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Budget Bot v4 - Sub $100 Robot.
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marto
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Joined: 08 Jul 2004
Posts: 5459
Location: Brisbane, QLD


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Budget Bot v4 - Sub $100 Robot.

Aim
To build an an entire featherweight robot for less than $100 using new parts.

Background
So when I first started out I wanted to build a robot for as cheap as possible. I think it ended up costing me about $500 first time round and ~$1000 by the time I really got it finished.

First incantation was basically 3 drills, 2 for drive and 1 for a massive spinning weapon and had mostly air armour. The break down for the cost was:

$300 for radio
$50 for SLA battery
$20 for SLA charger
$60 drills
$20 on microswitches
$50 at least on misc

As improvements I bought an IBC ($300) and a proper charger ($200) and acquired some other batteries. Total was probably over $1000 by the time I got it done and this was probably in the space from when I was 14 - 16. (Ah remember ABBL and damn I have been doing this a long time)

Assumptions
Doing this for $100 is really still probably a bit unrealistic there is a certain level of equipment which is necessary to build/run a combat robot which you can not acquire for < $100.

So this assumes you have:
A digital radio
A battery charger
Can access an AVR programmer
(These probably can be acquired for an extra $100)

I will also be assuming that if you buy a quantity of something and only use 1/4 of it that the cost is 1/4 as you can use it for 3 other robots. I will also assume that shipping is free.
I am also assuming that you cannot get a hold of any second hand or used goods. Other than these special parts everything else will be included in cost.

So I am cheating a little but I think most people who have done any RC stuff should have most of this equipment on hand.

Plan
Doing this for <$100 would have been completely infeasible 1-2 years ago however with some recent reductions in price I think it should be possible.

So possible parts:
Drives - 2 x Drills
Lipoly Battery
Hacked ESCs
MDF construction
Mounts, wheels, ect.
Other bits and pieces

TODO
All parts will be documented and may lead to kit form.
Ideally simple construction and should be able to be translated to steel, polycarb with relative ease.

Steve
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:08 pm 
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Daniel
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Joined: 30 Aug 2005
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Location: Gold Coast


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K-mart has drills for $25. Maybe since you are thinking cheap you can include the drill batteries and their charger.

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:40 pm 
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marto
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Joined: 08 Jul 2004
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Location: Brisbane, QLD


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Really I didn't think drills existed that cheap anymore. That is a good idea.

Steve
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:42 pm 
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Nick
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Joined: 16 Jun 2004
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Location: Sydney, NSW


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That's half your budget gone on just the drive motors - I think its more realistic to make this a $150 bot, particularly if you are going to be detailed and include things like mounting hardware, wire, power switch etc. Still a good exercise to go through.

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:52 pm 
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marto
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Yeh still aim high.
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:09 pm 
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Jaemus
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Joined: 01 Apr 2009
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Location: NSW


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I think if you miss the $100 mark and it settles somewhere above that, it will still be worthwhile to see what that figure is, and since we are all fairly open minded people, rather than just going 'err, he didnt hit his target'. Watching with interest.

Did you end up doing the AVR tutorial yet?

EDIT: I think you should include a power switch and plugs for motors etc. Those things should be mandatory (not that ive ever done a power switch) and encouraged from day one
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<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls


Last edited by Jaemus on Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:15 pm; edited 1 time in total

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:13 pm 
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marto
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Yeh it never got bumped as I just edited first post. I linked it on front page of Hacking thread.
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
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Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:15 pm 
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Jaemus
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awesome, ill check it out
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<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:16 pm 
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marto
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I was going to do wire link which you can pull out. I wish TiMeH would reply to my PMs and send me those battleswitches from like a month ago for my bots.

Steve
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:32 pm 
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Don
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Joined: 21 Feb 2010
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Location: Gladstone, Queesland


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yeh bunnings has xu1 14v drills for $25 when they get them in

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 3:07 pm 
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marto
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Joined: 08 Jul 2004
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Location: Brisbane, QLD


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2xXU1/Kmart drills $50
2xRed wheels $3.30
2x TPY1-25A ESCs $10.50
3x XT60 $3.19 for 5 pairs
1m x 100mm Heatshrink $2.75
1m x 4mm heatshrink $0.35
4 x washers $0.09

$70 almost driving

MDF...
Bolts....
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
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Last edited by marto on Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 3:33 pm 
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Knightrous
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Joined: 15 Jun 2004
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Location: NSW


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1200x900x12mm MDF is $19.99 @ Mitre10.
Throw in a metre or two of 25x25x3 angle iron and a bag of tekscrews and you've got yourself a bot Razz
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Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 3:54 pm 
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marto
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I was going bolts, I have a thing against tek screws.
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 3:55 pm 
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Jaemus
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Location: NSW


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Im pretty sure red wheels were $3.20 last time i looked
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<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:07 pm 
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Jaemus
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Joined: 01 Apr 2009
Posts: 2674
Location: NSW


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what's the 100mm heatshrink for?

dont forget the grub screws to lock the drill clutches, and washers for the wheels
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<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls

Post Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:09 pm 
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