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evil_steve
Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 304
Location: Adelaide, SA
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Dual Citizen - Slightly Evil Robotics - SA
New sportsman time! After Vivid last year I started thinking about making a multi-bot sportsman, so my son and I could drive at the same time. I liked the idea of two similarly weighted bots with different weapons that could work well as a team up, and decided on a clamp bot and a saw bot. I hadn't seen this idea used before - then Crackers and Smash did something similar in the latest Robot Wars season. My wife came up with the name Dual Citizen, as my son is one, and we have also talked about making a bigger version (lightweight maybe) to take to Robogames one year with him driving an "American" bot and me an "Aussie" one.
I've been slowly gathering parts and tinkering with bits and pieces, but since registering both Zenghiaro (which has also been tinkered with since Nationals) and Dual Citizen for Vivid I realised I'd better crack on with actually building the new bots. My antweight Kinda Saw-ta was built as a sort of test of the saw bot idea, it's gone through a few iterations and the current design is fun to drive, if variably effective. The saw multibot is essentially a larger version of that, built using the same construction techniques I used in Zenghiaro (ali tube core to hold the drive motors, and cutting board screwed together with inset nuts). So far I've got the chassis mostly put together and driving about (the uprights at the front are temporary, I threw them on so I could drive it around today), I'm hoping to finish this bot and get a chunk more done on the second one this weekend.
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Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:49 pm |
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evil_steve
Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 304
Location: Adelaide, SA
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Well, I managed to get less done on the bots last weekend than I planned (due to cutting my finger and needing a couple of stitches), but more this weekend despite working both mornings.
The saw bot (I'm debating giving them individual names, it'd make referencing them easier, but I feel like I need to make them thematically consistent, like calling the saw bot "Yank" and the clamp bot "Ozzie", but I'm not sure how well that works geopolitically or culturally) has new metal front supports and upgraded wheels - I've noticed Harley (amongst others - it seems a common thing in the UK) gluing/screwing bike tyre to the red wheels, which seemed a great idea and adds a centimetre or two of much needed clearance at the back of the bot. (Looking at this photo I've remembered I still need to cut and fit the last two side panels!)
I've in theory got all the bits of the weapon ready to go in, but I'm waiting on a 1/2" BSP tap for the weapon pulley as part of my hare-brained scheme to connect it to the saw blade. In case it doesn't get here in time (nowhere I've tried locally has them in stock at the moment, so I've ordered one off the interwebz that was supposed to "ship within 24h" but hasn't been sent yet, a week later) I'm trying 3D printed pulleys - I figure I can print 4 for Vivid and treat them as a consumable for each match if needed. I'm then using a plumbing fitting to cut the thread in the plastic, which is sorta working but takes effort.
Most of my work this weekend has been on the clamp bot. I'm trying 4x (probably underpowered) Actobotics gearmotors and wheels, with the latter also getting the bike tyre upgrade. The chassis is mostly done - I just need to make the two top plates and (probably) some wheel armour.
I'm also using the 3D printer to test the geometry of the clamp parts before actually cutting metal. They've gone through 4 versions now and I still need to change the lower jaws again as they're riding on the ground and catching on my carpet - I figure raising them 2-3 mm should do it. The proper parts won't have such nice curves, unless I decide I want to get someone to laser/watercut them for me (not sure I have time now anyway).
A lead screw will join the upper jaws to the weapon motor, thankfully I've realised I have space to use a much less complicated mechanism (ie, a drill chuck) than I first thought. I'm making all the brackets myself out of 3mm mild steel so they fit what I need - they're a bit "backyard shed" but they seem to work, no idea if they'll stand up to the rigours of combat though.
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Mon May 08, 2017 12:12 am |
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evil_steve
Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 304
Location: Adelaide, SA
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This week (and especially today!) have been crazy busy at work, but I've managed to find some time here and there to wok on the bots, helped largely by a meeting one afternoon being cancelled.
The clamp bot now has it's wheel guards, power light, and removable link (I designed the XT60 mount in Tinkercad, it can be found
here
if anyone is interested). There's also now foam padding and velcro hold down tie for the battery. I've started drilling and cutting the proper clamp jaws out of some 1/4" 6061-T6 leftovers from Zenghiaro's lifting forks, but ran out of sociable hours to be using power tools.
Here's the extremely home-made linkage for the clamp mechanism, I actually made it last week but realised I hadn't shown off it's bodgy glory yet.
The saw bot has been partially dismantled to make it easier to fit the weapon pulley but once put back together will be almost done. It needs side armour on the left (right side in this picture), and a weapon guard/lock, but I think is otherwise done.
I also managed to work-out how to set the failsafe on the AFHDS 2 receivers that came with my FlySky transmitters - I had to set and save each channel one at a time.
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Fri May 19, 2017 11:57 pm |
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evil_steve
Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 304
Location: Adelaide, SA
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Well, after a weekend which mercifully only had one thing on (which was, however, several hours of antweight robot fighting) I've managed to essentially finish all my bots for Vivid. Oh, and in time to show them off at out monthly fight night yesterday (don't worry, via static display).
I'd forgotten quite how aggressively 6061-T6 aluminium wrecks jigsaw blades - in the end the lower clamps were cut about 50:50 with jigsaw and by hand with a hacksaw, and I made the tactical decision to cut the more topographically challenging upper clamps out of 5mm steel instead, using my one remaining metal jigsaw blade. Got them done though, but when this bot gets redesigned/rebuilt down the track I'm getting the damn things laser/water cut.
For the saw bot, I decided that as I'd bought the fancy (well, hard to find in stock) BSP tap I should actually use it. Unfortunately, the largest tap wrench I have is just fractionally too small to fit it - an adjustable spanner works though.
The weapon system turns smoother with the proper aluminium pulley so I'm going to use that primarily, with my printed one as the back-up. I just need to cut some spacers to stop it moving on the shaft and it's ready to fight.
Here's the duo together, and alongside Zenghiaro (whose build diary I need to get around to updating). As Ben said last night when he saw them, "you can tell you built them".
Still to do before Vivid: decorate the bots, cut and paint the weapon lock for the saw bot, make nice stands for both bots (rather than the scrap pieces of wood I used last night), buy and solder up some brighter power LEDs (turns out they are not the same ones I put in Zenghiaro), sort out what tools and spare parts I'm taking, and then work out how I'm packing the lot. But apart from all that, they're done.
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Sun May 21, 2017 11:31 pm |
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