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Thread: Jerry Can - Featherweight 1st Build

  1. #1

  2. #2
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    Hey there, welcome to the forum!

    I need an ESC, wheels to get me started and progress to tank tracks when I've got it all working. I need the materials to mount all the gear to, as a base. I'm hoping for inspiration as I go along, with a degree of flexibility in the design along the way.
    So if you wanted a ESC, I could recommend trying out a pair of BotBitz controllers (https://ranglebox.com/shop/product/b...a-brushed-esc/ for example) as they are pretty reliable in my experience and can handle the nominal voltage of the drills you mention. Base, can't go wrong with something like a 10mm HDPE base panel. Easy to machine and work on.

    I like the idea of a Jerry Can, very mechanical feel to it. What I should note is that, like Bread Dead Redemption, the metal is going to be fairly thin and I guess would easily buckle under the inertia of some of the robots on the scene. You probably want to wall around the bottom bit with some more HDPE (15mm maybe) so the main can itself isn't reachable.

    Tracks are rare in the FW class, Aegis is the only one that springs to my mind of being a tracked robot (and I not sure if that is correct either). I might suggest basing it on a chain with some low shore rubber treads for extra traction. It'll definitely be unique on the scene.
    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. #3

  4. #4
    McMullet
    Guest
    Sounds great! Is going to be very distinctive to look at but you've also got a nice big box shape to fit everything in. Look forward to seeing it take shape! Do you have any concept sketches?

  5. #5
    I also like this idea and as I said to Andrew during his Bread dead toaster build-More like this please!

    I found myself eyeing up a exhaust silencer box a few weeks back with the intention of turning it into a

    featherweight but I'm now busy with a heavyweight rebuild as a priority.

    Hope your concept comes to fruition Roger as so many never do.

  6. #6

  7. #7

  8. #8
    Mr Manuva27
    Guest
    Given that the virus has limited the supply of parts we need, it's probably worth a quick update. As Rog mentioned in his first post, I'm assisting him in this build (Don't worry, we aren't breaking any social distancing rules. We live in the same house).

    Over the course of the last week or so, Rog has cut the subject Jerry Can in half.

    Before:

    IMG-20200403-WA0001.jpg

    After:

    IMG-20200403-WA0003.jpg


    From what I understand, the plan is to have the main chassis of the robot made from 12mm plywood (as it's what we have available) on the inside, then sandwich the Jerry Can around it as armour. The top bottom plywood panels would then act as reinforcement for the metal, while providing a stable and easily worked base to mount the electrics and bulkheads for the tracks.

    Bottom half with plywood base:

    IMG_20200404_135359.jpg


    Bulkheads are 2x12mm plywood panels glued together:

    IMG_20200404_160140.jpg


    Now for where I come in. Tank tracks. The initial idea that Rog came up with was to use two bike chains and sprockets to fashion them, which seemed the most likely if we couldn't get anything straight off the shelf. Out of curiosity I had a look on Thingiverse to see if anyone had 3D printed something of the scale we needed. Turns out we were in luck!

    IMG_20200329_195344.jpg IMG_20200329_195329.jpg IMG_20200407_080818.jpg

    Somebody had designed a 3 inch snow track for a RC snowmobile, which is perfect for what we need. Downside is that it takes 2.5 hours to print one link.... and we need 40. That's not including cogs and spacers. I think I'm seeing tank tracks in my sleep at this point. We've been printing throughout the last week and we have enough for one side, which is what we will be using to test before we print the rest.

    Material is PLA+, which isn't the most ideal material, but it's what we have the capability to print and we have lots of it lying around. To add grip, we are looking at using decorators sealant/silicone in to the track grooves. If that doesn't work, then screwing bike tyre in to the links will be the next plan.


    Checking the length of the tracks:

    IMG_20200404_130851.jpg


    So that's where we are at currently. We took apart my old Aldi drill motors to make sure they work, but it appears that they have a 2-stage gearbox, which is much more awkward to design around. We're looking at replacing them with the 18V Mylek drills from Ebay, but the seller is currently away.

    Another issue we are considering is that we still haven't decided on a weapon. Perhaps bodging a wedge or a push-plate on one side may be the easiest option, but we are open to ideas!

  9. #9
    I have to say, this is a really creative build, and I love the military aesthetic with the tank treads. I'm not sure how deadly of a weapon you'd like, but in keeping with the tank theme you could have a mine flail style weapon at the front, similar to how Ben from Team Panic did with his Xbot conversion build? Link:

  10. #10
    This Jerry can design is brilliant and it's going to be a tracked featherweight which is not

    an easy build, well done so far Roger and Andrew-can't wait to bash it with Danger UXB.

    I have a notion that Robots built out of original objects like jerry cans /vacuum cleaners/Gas cylinders

    toasters and light fittings ect should have but not be confined to a special tournament-maybe

    Sportsman+ because the really are in the retro style of the original Robot Wars Robots.

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