Hello! And some questions - And NEA Build Log of Sorts

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JeffSergeant
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Hello! And some questions - And NEA Build Log of Sorts

Post by JeffSergeant »

Hi There!

I've decided to set myself the challenge of entering 'Something' into the Antfreeze 5 event in 4 weeks time; currently registered 'NonexistAnt' because it was when I registered, I've now got a working chassis that's almost controllable, so I think I should make it. I'm not expecting to win!

I have a couple of questions if anyone has some time.

First question! In terms or armour, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with using Nylon? Or more specifically, using the 'Polymorph' mouldable plastic, which claims to be 'as strong as nylon?' It's strong but not brittle, so I thought it might hold up well against rotary weapons, it also has the benefit of being cheap and easy to work/rework for a first prototype. Being mouldable gives me options for reinforcing it with e.g. a light steel mesh.

Secondly, for an event like this; what sort of tools and spares do people generally bring along? Is it essential to have spare batteries or will there be time to recharge them (~300mah 2s lipos) in the unlikely event that I survive the first round? I guess I'd make a couple of rounds before needing to recharge, so probably not an issue.

Not for this one; but how does it work if a team enters multiple robots? Do I need a driver per robot in case they end up matched against each other?

Thanks,

Jeff...
Last edited by JeffSergeant on Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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peterwaller
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by peterwaller »

Hi Jeff and welcome to antweights.
I build 3D printed chassis using mainly Nylon and it proves to be very resilient partly because it does flex.
It is very difficult to glue though so you will need to use nuts and bolts or gaffa tape to hold it together.
As for tools mostly small screwdrivers / allenkeys depending on how you robot is held together plus glue and tape for repairs.
Most things required in an emergency can be borrowed from one of the usually very friendly and helpful roboteers.
A 300 mah battery will probably last out although there are many chances to recharge if you are worried.
You will find you will learn more at your first event than many hours of research even on this very useful forum.
JeffSergeant
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by JeffSergeant »

Thanks Peter,
You will find you will learn more at your first event than many hours of research even on this very useful forum.
That was my reasoning for entering the first available event; fail fast & fail often, as they say!
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GeorgeR
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by GeorgeR »

Hi Jeff, welcome to antweights. Pete's covered most of it, but I will definitely second the idea of getting to an event to see how it's all done.

With regards to multiple robots you don't need multiple drivers. In the tournament group stages a teams robots are in separate groups, so it's not an issue unless more than one qualifies for the finals. If they are drawn together you can nominate a winner without fighting, or you can get a driver from another team to fill in for that fight.
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JeffSergeant
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by JeffSergeant »

Thanks George, good to know I could field a couple of bots if I was on my own!

Planning on coming to Ant Freeze 5 later this month; Plan A is that I'll have a sacrifice/entrant of my own, if not I'll come and watch.

So far I have a working prototype (Youtube) using mostly bits I had laying around gathering dust. Quite a way to go but I think another few hours work I'll have something presentable!

Currently weighing in at a massive 125g already;

I can shave off some with a new RX that's on the way (A 1.5KM+ 16 channel X8R seemed a little overkill; and I don't want my main flight RX getting explosively deconstructed, nor do I want to hard-wire it in.

There's probably about 20g of copper in the wires, that will be cut down as things are hard-wired in, when I decide exactly where they're going.

The wheels are very chunky so could be downsized... but I do like the 'Big Cheese' look!

Now I just need to decide between armour and a weapon...
JeffSergeant
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by JeffSergeant »

I've got the basic armour design sorted.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KnU6z0dKd ... e=youtu.be

Laid everything out in Blender, unwrapped the armour mesh, printed out and an cut around it. Currently pure Chinesium alloy from an old space heater, when I get the final set of components I'll see how much weight I have left to play with.

Putting the rx on the outside is a little bold, but only temporary!
AntRoboteer
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by AntRoboteer »

Looks like it's driving well. Hope to see it at Ant Freeze. :D
JeffSergeant
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by JeffSergeant »

AntRoboteer wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:00 am Looks like it's driving well. Hope to see it at Ant Freeze. :D
Yes it's coming along nicely; I'll definitely be there now.

I made a couple of a purchasing errors; I bought a couple of lightweight ESCs but picked the 'With Brake' option; so it needs two taps on the throttle to reverse; which also makes spinning a bit hit-and-miss and no sign of any way to reprogram it. They'll do for toys; I have a plan for them already.

I also bought a receiver which is perfect for my every need; except it doesn't have a fail-safe! So that will be relegated to controlling things in the 'can't injure people fly away' category... luckily I hard-wired it into the aforementioned ESCs so it's a self-contained fubar.

New ESCs and RX just dropped through the letterbox; so should be complete today.

Thinking of adding a lifter to it, as I'm marginal on weight as it is, but a 9g servo will give me enough to at least move something around to put a bit of extra distance between me and spinners. More of a prodder than a lifter..
AntRoboteer
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by AntRoboteer »

9g servos aren't as weak as you'd think. Most of my early flippers (and even some later ones) used 9g plastic geared servos with no real problems and it's always good fun to have an active weapon. Also, for Ant Freeze games in particular, it often helps being able to move things around with another weapon other than drive.
Paulmchurd
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Re: Hello! And some questions

Post by Paulmchurd »

What esc did you use?

Your robot Looks awesome.
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