Rubber?

[Ellis]

Has anyone ever considered or used rubber, like heavy duty stuff, thick, as robot armour? Or part of a robots armour?

I was thinking because, there are a few strategies to robot armour. Armour that just deflects blows, not letting the other robot do any damage at all. And then there's armour which is designed to take the hits, absorbing as much of the impact and actually deforming, so that the rest of the bot doesn't take the shock.

So, say, thick industrial rubber slabs as armour that a spinner or an axe blow or a spike would just scrap and tear at, that can be replaced cheaply and easily. Would that even be worth thinking about?

[typhoon_driver]

rubber is a lot heavier and harder to repair than HDPE

[Ellis]

But does HDPE deform and absorb to the same extent?

[typhoon_driver]

it's better at taking impacts without tearing

[Roland]

You can use Rubber in between two metal/plastic armour pieces, which supposedly works quite well reactive wise.

[craig_colliass]

The Saint has had a conveyor belt section round the main body for a long
time now, never been changed and has saved the robot on a number of occasions.

Rubber works very well but with all armour options you have to think it through first,
I don't believe Hardox is the cure-all that some do, the trick is to think what attacks are likely
and from where. then protect accordingly. remember Beauty has little or no armour but still dose
very well

[beast]

Beast also using conveyor belting muti ply