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Thread: Featherweight first build

  1. #1
    Ian's Avatar
    Member

    Welcome to my build log

    After 20 years of saying I’m going to build my own robot, I’ve finally got round to doing something about it. Thanks for the nudge Mr Manuva27 and Diddlydodger



    To start with, I’m just going to build a simple pushbot and try to get it to move before developing it any further.


    After reading through some of the other build logs, I have managed to get transmitter, receiver, drills, wheels, Escs and have found some wood in the garage for the frame, so now it’s just a case of finding the time to get on with it.


    Once I’ve managed to get that working then I’ll look to upgrade the armour to hdpe and think about adding a weapon.


    First task was to strip the drills down however I managed to break my screwdriver trying to undo the reverse threaded screw (off to a good start!) I have ordered a new one so whilst I wait for that to arrive I’m hoping to get the nuts inserted into the nylon wheels with the help of a blowtorch and pillar drill. Then it will be on to learning how to solder up the connections and figure out the wiring.


    Most importantly I still need to come up with a name for my robot!

  2. #2
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    Hey there, welcome to the forum!

    Sounds like a good start, just getting your robot to survive a 3 minute bout is an achievement in of itself (which I confess not a lot my robots are able to do but we don't talk about that.. :P).

    Yes to the HDPE definitely but wood does still work if used right. The Honey Badger, even to this day, uses wood as part of the main chassis and has held up OK though the BW variant definitely does better. Get the basics right first and then add a weapon methinks.

    Soldering is one of those things that I personally have a love/hate relationship with. When it works, it works but I've been known to spend an hour soldering one XT90 plug into a wire because it just won't take so I wish you with that. Connections are quite easy, I am sure I made a diagram a while ago showing how that looks.
    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
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    And here is the diagram, both in theory and a working "in build" one using 10AWG wiring and XT90 connectors (I was building it for a MW but the principle for a FW one is the same).

    basic_robotics_diagram.png simple_wiring_loom.jpg
    Team Kaizen - Build Diary for all the robots

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

  4. #4
    Mr Manuva27
    Guest
    Thanks for the nudge Mr Manuva27 and Diddlydodger
    It took more effort than that! Better late than never!

    Welcome to the forum. If I remember correctly, you have the old Argos 12v drills. Which ESCs do you have?

  5. #5
    Ian's Avatar
    Member

    Quote Originally Posted by Ocracoke View Post
    Hey there, welcome to the forum!

    Sounds like a good start, just getting your robot to survive a 3 minute bout is an achievement in of itself (which I confess not a lot my robots are able to do but we don't talk about that.. :P).
    Thank you. I’m assuming survival is more down to reliability of the robot more than anything else. Just wondering what the most common causes of failure are?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ocracoke View Post
    Yes to the HDPE definitely but wood does still work if used right. The Honey Badger, even to this day, uses wood as part of the main chassis and has held up OK though the BW variant definitely does better. Get the basics right first and then add a weapon methinks.
    Good to know that wood is usable to start with at least. I’ll make sure to check out The Honey Badger build diary

    Quote Originally Posted by Ocracoke View Post
    Soldering is one of those things that I personally have a love/hate relationship with. When it works, it works but I've been known to spend an hour soldering one XT90 plug into a wire because it just won't take so I wish you with that. Connections are quite easy, I am sure I made a diagram a while ago showing how that looks.
    Yes I'm not looking forward to soldering the plugs but hopefully will get a bit of practice in first with the connections. Plenty of YouTube videos to watch first. Many thanks for the wiring diagram too

  6. #6
    Ian's Avatar
    Member

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Manuva27 View Post
    If I remember correctly, you have the old Argos 12v drills. Which ESCs do you have?
    Cheers Andy. Yes I have the old Argos drills with 2 x Botbitz 30a ESCs

  7. #7
    Ocracoke's Avatar
    Team Kaizen

    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.
    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. #8
    McMullet
    Guest
    Welcome to the forum Ian, good luck with your first build!

    Quote Originally Posted by Ocracoke View Post
    Sounds like a good start, just getting your robot to survive a 3 minute bout is an achievement in of itself.
    I'd second that... actually I think just getting to the start of a fight is a good effort, certainly I don't think I've ever felt more elated than when our first robot went into the arena and sort-of successfully moved...

  9. #9
    Ian's Avatar
    Member

    Thanks Sam. Yes just getting a moving robot for now would be great

    Progress update - drills have now been stripped down and are sitting nicely in their motor mounts (thanks Nat for those). Inserts have been put into the nylon wheels and bike tyre is in its way for adding grip. I’m using a Devo 7 transmitter so have managed to link that up to the receiver successfully. Got a few things on order this week and then it’s on to soldering Had a play about connecting up some old bits of wire and that didn’t go too badly so hoping to make some progress next weekend

  10. #10
    Ian's Avatar
    Member

    Managed to get the wiring done and it actually moves! As you can see from the picture, much time and expense was spent on mounting to the base sheet!
    146F0201-B983-45DA-82E3-76A4094B023A.jpg
    Still a bit of finishing off with the soldering and then it’s on to the weapon. To keep it simple I’m going for a linear actuator powered lifter. Got a few bits on order but was wondering if it’s better to have the weapon on a separate circuit or to have it all powered by one battery?

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