Vaccum and sucking robots

american roboteer · Post by **american roboteer** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 2:08 am

vaccums type antweights are growing in popularity and i am wondering what materials and parts do you need to construct one is it hard to make

peterwaller · Post by **peterwaller** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:03 pm

Having just made my first one I have to admit they are not that easy. Basically you need a vacuum pump with a method of controlling it and some sort of chamber that can seal down to the arena floor when evacuated. The amount of downforce will be dependent on what pressure you can get the chamber down to and the area of the arena contained within the seal. Typically normal air pressure is 13 pounds per square inch. The pump I am using can get that down to about 6 PSI meaning I have about 7 pounds downforce for every square inch of chamber. The tricky part is getting a chamber that can seal to the arena without taking the pressure off the wheels before the vacuum is started but that can still slide over the arena when sucked down fully. The problem is we don't have any standard for smoothness of arena and if you end up fighting in some really rough ones you cant get a seal. ( Isn't that right PeteC )

Post by **BeligerAnt** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:08 pm

Pete, you are underrating your robots again!
Standard atmospheric pressure is 14.7psi, so you actually have about 25% more "suck" than you thought!

(Returns to applying textured paint to arena surface...

)

peterwaller · Post by **peterwaller** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 6:39 pm

Several people have asked where I got the vacuum pumps from and being old and forgetful I had to tell them I would look it up and post the information later so here it is.
http://www.boxerpumps.com
tel: 020 7794 4080
Uno International Ltd
20 Belsize Avenue
London
NW3 4AU

The pump is the Micro Boxer MSM6.5/1.2X
I paid about ?66 for two including P&P
I think they are more used to dealing with companies but I phoned them and told them what I wanted them for and they were very helpful.

Remote-Controlled Dave · Sun Sep 11, 2005 6:56 pm

I am not looking forward to a future where every single ant in the competition except mine sticks to the floor....

Andrew_Hibberd · Post by **Andrew_Hibberd** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 8:55 pm

I could never see that happening, as i have 4 ants i am not going to be building a sucking ant. Plus no one is going to enter a team of 4 sucking ants -are they

Flippt · Post by **Flippt** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:52 pm

You never know

Rhys · Post by **Rhys** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 10:52 pm

Andrew_Hibberd wrote:I could never see that happening, as i have 4 ants i am not going to be building a sucking ant.

Same here. Not for the lack of wanting, it's just I don't have the expertise, money or equipment (and if I'm honest, patience!). I'll just have to look for grip in a more conventional way...

josh · Post by **josh** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:48 am

nope i will never pay that much jst to make an ant that can stick to the roof of the arena

Andrew_Hibberd · Post by **Andrew_Hibberd** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:15 pm

Just out of curiosity, how much do those little pumps weigh?

EDIT, should have looked at web site first

Permanent Magnet motor ratings:?4.5V DC or 6.5V DC
Core Less motor ratings:?????6V, 9V, 12V, 18V, 24V
Max free flow??????????..1.8 l/min
Max Pressure??????????.500mBar
Max Vacuum??????????...400 mBar
Tube connection????????...?3.5mm
Weight?????????????..29g
Housing Material????????...PPO (Polyphenylene oxide)
Diaphragm & valve material???...Silicone