?
Definitely winging it, my CAD skills leave a lot to be desired. In that sense, I'm quite glad I'm using a toaster as it gives me a physical baseline to start with. It's tough to get an idea of what I want, because I want to make it as strong as possible, but also want to avoid it looking like a HDPE box with a surprise toaster center, like the worst kinder egg ever made.
My options in my head at the moment are as follows:
Option 1: Cut the bottom half of the sides off the toaster to put the wheels through, then build a wider base out of the HDPE and build wheelguards and armour supported on that. The toaster itself is probably >1mm stainless steel, so I would need to reinforce the inside of the toaster as this wouldn't support things being mounted to it very well.
Option 2: Attempt to fit all the motors and electrics inside the toaster by ditching the drill chucks/casing and getting some custom motor mounts made (probably advisable in the long term), but could be a tight squeeze regardless. From there mounting the HDPE to the outside, but I'm considering rubber washers (?) on the bolts in between to act as a shock absorber. Again, inside the toaster would need reinforcing to "sandwich" the panels together. Not sure how practical or effective this would be, so I'm leaning toward option 1 at the moment.
The back panel with all the toaster buttons needs to be visible in both options. It still needs to look like a toaster, after all. I'm considering getting some 10mm polycarb for this as it is transparent. Any leftovers could also be used for the internal reinforcement mentioned above, saving space compared to using the 20mm HDPE. However, I've read in a couple of places that polycarb isn't suitable armour anymore, but haven't listed why. The front panel will have the dustpan mounted to it, either to HDPE, polycarb or both.
That's where I'm at at the moment! Not sure if what I've written makes any sense whatsoever, but it makes sense in my head at least. The HDPE has arrived and is in the garage waiting to meet the bandsaw. Just need to decide on one of the above options and go for it.
Also, side note: I also put the above test videos on my Instagram and got likes from Daniel Freitas of Riobotz, Will Bales of Hypershock and Calvin Iba from Mad Catter. Not particularly relevant to the build, but I'm still having a massive fanboy moment about this and need to express it to people who will know what I'm talking about. I've only been building for two weeks and the support and enthusiasm I've had from family, friends and you guys on here has been so encouraging. I'm absolutely loving it so far. Thank you so much.
I think I'd go for option 1. It would look less like a toaster overall but way more durable.
Mounted incorrectly, polycarbonate can be brittle but I disagree that it is not suitable armour mounted right. I used a 10mm polycarbonate wedge on my old Middleweight and stood up to a lot though I doubled up on the leading edge to 20mm for increased durabilitity. Jibril uses polycarbonate as its top armour as well, hasn't really let me down yet.However, I've read in a couple of places that polycarb isn't suitable armour anymore, but haven't listed why.
Armour smarter, not harder etc etc.
Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots
AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
FW: Azriel
MW: Jibril, Kaizen
I'm thinking Option 1 too, Lucy. I've also changed my mind on winging the design, Toaster CAD is underway!
Toaster CAD.png
Good to know about the Polycarbonate, cheers! When you say mounted correctly/incorrectly, what would be the correct way to mount it? I know it gets less durable when you start drilling holes in it, but that seems unavoidable in building robots?
When I say mount it, I mean the angles. Polycarbonate, in my experience, doesn't stand up well when the leading edge is exposed. Spinners tend to cause it to shatter. You are correct that when drilling holes, the area around it does become less resistant. I tend to use large roofing bolts to cover the holes to offer more resistance. Comes down to planning really as to where the holes go and what reinforcement is needed.
Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots
AW: Amai, Ikari, Lafiel, Osu, Ramu
BW: Shu!, The Honey Badger
FW: Azriel
MW: Jibril, Kaizen
Good to know, cheers! I'll get some polycarb and aim to attach it to the base to avoid any catch points for potential spinners.
Gradually getting the hang of CAD. It doesn't look massively glamorous, but it tells me all I need to know so far.
Toaster.JPG
Toaster 2.JPG
Toaster 3.JPG
I now know what size panels I need to cut from this, so that will be the next step. I've also discovered that the thickness of the base panel may not give enough ground clearance with the wheels that I have. They are quite hard plastic anyway, so attaching some bits of rubber tire could help give extra grip and ground clearance.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks