UK Kilobots - 1.362kg (3 lbs) Combat Robots

[john_frizell]

For the arena to be 100% finished we need
4 sheets of 10mm polycarb 1975mm x 800mm
2 sheets of 10mm polycarb 1000mm x 2000mm
6 Strips of 3-5mm polycarb 50mm x 1000mm
After we get the polycarb we have to cut a doorway into 2 of the 1975mm x 800mm sheets.

I'm having trouble visualising this. Are the 4 sheets of 10mm polycarb 1975mm x 800mm the sides? If so, why does it need two doorways?

Are the 2 sheets of 10mm polycarb 1000mm x 2000mm fpr the roof? Given the cost of 10 mm polycarb why not consider making the roof of weldmesh with a secondary screen over it to catch any small bits?

A plain box with no internal arena seems the best approach to me; I've seen fights in a bare 8 foot by 8 foot box with this class and they were spectacular.

[Kenny]

all the odd sizes are so they fit into the bracing bars etc , i like the idea of the welding mesh

[xtreme]

The arena is just a 2 meter by 2 meter box with an 800mm high roof. The arena is on legs so the arena floor is 1 meter from the floor just to make loading easy and stuff really.

[Leonardomayo]

On the arena thing i'm going to be awkward and say I think a robotica style arena could be interesting. With sides which come down after a while. It doesn't need to be suspended 10ft above the ground though.

[john_frizell]

'i like the idea of the welding mesh'

I am trying to get some 10mm polycarbonate for you so the arena can be finished and put into use. Could you live with a roof of welding mesh and plywood for one of the sides [say the loading door side]? That would cut the amount of polycarb required in half but still give good light and visibility. Contact me directly if you want to talk this over.

[grant_ploughbot]

If i were you Tom - knock the roof down to 5mm. like you say 10mm is OTT even for the outer screens, but if your running feathers for testing then 10mm is safe. Any form of meshing/netting/fabric roofing has been proven to by insufficient for any form of arena protection sadly. You would be amased how effective just 3mm polycarbonate is in comparision to other materials such as high quality plywood.

Just FYI, 3mm polycarbonate is about equal to 18mm plywood in terms of stopping projectiles (if a large enough sheet is used then much better than 18mm ply).

Realistically, to be safe for the kilobot weight limit i would recomend about 4mm sides and 3mm roof as a realistic thickness in polycarb if you werent testing feathers.

Also, if your having a battlebot's style arena, it's still worth having a reasonable distance from your inner walls to your outer screens (even if by a raised platform to drive back in) as it will stop your oter screens getting hit all the time and therfore wont get scratched and damaged so easily.

[john_frizell]

I asked someone in the US who runs an arena for Beatleweights what wall thickness he used for his. He said that damage to the walls from weapons was a problem and so he used an insert with 20 cm high sides and allowed 15 cm clearance between it and the sides. He uses 6 mm polycarbonate for the sides and roof and doubles it up for the bottom 30 cm of the walls to allow for machines that get thrown OOTA but are still runing. His arena is a bit bigger than the one being discussed here but I think you could get a 180 x 180 cm insert into the one being discussed here and still leave 10 cm clearance around the insert edges. A picture of the US arena can be seen here: http://www.calbugs.com/CIB%20Arena.jpg

[Ellis]

Hi. I just remembered I have a set of tracks, they're pretty buckled but in good condition otherwise. They're about 3cm wide and 18cm long (depends a bit on hub size).
http://www.mutr.co.uk/images/track.jpg

Would this be at all suitable for this size bot? They're quite durable, nice and thick.

[john_frizell]

Here is a fight between two 3 lb machines that took place in the US last weekend:

[Ellis]

Wow. The one with the spinning weapon was impressive but I must say I was more amazed by the other robots resilience. Fantastic fight.

Can't help thinking that if there were a pit the wedge would have one in seconds.