"Sioc" Build Diary

All things antweight

Moderators: BeligerAnt, petec, administrator

User avatar
ShootyMcExplosion
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:14 pm

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by ShootyMcExplosion »

Well the time between these posts is becoming far too long, but here's the next update:

So the best piece of news right now is that Sioc drives and self-rights! I've included a video showing both off below: https://youtu.be/uTgT_wc-waU

I've also included a link to an album detailing what the machine looks like in its current state: http://imgur.com/a/1Slkn

In its current state, it can technically compete. However, there are still a number of things left to fix should they need fixing
  • The largest, and also shown in the video, is that Sioc has far less grip on its left wheel when the right wheel isn't in use. The entire machine drifts left constantly when I'm driving it, but if the stick is in the bottom left or top right position, then there doesn't seem to be any grip at all, even when the wheel is spinning at full speed. This really puzzles me, as I don't know what else the weight of the machine can be resting on other than its wheel.
  • The placement of the servo operating the flipper has to be incredibly precise, and even a few millimeters can be the difference between self-righting or not. currently I'm using strips of blu tack to hold it down, and they seem to hold up well enough, only moving when so much weight is put on the flipper that it won't budge (eg. if it's held in your hand while you push the stick).
  • the machine can land on it's side and, if it's held there without rolling onto its back, then it will be unable to self-right. This happened very rarely to me during testing, but the possibility was always still there.
  • I'm still trying to find a way that holds all of the pieces together that doesn't involve tape. Tape seems to be holding out for me so far, but finding some sorta brackets that can bend to the angles necessary has proven challenging.
  • I still want to finish the "texture work" on it. I just need a color printer for that.
Those are the main issues with the bot at the moment. I'm considering starting another antweight shortly, or even possibly a featherweight.
User avatar
BeligerAnt
Posts: 1872
Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:00 am
Location: Brighton
Contact:

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by BeligerAnt »

ShootyMcExplosion wrote:
  • The largest, and also shown in the video, is that Sioc has far less grip on its left wheel when the right wheel isn't in use. The entire machine drifts left constantly when I'm driving it, but if the stick is in the bottom left or top right position, then there doesn't seem to be any grip at all, even when the wheel is spinning at full speed. This really puzzles me, as I don't know what else the weight of the machine can be resting on other than its wheel.
Because most ants have two wheels and just slide on the front edge of the body/chassis, any twist in the chassis or difference in load on the wheels will affect the drive/grip.
ShootyMcExplosion wrote:
  • The placement of the servo operating the flipper has to be incredibly precise, and even a few millimeters can be the difference between self-righting or not. currently I'm using strips of blu tack to hold it down, and they seem to hold up well enough, only moving when so much weight is put on the flipper that it won't budge (eg. if it's held in your hand while you push the stick).
Using blu tack to hold a flipper servo doesn't sound too reliable for full combat. Cable ties work well, but may need some double sided tape (or even blu tack!) to prevent any slight movement.
ShootyMcExplosion wrote:
  • the machine can land on it's side and, if it's held there without rolling onto its back, then it will be unable to self-right. This happened very rarely to me during testing, but the possibility was always still there.
If it can happen, then it will happen every fight! If you place it on its' side can you get it to topple over by firing the flipper and/or spinning the wheels? Sometimes it only takes a slight shift in weight to topple over to a better orientation.
ShootyMcExplosion wrote:
  • I'm still trying to find a way that holds all of the pieces together that doesn't involve tape. Tape seems to be holding out for me so far, but finding some sorta brackets that can bend to the angles necessary has proven challenging.
Tape works really well in antweights, particularly for light weight, non critical parts like wiring and receivers. Brackets can be made from polycarbonate sheet, folded as required, or from small blocks of polycarbonate, HDPE etc.
Gary, Team BeligerAnt
User avatar
ShootyMcExplosion
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:14 pm

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by ShootyMcExplosion »

Hi there, just a quick update (wow I'm terrible at updating this). Sorry for no pictures this time. The robot is now driving in a straight line, so that's my greatest problem done. I've added bulges to the sides of Sioc so that it can self right from any angle. The flipper arm has now been completely secured by a proper linkage, and can now retract itself rather than relying on the arm returning to the base position by itself. I'm also now planning to build a second antweight that will be 4 wheel drive and that I'm hoping will be very sewer snake-y.
TeamSeismic
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:10 pm
Location: Watford

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by TeamSeismic »

Do you have an ESC connected to the motors or is it plugged directly into the receiver?
User avatar
Shakey
Posts: 1119
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:38 pm
Location: Reading

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by Shakey »

TeamSeismic wrote:Do you have an ESC connected to the motors or is it plugged directly into the receiver?
He is using one of Rorys NanoTwo's for an ESC.
Nuts And Bots - For all your components and ready built antweights!

Alex Shakespeare - Team Shakey / Nuts And Bots / Team Nuts:
AWS 44, 45, 49, 51 & 55 Winner - Far too many robots!
User avatar
ShootyMcExplosion
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:14 pm

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by ShootyMcExplosion »

Well, I've left this build alone for far too long, but I finally decided today to finish Sioc. Here's the completed ant!:

Image

I got the look from simply printing out an ice texture and sticking it to the inside layer of the polycarb, which gives it even more of an ice-y feel.

Image

All of the poly pieces are now mounted together via a few nuts, bolts, and pieces of a cut out biscuit tin. The only exception is the front, which I simply ran out of space and weight to mount, so that's still tape unfortunately. Should do in a pinch though.

Image

Everything is snugly contained down below, and arranged in a way that shouldn't interfere with the lifter.

Image

I abandoned the linkage system due to space, and went back to a good ol' arm with a rubber band to help retract. Also, thanks to everything not being mounted by Blu Tack, the machine now self rights 100% of the time. Hooray!

I still need to get better at driving, but for the most part I think I've done fairly well for a first antweight. If I could do it again from scratch, I'd maybe try to design the pieces of poly in such a way that made the insides of the robot more accessible, as well as re-angle the flipper to have for give. I also need to get some acetate for the front as well. I still have my second antweight to finish (really, to start), which should be a fun design, and I'm also hoping to design a FW soon as well, so I'll probably head over to the FRA forums for that.

Finally, I've just realized that I never explained why the machine had its name. "Sioc" is the Irish word for "Frost", and I wanted to give the machine a winter-y vibe.
User avatar
GeorgeR
Posts: 280
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2016 9:53 pm
Location: Bath, Somerset

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by GeorgeR »

That looks really good, hope to see it at an event soon.
Team Zero - AWS 58 Champion!
Zero - rambot - - Axiom - axebot - - Valkyrie - drum spinner
Blueprint - rambot - - Vampire - horizontal spinner - - Particle - ???
RBMK - quad spinner gyro walker - - Duality - dual spinner gyro walker
User avatar
ShootyMcExplosion
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:14 pm

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by ShootyMcExplosion »

Cheers man, although since I'm living in Ireland, I'll probably wait until I have at least one more antweight built before I can justify going to an event, to get the most out of one as possible.
User avatar
botomatic1000
Posts: 231
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2016 5:59 pm
Location: Kings Heath, Birmingham

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by botomatic1000 »

That's a neat looking flipper you got there :) well done.
Ethan Wall KINGS HEATH COLLIDERS
Current Robots: Sprat Bait: The worst 150g Wedge ever built...
Elysium 1.4: Antweight Undercutter, built by Team Riptide, Brummie glass cannon edition!
Barracuda: Beetleweight Vert... hates working...
Spiky goat
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 5:33 pm

Re: "Sioc" Build Diary

Post by Spiky goat »

I'm just about to start mine, so handy to see what others have done, and how they've done it. Cool little robot :)
Post Reply