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Thread: Build Log - Bread Dead Redemption (FW) - First Build.

  1. #71
    McMullet
    Guest
    Awesome work Andy. Only just got around to reading this after the, ahem, distractions of the last few days.

    Looks like pretty much a ground-up rebuild of the whole machine, and very solid one at that. Look forward to seeing it driving in person, whenever that happens, and definitely getting beaten again now.

  2. #72
    Mr Manuva27
    Guest
    Event Report - Robodojo(s) July 2020

    Well, my friends. It has been a while, hasn't it? We have all the improvements to cover, plus both (Yes, both!) Robodojo Sportsman events in July. It's going to be a long one. Make yourself comfortable, grab a brew and settle in for the latest updates from Bread Dead over the last few months.

    Improvements

    So improvements-wise, we faced a mad rush to get BDR ready for the March Dojo. After working on it constantly for 2 weeks to get it ready, only to have the event cancelled due to the announcement of lockdown, my motivation to work on it dropped through the floor. At the time I last updated this log, all was left was to fit the toaster and the front dustpans. Instead I busied myself with other robot projects, including an antweight, a beetle and acquiring a heavyweight chassis.

    IMG_20200314_180244.jpg

    Attachment 9635
    I wasn't expecting featherweight events to return as quickly as they did. Honestly, I was expecting 2020 to be a complete write-off for events in general. When Robodojo announced a July competition, I faced a bit of a dash to get BDR fighting fit.

    Toaster

    Not much to report here. The intention was that the toaster lifts off entirely to access the internals to avoid a repeat of pulling motor wires out. Easily solved with some stainless steel angle brackets. The previous 10mm polycarbonate top panel on the inside of the toaster was replaced with a 12mm sheet across the outside now that the slices weren't required.

    Dustpan

    Oh man, here we go. The original pan was to bolt the new pans together in the same manner as the old one. However, the previous complaints were that the middle ridge was affecting the ground scraping capabilities and that the metal was too thin. I had been itching for an opportunity to practice with my new welder and had a sheet of 2mm mild steel lying around, what could possibly go wrong?

    Attachment 9636
    IMG_20200627_145418.jpg
    Weld prep.

    Attachment 9637
    IMG_20200628_161448.jpg

    I cut out a template from the sheet steel to weld to the underside of the pans to support.

    Attachment 9638
    IMG_20200628_172716(1).jpg

    Success! Ok, the weld quality wasn't great but it held, which I was happy with for a first attempt. Problem was, my calculations had the robot significantly overweight. The angled point to the pan was also affecting our ability to point it down, causing issues with ground scraping. We were going to have to cut some out.
    Attachment 9639

    The center join was gone. Having already welded the pans, trying to weld together two sheets of different thickness was going to cause issues.

    Attachment 9640
    IMG_20200710_181708(1).jpg

    Yeah, not great. I had to grind the lip of the dustpan back so the weld wasn't on the leading edge, so the leading edge is only the bottom sheet of steel. Down the middle the dustpans were too thin, so just melted away. I did the best I could, but it isn't pretty. We also added a bar of 10mm HDPE to the top to support the weld there.



    Attachment 9641Attachment 9642

    IMG_20200711_171109.jpgIMG_20200711_171412.jpg

    If in doubt, cover it in spray paint. We added some angled HDPE guards to the back of the dustpan to protect against any side swipes.

    Attachment 9643
    IMG_20200711_191802(1).jpg
    Good to go!
    Robodojo - 12th July

    The day of the event arrived! Masks on faces, we arrived at our pit space for the day alongside Alan with Pressure Point. You could feel the anxiety in the atmosphere due to the social distancing, but as soon as the first fight was done it was like all was well with the world again.

    IMG_20200712_095536.jpgIMG_20200712_130330(1).jpg

    Oh, and unknown to me, they had added a 2 inch steel lip to the pushout zones, making my plans pretty much useless! This was going to be tough, with most fights likely going the full 3 minutes if I didn't get knocked out.



    Round 1 - Exabyte


    First round was against Exabyte of Team Phyte, a low wedge similar to Steel Sandwich of the original RW series. I was hoping that the dustpan would be enough to get underneath, which it did. Once I saw their back forks flip under the robot, I left them stranded for an quick knockout win! Off to a good start!

    1-0

    Round 2 - Red Hot Tilly Pecker & Euphoria

    Due to the odd number of robots in attendance, each round included a Triple Threat. The draw wasn't kind for me in this one, putting me against the vicious axe of Red Hot Tilly Pecker and lifting power of Euphoria. Having chatted to both Isaac and Shane beforehand, the early advantage was going to come down to who Tilly went for first. Either Euphoria because of an ongoing friendly rivalry between the two, or me because, well, it's a toaster.

    The fight started cautiously too, with each bot waiting to see who made the first move. Euphoria and Tilly went for each other and the fight was on! I got a few good scoops in before Tilly and Euphoria teamed up to flip BDR on it's back and out of the fight. Euphoria later got stuck on the plastic and a few of Tilly's axe hits got to Euphoria's lifter gearbox, which reduced it to a push bot for the rest of the afternoon.

    A really fun fight. One slight issue was that I noticed one side of the drive wasn't working while BDR was on it's back. Got it back to the bench and all was well. Hmm. Oh well, hopefully a nice draw in the next round...

    1-1

    Round 3 - Pressure Point

    Oh no. Not again.

    Yes, it was a January rematch against pit bench buddy Pressure Point. After the damage it caused in January, I was glad I had made changes with fighting it in mind. The dustpans survived with minor dents, rather than going straight through. A solid fight, I tried my best to keep the dustpans pointed at Pressure Point as I knew he couldn't reach anything vital.

    It was all going very well until the drive died on the same side as Round 2 again, at which point I was a sitting duck. Pressure Point took advantage by grabbing the side of BDR and putting it's beak straight through the link, pushing it in to the wheels where the wires got wrapped up and pulled itself out.

    Checking the batteries after the fight, each cell was around 3.7V, which led me to believe that the ESC voltage protection was kicking in at nominal voltage after around 2 minutes. If this was true, it meant that I would have to drive like hell to score points and just try to survive when the drive started dying.

    IMG_20200712_131001(1).jpg

    Ouch.

    1-2

    Round 4 - Neophyte

    And what an opponent to test that vulnerability! The second of the Team Phyte bots was Neophyte, a linear actuator driven lifter. Neophyte would need just one good flip to win, so I would have to be on my A-game for the full 3 minutes. Kind of difficult when your drive cuts out after 2:30...

    The fight started well, pushing Neophyte around and even managing to bend it's flipper at one point. They managed to get a couple of lifts in, but not enough to topple BDR. When the drive began to fail, BDR was lifted on to it's back just as cease was called. Saved by the bell. BDR was given the win by Judge's Decision.

    2-2

    Round 5 - Parasite


    The final round was against Parasite, the final robot of the Team Phyte triumvirate. This posed a real threat, as the axe would rack up points quickly with the judges. A very close fight that went the full 3 minutes, it was eventually decided by Alex (Judge) inspecting the top panel of BDR for damage before ruling that BDR had been given the W on control and aggression.

    This left us at 3-2 for the day. Well placed for points on the yearly leaderboard! When the scores were announced we were tied for 4th, which meant a playoff.

    4th Place Playoff - Mattock

    4th place was currently contested by Mattock, driven as a loaner-bot by Theo. Theo had also successfully piloted Mattock to 2nd place in January, so was definitely a real threat. We had been angling for a rematch since December when I faced Boring Wedgebot, so it was great to have a fight for meaningful points!

    The fight started well, dodging axe blows and getting a few good slams in. Unfortunately the drive died earlier than expected and I was crab walking. I eventually found myself pinned against the wall with axe blows raining down. Due to damage taken in the fight against Pressure Point, the link was held on with a zip tie. One incredibly accurate axe shot was all it took, the fight was over.


    IMG_20200712_164634(1).jpgIMG_20200712_164559.jpg

    Yes, that's my link on the end of Mattock's axe. If I was going to go out, I'm glad it was spectacular.


    So we ended the weekend in 5th, gaining 4 points for the yearly leaderboard which is a fantastic finish considering it is only my 3rd event. Also, the fights I lost were to 1st (Pressure Point), 2nd (Red Hot Tilly Pecker), 3rd (Euphoria) and 4th (Mattock), so there is no shame in that!

    Very pleased, with clear areas for improvement.

    To make matters better, it was announced that due to dropouts, competitors from the 12th would also be allowed to enter the second event on the 26th! Two weeks to make improvements. How did we get on?


    In the next installment: repairs, improvements and the second July round of Robodojo Sportsman!

    To be continued....
    Last edited by Mr Manuva27; 30th July 2020 at 21:57.

  3. #73
    Mr Manuva27
    Guest
    Well, we've now passed my first year of combat robotics. Been a bit quieter than I was expecting, but lots of work going on improving robots for when everything is back to normal.

    I forgot to write my follow up to Robodojo July 2, so here's the video and a quick summary:



    There were a few minor changes from it's last outing. The link was moved to the back panel and placed under a cover, the batteries were upgraded to 3300mAh 4S from 2100mAh 3S. The base plate was also changed to 10mm from 20mm HDPE to allow weight for the extra upgrades, weighing in at 13.4kg ahead of the event.

    The event went ok, going 2-4. BDR performed relatively well (including one of my favourite fights I've ever had vs Luna-tic), but issues came from the extra power moving to 4S. The added pushing power proved too much for the heat-pressed nuts holding the wheels on.

    IMG_20200726_155545[4231].jpg

    The early fights on the day started well, but gradually got slower and slower as the wheels fell off. I've invested in some hubs for any future events.


    ---------------

    Anyway, on to the future. BDR has been out of action since July and is in need of a complete redo. While I'm really happy with how BDR is performing, it desperately needs an active weapon. I'm not sure of the overall design, but I'm keen to keep a lot of the positives from this version. Here are my objectives:


    • Maintain the control/high pushing power aspect of the robot, preferably keeping the dustpan
    • Add an active weapon, currently looking at a Shockwave/Breaker Box/Duck style lifter.
    • Alter the shape of the chassis to increase the tip-back angle for fights against wedges.
    • Reduce the weight of the robot (all the 10mm polycarb on the toaster weighs 3.2kg!!)


    Hoping to get quite a bit of work done on all my bots over the Christmas break. Once I've got a CAD together for Bread Dead 2, I'm hoping to have it ready for the early months of 2021.

  4. #74
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    Some good fights there, nice work! Just thinking on the wheel hub problem, perhaps a nut with a plate on it which bolts to the wheel and then either a pin through that nut and shaft or a nyloc on the other side of the wheel might be more robust?
    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. #75
    McMullet
    Guest
    That fight against Luna-Tic was brilliant - can see why you enjoyed it. Lots of action, great driving on both sides and a well-deserved win. And well done for de-wheeling Reaver!

    I can see what you mean about the speed dropping off over the day. It looked hard to control at low speed at the start, though maybe that's just me.

    For anti-tipping features, I was quite pleased with the effectiveness of Wedgeley's springy bits of HDPE - not very aesthetic but they result in a huge (effective) footprint:

  6. #76
    Mr Manuva27
    Guest
    Some good fights there, nice work! Just thinking on the wheel hub problem, perhaps a nut with a plate on it which bolts to the wheel and then either a pin through that nut and shaft or a nyloc on the other side of the wheel might be more robust?
    Thanks! I've already got the hub situation sorted. I ordered some threaded hubs from Nat which do exactly as you described. I think the trolley wheels have run their course though. I've already got a wheel designed for moulding my own wheels from polyurethane. Should be lighter and give more grip!

    That fight against Luna-Tic was brilliant - can see why you enjoyed it. Lots of action, great driving on both sides and a well-deserved win. And well done for de-wheeling Reaver!
    Thanks, although I think Reaver's wheel had been hanging on by a thread for most of the day, I just gave it a helpful nudge .

    I can see what you mean about the speed dropping off over the day. It looked hard to control at low speed at the start, though maybe that's just me.
    Not just you. It's a completely different animal! I hadn't done much practice driving (I think we finished the changes the day before) and it was very difficult to control. I'll need to do some tinkering with the ESCs and wheel sizes to bring it back in to line.

    For anti-tipping features, I was quite pleased with the effectiveness of Wedgeley's springy bits of HDPE - not very aesthetic but they result in a huge (effective) footprint:
    I forgot to mention that in the improvements section before the event. We added some angles to the back which will always rock the robot back over on to it's wheels. It's literally impossible to flip it backwards unless you launch it right over like Renegade did (As evidenced by the Euphoria fight).

    By tip-back angle, I mean the angle you can lift the front of the robot while keeping the wheels still touching the floor. As things stand, it's probably about 10-20 degrees, which on a long robot like BDR doesn't take much lift to get all the wheels off the deck.

  7. #77

  8. #78
    Mr Manuva27
    Guest
    I haven't shared this progress here yet, plus with the first Dojo of the year next week it's probably a good time to do so.

    Bread_Dead_Redemption_2_2021-Feb-14_11-20-57AM-000_CustomizedView602114894.jpg

    Bread Dead 2021 is go! .....kinda (that picture is a render).


    Completely new with the exception of the faithful toaster, the dustpan has been changed to a Big Dill/Krusty Grab type lifter. Forks and bucket have already been cut from Hardox 400. Hoping for some big lifts and suplexes!

    Internals are fully brushless 42mm outrunners running on 6S with custom polyurethane wheels.

    -----------------------

    In terms of where we're at presently, the lifter isn't ready yet. So, the brushless drive system and wheels are being retrofitted in to the 2020 BDR chassis for the May Robodojo for a test run while the new chassis is being built.

    All things going well, it should be complete in time for the June Robodojo Sportsman event!

  9. #79
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    Looking good, liking the appearance of the forks on that. I guess the lifting mechanism is going to be brushless as well?
    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. #80
    Mr Manuva27
    Guest
    Yep! Propdrive 750kv 4238s on the drive, 500kv 4258 on the lifter. Massively overkill for what I need, tbh. I saw that Dojo lifted their sportsman power limit on motors for this year and got a bit carried away haha!

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