Joey also sez: Here's my squad for the tourney, including one or two new faces. Aaron and Leo and others, feel free to dissect and eviscerate them for being overweight if you so wish
Antweight: Bobcat (new)
WEIGHT: 150g
DIMENSIONS: 110 x 85 x 70 mm (with arm raised)
SHAPE: Wedge with rear wedge, the crusher and supports poking out of the top of the robot
COLOUR: Bobcat faux-fur fabric
DRIVE: 2 KG17 17:1 gearmotors run at 12.6v from a 250mah 3 cell 12.6v lithium polymer battery pack, driving two rubber tyred 24mm diameter inner wheels
SPEED: Very fast
GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at front due to plastic OHP film and spring steel blade, rises to about 2mm at the rear
ARMOUR: 1.5mm polypropylene with 0.2mm spring steel on the front and OHP film to get in underneath opponents. The crusher is 1mm welded titanium.
WEAPONS: Electrically driven crusher, run from a 100:1 Inertia Labs SRV gearmotor run at 12.6v driving a lead screw that attaches to the crusher behind its pivot. The crusher is made of varying thicknesses (generally 1mm) of welded titanium and polycarbonate reinforcing and has a hardened tip, and can go through 2mm polycarbonate and penetrate and buckle lots of other materials up to about 3mm.
SRIMECH: 6g Spektrum sub-micro digital servo driving a small self righting arm that self rights it to the left
NOTES: Weight check on request
STRENGTHS: Good, effective weapon, can end fights very quickly if it pierces opponents' batteries. Fast, powerful, and generally tough
WEAKNESSES: The seeming inability of some people to spell 'polypropylene' correctly :P
Featherweight: Redemption (new)
WEIGHT: 13.1kg
DIMENSIONS: 40 x 30 x 8.5cm
SHAPE: A parallelogram wedge, basically a box with a wedged front and an inverted wedged rear
COLOUR: Black and yellow chevrons in a continuous pattern up the front wedge, up the top panel, down the rear inverted wedge and down the base panel. The sides are black with the name written in white.
DRIVE: 2 Bosch DPD 12v 120w motors (as used in Alpha and Micro Mute) run at 22.4v and controlled by a RoboWars IBC controller, driving two inner urethane rubber tyred wheels.
BATTERIES: 14 2500mah lithium ion cells configured in two packs to give 5ah and 22.4v
SPEED: 15mph
GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at whichever wedge is down at the time, rising from 0-7mm at the rear.
ARMOUR: 2.5mm stainless steel all around, with an extra layer of 0.75mm grade 5 titanium on the front and rear wedges. The frame mainly consists of 10 and 5mm polycarbonate that provides additional protection beneath the stainless steel at the sides and top.
WEAPONS: Redemption mainly relies on the pushing power from the two Bosch motors to dominate opponents, but has a weapons system comprising a third Bosch DPD 12v 120w motor run at 22.4v that belt drives two 65mm diameter diamond edged grinding blades, one at the front and one at the rear of the robot, embedded vertically in the wedge like Angel Of Death. These spin upwards to have some lifting effect but are mainly there to cause armour damage and hopefully rack up Damage points should a fight go to the judges.
SRIMECH: Invertible, controls reverse when flipped, and the sides have three spikes each that prevent it landing there.
NOTES: The batteries and electronics of the robot are shockproofed to withstand hits, rams, and general life in the arena. A gyroscope in the electronics helps it keep to a straight line and generally makes control a lot easier.
STRENGTHS: Well armoured, powerful, can cause damage as well as dominating an opponent, good traction
WEAKNESSES: Redemption is a rare and special thing, after all. It is not for everyone. - Lord Soon, Order Of The Stick #464
Lightweight: Ziggo (realie)
Middleweight: Heroin (new, contender for 'Most Cheerfully Named Entry' award)
WEIGHT: 54kgs
DIMENSIONS: 90 x 75 x 22 cm
SHAPE: Low box with steep wedged front, Surgeon General style rear wheel guards, and shallower wedged rear. The top panel 'steps down' a bit about halfway from the rear of the robot.
COLOUR: Black with silver weapon, white smiley face on top and name written on the rear wedge in white
DRIVE: 2 Yamaha 550cc 12v 1kw motorbike starter motors run from a single Odyssey 12v 14ah battery, driving four urethane rubber tyred external wheels. Two are 230mm diameter and mounted inside the rear wheelguards, while the other two are 115mm and mounted just beneath the front disc. The wheels are driven with different gear reductions so they have the same actual speed.
SPEED: 15mph
GROUND CLEARANCE: 5mm, the rear wedge is 0
ARMOUR: 2mm and 3mm titanium/10% vanadium alloy over a 2014 aluminium frame. Base is 3mm 2014 aluminium.
WEAPONS: Mounted on the lower part of the top panel is a 10kg triangular flywheel, 60cm in diameter (giving about 20cm reach in front of the robot), constructed from 2014 aluminium with Hardox claws at each point and steel weight increasing inserts to create a flywheel effect, powered via belt drive from a McCulloch MCC1453A 35cc chainsaw petrol engine. This spins at a maximum 4000rpm and produces energy somewhere in the 20-30kj region.
The rear wedge also lifts up, powered from a third Yamaha bike starter motor through a 200:1 reduction. This can comfortably lift another middleweight although the lifting part's in the wrong place to self right the robot.
SRIMECH: Invertible; has 4WD when in the correct orientation and 2WD when inverted, and a ball transfer unit in the middle of the flywheel stops it hitting the ground.
NOTES: Internals are shockproofed where practical to mimimise impact from its own weapon and other peoples'.
STRENGTHS: Powerful weapon, protected at the rear as well with the lifter, good drive, good armour and good traction
WEAKNESSES: Don't do drugs because if you do drugs you'll go to prison, and drugs are really expensive in prison - John Hardwick
Heavyweights:
1: Gabriel IV
WEIGHT: 100kgs
DIMENSIONS: 105 x 80 x 30 cm
SHAPE: Elongated triangular pyramid with steep rear and very shallow front
COLOUR: Yellow body, black flipper, black shapes on either side and shiny silver skirts and spikes.
DRIVE: 2 C40-300 Magmotors run at 36v from 4 NiMh packs, driving two rear wheels with urethane rubber treads for grip on the arena floor. The motors should survive at 36v due to a 300A current limit and the use of timing belts in the speed reduction, which should slip if the wheel locks up and therefore save the motor.
SPEED: 18mph
TURNING CIRCLE: Zero (well, due to the wheels being at the back it's not exactly zero, but it turns on the spot)
GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at the very front point, rising to 14mm at the rear. Side and rear 3mm 2014 aluminium skirts can be fitted giving 0 all around.
ARMOUR: The whole top and internal subframes are constructed from a 5mm titanium/vanadium alloy monocoque, which is double skinned in a few key areas like the nose for extra ramming and structural strength, with first line impact reducing 7mm welded HDPE armour over the top of that. The base is 5mm 2014 T6 aluminium and is recessed somewhat into the bodyshell/chassis for added protection if flipped. The front nose has an additional layer of 2mm spring steel over it which is sprung down to the ground to get underneath other robots.
WEAPONS: A forward hinged pneumatic flipper of the same design as its predecessor's, but modified somewhat; it's powered by an 80mm custom built ram that can operate at up to 2400psi, the actual operating pressure being determined by what gas is connected and from there controlled from the transmitter by a variable regulator, so the flipper runs on anything from 150psi to full pressure CO2 (750-800psi) to, if the tournament rules and assorted conditions allow, full pressure nitrogen (2400psi). The standard gas supply is a 2kg bottle of CO2 giving around 10-15 uses at full pressure with more on low pressure. (If I use anything other than that, I'll state it on entry)
The front spikes either side of the nose pointing sideways have been made slightly smaller to not get in the way as much, are made from hardened tool steel, and should cause a fair bit of damage should I go into thwackbot mode.
SRIMECH: Via weapon, which can self right at any pressure. The back has spikes to prevent stranding, and because of the body shape it is very unlikely to do a Mute when self righting.
NOTES: Where possible, components are shock mounted to cut down on damage from spinner impacts.
STRENGTHS: Difficult to get a grip on due to the shape, low centre of gravity, extremely good weapon that shouldn't waste gas, quite powerful and generally very tough.
WEAKNESSES: The Smiths
2: Magnitude (new)
WEIGHT: 110kgs
DIMENSIONS: 120 x 95 x 30 cm
SHAPE: Wedge with rear wedge and Pure Evil esque sloping pointed sides
COLOUR: Dark brown with purple streaks and blades, 'Magnitude' in black on the rear wedge
DRIVE: 2 C40-300 Magmotors run at 24v from 5 NiMh packs, driving custom built inner tracks made from 2014 aluminium and stainless steel pins with urethane rubber bonded to the track links for grip on the arena floor.
SPEED: 14mph
GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at the front due to the flipper blade and tusk, there are two prongs at the sides of this blade attached to it that help in getting underneath skirted opponents. The clearance under the armour is 10mm protected by 3mm 2014 aluminium skirts at the remaining five sides and rear.
ARMOUR: 3.25mm Hardox over a stainless steel box section frame, baseplate is 5mm 2014 aluminium
WEAPONS: The entire front wedge is a rear hinged pneumatic flipper, which can be run from a variety of systems (1000psi nitrogen being the norm but can be changed, if it's different it will be stated by me on entry) but whichever gas is being used it is stored in a 2.2kg tank which gives around 10-15 flips per fight, fed into a 120mm bore nonattached full pressure ram that provides about 8 tonnes of force at 1000psi, taking into account leverage and losses from friction and such, this works out for the eventual lifting force at...um...enough. :P
Positioned inside the front of the wedge is a small titanium 'tusk' (think Beast Of Bodmin's weapon, but pointier and sticking out quite a bit more) which is actuated by an electric linear actuator on a 4 bar mechanism. This is Magnitude's main getting underneath opponents tool, it can be lowered so as to actually lift the front of the machine off the ground and drive the tusk into the arena floor with the weight of the front of the robot, which helps to get in underneath skirts and hinged wedges, and when raised it can get opponents' wheels off the ground in order to get further underneath them for a big flip.
SRIMECH: The flipper. The angling of the sides and rear prevents stranding.
NOTES: Most of the internal components where practical have been shockproofed to protect from spinner impacts, as has the front flipper panel.
STRENGTHS: Effective at breaching skirts and other wedges, good weaponry, fast and durable
WEAKNESSES: Ground type; weak to Water, Grass, and Ice, may not affect Flying
3: STAT
WEIGHT: 100kgs
DIMENSIONS: 115 x 70 x 20 cms (not counting the wheels but including the spike)
SHAPE: Invertible brick with wheels protected from the side
DRIVE: 2 Husqvarna 3120XP petrol chainsaw engines, one for each side of the drive, modified somewhat to lose excess weight with expansion tubes fitted to increase their power, to a peak of about 10hp each at high speeds, which translates roughly into lots and lots of torque when geared down suitably. These engines drive through belts six 340mm diameter go-kart wheels with puncture proof foam rubber tyres that provide very good traction and a degree of suspension, coated with silicone rubber for ultimate grippyness.
BATTERIES: 1 4ah NiMh pack that powers the reciever and control electronics/servos for the engine throttle and failsafes
SPEED: 25mph
GROUND CLEARANCE: 70mm all around, even when inverted
ARMOUR: Most of the body (front. rear, sides and base) is an 8-14mm titanium monocoque construction with Weldox and polypropylene reinforcing at certain weak areas, with the top cover being made of 5mm carbon fibre/polypropylene honeycomb material over a 6mm polycarbonate sheet.
WEAPONS: A single front 15cm hardened S7 tool steel spike, reinforced and shock mounted from within the chassis and sharpened to a dangerous point at the end, used for impaling other robots' armour and pushing them around with. The spike is adjustable so it can point downwards if the opponent is lower than 17cm.
SRIMECH: Invertible, polycarbonate 'ears' prevent it resting on its side or rear
NOTES: Components are heavily shockproofed to withstand the force of its own and others' attacks. Innards are protected by aluminium foil to reduce the fire risk
STRENGTHS: Lots of power, high ground clearance means it will not be affected by driving on wedges, and combined with the wheels means it can probably drive over the top of robots even if there are spikes there to stop that
WEAKNESSES: Some peoples' eternal belief that petrol engines catch fire at the slightest hint of the flame pit. (they don't)
4: N³
WEIGHT: 100kgs
DIMENSIONS: 110 x 80 x 30 (50 with arm raised) cm
SHAPE: Same as the previous version; the front is a trapezoid wedge with sloping sides, similar to Lightning from series 7. The rear is one continuous quarter sphere.
COLOUR: Dark maroon and dark green chevrons, darker towards the front, and this time with (also rather dark) Mouser Mecha Catbot/Raizer Blade style cyborg artwork at various points.
DRIVE: The main drive comes from a hydrostatic system, powered by a 7.2hp 80cc Stihl disc cutter engine driving two separate hydraulic pumps, one of which runs at 1200psi and uses proportional valve gear to control speed and direction of the two hydrostatic drive motors, and the other running on a different gear reduction at 3000psi to power the weapon rams through standard hydraulic fittings.
There are many advantages to using this system; basically N³ not only has a considerable amount more torque and pushing ability than standard electrically powered robots, it can deliver that torque at both very low and very high speeds, plus all those in between, and still have extremely precise and easy control. To put this in real world terms, look at The Big Cheese, which I got a lot of details for this from; it could drive around hanging a robot from the end of the arm and have no loss of speed or control. Basically this isn't going to bog down when pushing or be outpushed most of the time by other machines; this is serious power.
The drive is through tank style steering and two wheels located just in front of the centre of the robot, as before, this means it turns around the front as oppposed to around the the rear and has two ball transfer units at the rear to maintain stability. The wheels have a layer of urethane rubber on for traction.
SPEED: Average 12mph, maximum is around 30mph. Control and power is constant at all speeds due to the hydrostatic drive.
GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at front due to the forks, 0-10mm elsewhere
ARMOUR: 3mm (6mm on front wedge) titanium/10% vanadium alloy over a stainless steel box section frame, welded into a continuous shell save for the shock mounted front wedge so there are no individual panels to be ripped off, and 10mm polycarb used for both the menacing 'eyes' located in the sides and behind the main armour in places where vital components like the petrol tank and hydraulic cables need to be protected. The base is 5mm 2014 aluminium.
WEAPONS: 1) Inside the front wedge are a pair of hydraulic lifting forks, shaped somewhat like a cross between Panic Attack's and Haardvark's, these are constructed from hardened steel, stick out a bit beyond the front wedge and are capable of lifting around half a tonne easily. These are used to hold opponents on the front wedge for...
2) Sticking out of the front wedge is a hydraulically powered (via a 92mm bore/70mm piston dia ram) crushing arm, which has sharp spines on it, constructed from 5mm spaceframe Hardox with 1.5mm titanium/10% vanadium alloy sheet covering and tipped with a hardened tool steel point, running from a hydraulic ram located behind it similar to Executioner, giving about 8 tonnes of force at the tip of the arm.
The aim of the weapons is more to lift opponents (preventing them from getting any traction on the arena floor), clamping them, and taking them to be deposited in the Bank Of Pit, than for extreme crushing damage.
SRIMECH: The top of the robot and the top of the crushing arm have a rollover shape (think M2/Mega Morg) that should allow it to roll over onto its wheels if it gets tipped over. If for any reason the rolling over doesn't work, like it getting up against a wall, moving the crushing arm should change the balance enough to allow it to self right.
NOTES: Internals are shockproofed where possible to reduce shock damage from impacts and spinners, and fireproofed to minimise the chance of fire, with aluminium foil heat shields and careful placing of any petrol carrying components.
THANKS TO: Leo van Miert and Aaron Knight for explaining the technology to me and furthering my knowledge of hydrostatics, and to Martijn Benschop for calculating the ram size for the hydraulic crusher. Cheers guys.
STRENGTHS: Very powerful, hydrostatic drive gives torque head and shoulders above most other vapourbots. Decent armour, good weapons synergy, and generally a tough machine.
WEAKNESSES: Someone jamming a potato in the engine exhaust
Superheavyweight: Drive
WEIGHT: 145kgs/200kgs
DIMENSIONS: 125 x 120 x 9 cm
SHAPE: A very low box, with the sides sloped inwards towards the front so it's more of a trapezium shape, with wedged sides and rear. At the front is a 4mm Hardox wedge, which is hinged so it flops over when inverted.
COLOUR: The top half is shiny silver, and the bottom half black.
DRIVE 8 (yes,
S28-400 Magmotors running from 12 NiMh packs at 36v, two motors driving each of four 100mm wheels with urethane rubber treads for grip. The wheels are situated at the back and middle of the robot, with castors at the front, which gives it much better maneuvrability.
SPEED: 20mph
GROUND CLEARANCE: 5mm, except the front which is 0
ARMOUR: 3.25mm Hardox on the top and bottom, with the remainder (front, sides, rear) being a continuous 10mm Ti welded plate, which acts as part of the chassis as well.
WEAPONS: The front has two hardened S7 tool steel spikes at either side of the wedge, these spikes angle slightly downwards to dig into other wedges, and are very sharp. No active weaponry - this is a pure pusher.
SRIMECH: Invertible. The sloped sides prevent it resting there.
NOTES: Very heavily shockproofed, with the top armour, motors, batteries and electronics shock mounted to reduce impacts. Has a pair of very bright white LED headlights at the front, just below the spikes.
STRENGTHS: Good armour, very good pushing power and maneuvrability
WEAKNESSES: The tinned goblins of dooooooooooooom
Hope these are all acceptable to people, best of luck with writing it all Kody.
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