Just wondering what the most common causes of failure are? [...] I’ll make sure to check out The Honey Badger build diary
The original build diary: http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/thre...e-honey-badger (2017 - 2019) and the current one mixed in with all the other robots I've done: https://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/thr...en-build-diary (2019 - )

In no particular order, based on my experience, here is the incomplete list of failures I've had in my robots:


  • Wheels falling off (The Honey Badger)
  • Motors burning out due to insane overvolting or overdrawing (Kaizen)
  • Batteries puffing up because they were overdrawn and exhausted (The Honey Badger)
  • Wiring popping free from a terminal block (The Honey Badger, Jibril, Kaizen, Azriel)
  • Ground clearance issues due to design (The Honey Badger, Jibril)
  • RC Receiver failure (Jibril - that was a short leading to a oh so minor fire, Kaizen)
  • RC Transmitter failure (Jibril - I dropped the transmitter whilst loading the robot up into the loading pen)
  • Gear pinion screws slipping off (Jibril - That was right before a championship quarter final)
  • Bad solders (The Honey Badger, Jibril, Kaizen)
  • Speed controller burnout (The Honey Badger, Jibril, Ikari)
  • Removable link failure (The Honey Badger, Osu, Shu!, Jibril)
  • Insufficient sized bolts leading to mass breakages on the first ram (Kaizen - that was mighty spectacular)
  • Stripping gearboxes (Shu!)


Quite a list. :P In short, check everything twice, make sure you have spares and/or able to fix the existing damage and build it like a tank.