cost
Moderators: BeligerAnt, petec, administrator
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- Posts: 16
- Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2004 12:00 am
- Location: portsmouth
cost
hi,how much have you spent on your robots ,who has spent the most in total, and the most on one antweight?
stuart
team loopy
stuart
team loopy
- BeligerAnt
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Personally, as little as possible!
Whatever the parts cost is, I'm sure it's dwarfed by the time, effort and creativity put into it by the builder. If anyone were to cost their development time it would start to get silly very quickly!
Some robots, like Vacuum, have custom hardware and software which would cost many thousands of pounds to develop commercially.
Where does the cost end? A basic ant might not contain much in the way of expensive parts, but by the time you add batteries, charger, spare crystals, and of course a transmitter the total cost has probably more than doubled.
Whatever the parts cost is, I'm sure it's dwarfed by the time, effort and creativity put into it by the builder. If anyone were to cost their development time it would start to get silly very quickly!
Some robots, like Vacuum, have custom hardware and software which would cost many thousands of pounds to develop commercially.
Where does the cost end? A basic ant might not contain much in the way of expensive parts, but by the time you add batteries, charger, spare crystals, and of course a transmitter the total cost has probably more than doubled.
Gary, Team BeligerAnt
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I'm scared to calculate the costs I've spent on mine (Specially if you include train tickets to/from events!). Considering its only been about 8months since I started, it'll be a very scary figure indeed. I don't see the (overall) cost as an issue, its not nice to think that way for something that's built to be destroyed. I just enjoy it so much, hell with the expenses.
Die Gracefully Robotics
Winner - AWS 39
Winner - AWS 39
i tend not to think of it as something you build to destroy, more as something you build to play with and fight with, however in totaly skint and have been for some time and so havnt really done anything towards mine, so money does matter but it should be what you worry about if you get me.....
(dont worry if you dont cos im confused myself =P)
(dont worry if you dont cos im confused myself =P)
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- Posts: 16
- Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2004 12:00 am
- Location: portsmouth
When I think about what I've spent on robots in total over the last few years, I usually start to have a bit of a cry. In total it's about ?2000, but considering thats everything, I suppose thats not too bad for a hobby that I've been constantly enjoying for the last 3 years.
And I do mean everything. This is counting transport to events, tools (which I had none of before starting robotics), and stuff I have used for other hobbies, like chargers, transmitters etc (for planes, cars etc.). Also, I have spent a bit on stuff for a heavy which never happened, so a large amount of that is for batteries, motors and a set of 4QD controllers that are just sitting in my shed. Plus I've also built 3 different feathers.
For cost per ant I'll always try and stay below ?60 if I can. Only specialist ants should be more than that (pneumatics, brushless etc). But then again I do rebuild my ants after every event (currently planning Duff mk11 fo AWS18!), so that can get pricey. One day I'll be satisfied and save myself a fortune!
And I do mean everything. This is counting transport to events, tools (which I had none of before starting robotics), and stuff I have used for other hobbies, like chargers, transmitters etc (for planes, cars etc.). Also, I have spent a bit on stuff for a heavy which never happened, so a large amount of that is for batteries, motors and a set of 4QD controllers that are just sitting in my shed. Plus I've also built 3 different feathers.
For cost per ant I'll always try and stay below ?60 if I can. Only specialist ants should be more than that (pneumatics, brushless etc). But then again I do rebuild my ants after every event (currently planning Duff mk11 fo AWS18!), so that can get pricey. One day I'll be satisfied and save myself a fortune!
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I'm always skint. Current cost cutting measures include one recever for two bots, only one Tx, using a servo board as a speed controller, gaffa tape instead of screws... and an SD200 servo made from dead bits out of a couple of Daves SD200s... (when we ripped em apart for AWS17). Largest outlay has been train tickets for AWS17. and my Tx/Rx
Team 'In Theory'