In my experience, the lack of really low end movement (aka too slow for the ESC to detect the sensorless motor's rotation), is compensated for by the combo of extreme power with extreme braking. I may not be able to drive around smoothly at <1mph, but I can blip the thing in pulses of just a few cm very easily. It just requires a slight change of driving style.
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Online store - www.ranglebox.com
Pulsar and friends.

Progress:

I finally found all the soldering gear and Mr T's wiring loom is taking shape slowly but surely. The other sportsman finally got some attention; I worked out the idler wheel details for the tracks and printed some more test sprockets:



Three sets of idler wheels with ten tooth sprockets can just fit between the main sprockets and will give the tracks plenty of grip on the floor. The weight is really piling up so the idlers may have to be delrin rather than aluminium.

Robot Wars UK

The big news of the day is that RW will have featherweights. I wouldn't be surprised if they hardly get any air time but as this event will probably replace the Robochallenge championships, I definitely want to go.

Its a tough decision on which bot to take; Mr Mangle has a good track record in the UK, while Shiny is arguably the harder hitting bot. Perhaps its worth making a Mangle 2 with some shiny improvements
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Workshop:

Not having a mill working is holding up projects and not having the enclosure finished means I can't move other stuff into the workshop so its time to crack on with the build. I didn't have any flat bar to make wheel brackets, so this RHS has been pressed in to service:





It looks a bit weird but at least the job got done quickly. The next stage is much larger; the six horizontal rails between the ends of the enclosure have to be welded on. I wonder how much of a BBQ I need to put on the get Harley and Don to fly down and lend a hand?
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Mill raising party at chateau de nick?
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Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

That might be a thing - the mill enclosure could easily be mistaken for a small barn
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

haha don and I do like to eat bbq!
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Creative Instigation - Build Something Awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTuWeJ4OrAcsmjKir9L4JNg

https://www.facebook.com/CreativeInstigation/

Can you bring a gantry crane with you? It might be needed. The frame is dry assembled and its a little larger than it looked in CAD; definitely barn sized.



The biggest problem isn't welding it all square, its standing the enclosure up when its finished, the roof beams are 2.4m high and the diagonal of the enclosure is 2.5m . The only way is to remove the lights at the front of the shed and cut out two roof beams.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Nick

how high is the door?

Could you take it out, stand it up then push it back in?

I assume this is with feet removed?
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

The door is even lower; only 2.2M. I could take the wheels off but that is not quite enough To clear the beams. Cutting the beams isn't a huge deal as they are not structural - its more the annoyance factor.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

The enclosure frame is welded; I thought it would take much longer to get everything clamped and squared up.



The next stage is to figure out the positions of the four support beams that the mill rest on. Once they are welded, the enclosure can be stood up and the cladding can begin.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Mr Mangle V2?

While deciding what to enter for Robot wars, I got to thinking about how to improve Mr Mangle; the self-righting needs a tweak or two, the front could be a little stronger, a larger weapon motor would be nice etc, etc. Looking at the titanium off-cuts, I can get all the frame except for the sides from existing stock, which cuts the cost dramatically. And since almost all the internal parts will simply transfer over to the new frame, there are few costs there either.

The new version uses the spare weapon motor & beater from Shiny, Micro-V drive belt, a smaller electronics module with better shock mounting, Larger battery compartment, better motor cooling and adjustable self-righting. Custom urethane wheels are also an option if there is any weight left. Its basically the most successful parts of Mangle and Shiny mashed into one bot (and no, its not going to be called Mr Shmangle!)
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

I vote for mr shangle!
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Creative Instigation - Build Something Awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTuWeJ4OrAcsmjKir9L4JNg

https://www.facebook.com/CreativeInstigation/

That will really confuse the UK guys, so its got that going for it . I haven't done any weight estimates yet but the new design has a heap of small but useful refinements - its surprising what can be improved after a year of not looking at the CAD.
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Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion

Heavyweight Mangle! You know you want to
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For my stuff
http://bodgeitandhope.blogspot.co.uk/