first robot questions :)

[lowes3]

i have never built a robot before but have wanted to for quite a while now. i have some 24V 44W motors would these be suitable for a featherweight? i have seen alot of people use drill motors, would these be a better starting point?
i was thinking about a simple 'rambot', 4wd, that can run eitherway.

i also have no idea how to build a frame for the robot if anyone could give some suggestions.

[elobire]

im also building my first robot (finishing it off now), so i cant really talk from experiance. what i do know is that drill motors will be what you should use. i also had 2x 24v motors which i bought without thinking. i soon realised it would be too complicated to use them in a simple robot.
you can get the wheels, motors and mounts from robochallenge:
http://web.me.com/robochallenge/Robo_Ch ... nical.html


hope i was of help,other people should be able to give you better advice on the speed controllers so i wont bother confusing you.

[Ellis]

Drills are a good starting point, they have plenty of power, they're dirt cheap and come with good gearboxes. As for a frame, I'm guessing you don't know how to weld, if you're not sure how to start a chassis. I'd suggest a ladder, for again, a cheap but if well made, decent chassis. I am using parts from an old ladder for my first bot, they're strong (well, not the strongest, but with supports and thing they're great) and are very easy to make use of, very light too.

But, you should be thinking of motors, speed controllers, radio gear and batteries before a chassis, you'll end up with a chassis too small or larger than necessary if you do it the other way round.

I'm not being very helpful here , have a look around the build threads and the featherweight threads, there are loads of first time bots being made, and lots of very helpful suggestions.

[lowes3]

i was thinking of 4 12V drills from argos, but i wouldnt have thought theyd be very powerful. but theyd be ok for a featherweight?
nope i dont know how to weld at all steel ladder frame? polycarbonate would be no good?

i thought a Sabertooth dual 25A speed controller, would that be able to supply 2 drill motors each side, so 4 all together. i was planning to build it on plywood or something first before i built it properly.

no youve been very helpfull thanks for your help

[elobire]

i was thinking of 4 12V drills from argos, but i wouldnt have thought theyd be very powerful. but theyd be ok for a featherweight?
nope i dont know how to weld at all steel ladder frame? polycarbonate would be no good?

i thought a Sabertooth dual 25A speed controller, would that be able to supply 2 drill motors each side, so 4 all together. i was planning to build it on plywood or something first before i built it properly.

no youve been very helpfull thanks for your help

the drills from argos would be more than powerfull enough. either get them or the identical motors from robochallenge,depends if you want to save time ripping the drill apart.
building it on plywood is a great idea, done something simular with mine (although i did it because i was bored waiting for parts).

also as relentless said, check build diarys and threads in the featherweight section, you will learn alot from other people asking the same questions that you are.

[Ellis]

You'll be surprised, drill motors pack quite a serious punch, 4 of those and you'll have a very fast and powerful robot on your hands, people often use just 2. I'm not all that good with ESCs, but I am using 2 30a Electronize ESCs (cheap and cheerful), some love them, some hate them, I don't have any experience with others so I can't really give a real opinion, all I can say is they work good for me.

Steel ladder? I've never head of a ladder (I mean fullsize ladders) that isn't aluminium, some 2 step ones are steel, but aluminium is very very light, quite strong and I'm sure you can find an old ladder from somewhere. You'll have major problems using steel, it's a fantastic material but horrible to work with without the right tools. Lots of people on the forum do have the right tools, if you give precise measurements then I'm sure they'd be happy to cut you a piece or two.

Obviously you'll need a radio system, I'm using the Planet 5 2.4ghz transmitter/reciever set (quite cheap), I don't have much experience with others either but I can say it's been fantastic, and very very easy to set up so far.

[psycho_fling]

Welcome to the forum and a good choice

yeh polycarbonate is a good idea were you thinking for armour???

with regards to speedos (speed controllers) id steer clear of the electronize save your self some trouble and for a dual controller much better and when you get more into the sport you will want something more precise

alex

[lowes3]

yeah for armour and for the base and maybe chassis?
what speed controller would work with 2 12V drill motors on each side, so 4 all together? ive heard of a sabertooth dual speed controller. i dont really want anything too expencive for my first build.

as for radio gear i was thinking of using my old futaba radio gear from a model aircraft. i know it will probly be an illegal frequency for battles but i would just use it to see whats what and if i could actually get the robot working :P

Adam

[rallikas]

There are more episodes if u look around!

[elobire]

Welcome to the forum and a good choice

with regards to speedos (speed controllers) id steer clear of the electronize

alex

why steer clear of the electronize?

also dont get the transmitter from giantcod, i had it for about a week and it started breaking. go with the planet 5, they seem to be the best thing for a low budget.