It won't look posh for long - the other beetlweights over here are getting viscous! I used up all the spare space on the Ti sheet (top right corner) with spare band-aid panels for the sides, with three nasty horizontal spinners, I'm sure to need them

Even More Flames

Using the new double burner torch and just propane, I was able to bend 9.5 mm Ti without too much trouble; it would have gone much easier with a 2nd person to operate the bender:



That opens up some very interesting possibilities for the next version of Scissorhands, MAPP gas should make this even easier

what material and thickness for your beetle parts there nick?

im guessing Ti
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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

Is there any other metal? The beetle frame is .093" / 2.36mm and I added a heap of bracing to stand up to the latest horizontal spinners.

we're doomed
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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

Ha, hardly! I added the extra 'patch' sections into the CAD with the full expectation that Glen, Dylon and Angus will punch holes in the frame. Glen might have the most reliable horizontal spinner right now, but the other bots will evolve to equal it and then vertical spinners will need to be really tough to survive and bounce their opponents off the roof. I would be building an undercutter myself, except its turning into a pissing competition and I really want to build at least one good vertical spinner.

Tried the TZ85as yet?
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

im keen to see said holes punched into said frame for the sheer entertainment value!

i kinda took myself out of the beetle arms race by retiring the drum design. ah well. your beater should more than make up for it
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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

I am still figuring out how to squeeze the TZ85 controllers into Scissorhands; the wiring is making thing difficult. The bench test is still being set up, I will have a long post about the results when its done.

I spent all week doing the waterjet CAD for the new beetle, then re-doing it several times. As it turns out, not all DXF export files are created equal; it took a change from 3 to 6 digit precision and spline curves to line segments to make the file work among other things. The trick is to make the DXF compatible with the oldest possible version of AutoCad you can; R2.5 worked best in this case. It doesn't look like the beetle will be ready for the next local event, but very likely for the Nats in Brisbane.

There was another break-though with beetles when I realised that the frame is similar looking to Glen's beetle 'Killer'. With fairly minor changes to the front of the frame, the weapon motor can be rotated 90 deg. and the beater weapon substituted for a horizontal disk or bar - the entire back of the bot can remain unchanged . That makes two bots with 89% interchangeable parts - I like!

Roller-coaster week

This week has seen some extreme highs and lows:

My oldest cat Rollo died over the weekend . It was expected but still pretty shattering after almost 13 years. After that, I couldn't concentrate on big robot items.

Despite that bad news, I got plenty of small bot items done; repaired all the bent P60 gearboxes for Scissorhands, which needed a custom-made bearing puller. Battle hardened four B16 motors for the beetle and made several small internal parts for it. The Beetle frame was water jetted and is on it's way home. The antweight weapon bars are also cut out and in transit. The first part of Scissorhand's welding is done and the rest is almost ready to be sent out.

Next year's version of Scissorhands had major CAD work and parts like the Scorpion weapon motor and the Castle ICE HV 160 controller have arrived. The new bot will be quite different, with a skinny body like Totally Offensive and much larger wheel pods that hold the drive motor ESC and have complete wheel protection. I have hardly started the weight calculations, but I'm aiming to make the weapon bar at least 15cm longer this time .

The best bit of news is that the missus landed an executive job with a large US medical firm for an obscene amount of money. We finally have a chance of buying a house in around 5 years - I am already planning the workshop

Sorry to hear about the cat, gratz to the missus on the job, and nice progress with the robots and robot planning!
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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

Yeah, the job news is fantastic! Deb flies over to the US in 2 weeks for training and a conference; my shopping list is already pretty long

Yeah score on the new job Nick! Sorry to hear about your cat...best thing to do when tragedy strikes, is to put it into your work ....and build a really angry robot that you can take out your frustration on...... and you could name it after your cat to.

miles
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Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
www.mulesfilm.com.au
www.wombokforest.com.au

-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015

Thanks Miles, I have already taken your good advice This a pic of Rollo (left) and Gizmo, our Russian Blue kitten:




The first order of business today was making this draw bar:



That allows me to mount an ER32 collet chuck in the lathe and opens up all sorts of capabilities for high accuracy work. Its a simple accessory, but the amazing part for me was welding the nut on to the shaft - I thought the welder would need several passes to build up a strong joint, but it managed to blast into a 21mm hex rod and melt it back 3 to 4 mm. That's from a welder that weighs less than a featherweight .

I'm currently working on the beetleweight weapon; its feeling a bit overweight and might need to be a smaller diameter. After that's cut out, its on to the pulleys and I need to make a cutter like Glen's for the round belt.

sorry to hear about Rollo man

That cat had a beautiful character to him
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Andrew Welch, Team Unconventional Robotics