Hello, Im new to Antbots

[Paddonjon]

Hey guys

Im new to Antbots and was wondering if you could help me maybe ?

I've just finished my Antbots Prototype... its taken me 2 weeks its still kinda held to gether with alot of tape

Heres a pic of it...



This forum has been very helpfull to me.... especially when it came to trying to find the right parts ! because i know nothing about building robots lol...

Ive gotta say thanks to Peter though ! i took his advice that he posted on someone elses topic about some motors... 50:1 High Power Micro Motor + Gearbox.. i got them today and there amazing ! i cant believe how small they are..
http://www.robotbits.co.uk/index.php?ac ... oductId=10

I've also just fitted my lifting arms with the Hitec HS 82 MG servo which was also recomended on this forum... Heres a little video of them working

http://s414.photobucket.com/albums/pp23 ... 010024.mp4

I am finding it really hard to keep the weight down though.. its 165grams at the moment and i still havnt got the armor on ! I've been using aliminium because its light weight but all ive got is a frame to mount things on .. and it does offer much protection...

Also where can i get light weight batterys that are 6v ? ive seen some lipos that are 7.4 v but no 6v ones...

And the most importent question of all... how do i find out where Events and things are taken place

[daliad100]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately, it's pretty difficult to build completely out of metal. Plastics are what most people use with metal weapons to keep weight down

Lipos don't come in 6V any you will only find NiMH batteries in that voltage.

It loks like you're going to need something to stop your robot from tipping forwards when you lift things.

Try the events section of the forum to see what's up and coming and I hope to see you at a future one.

[Paddonjon]

Ok thanks for that, what type of plastic do you recommend using, and do you think i could risk putting in a 7.4v lipo in, or some way reduce the voltage ?



Heres a video of my ant moving it can go upside down as well

http://s414.photobucket.com/albums/pp23 ... 010028.mp4

[joey_picus]

Welcome to the world of ants! I have to say that doesn't look bad for a first try, although I'd agree with Jordan about having some weight towards the front to stop it lifting off the ground.

Polycarbonate's always a good plastic to use, it's quite lightweight and impact resistant and 1mm thick is normally sufficient as armour. I've also used HDPE and polypropylene (both of which can be either bought online or found in VHS cases!) which are also good, although polypropylene can be difficult to work with and HDPE lacks the strength of polycarb.

You probably can get away with 7.4v - all of my ants run their motors on 7.4v and Jigsaw also runs its flipper servo (also a HS82MG!) on 7.4 as well, and I've never had any problems that weren't caused by my own incompetence.

[daliad100]

What speed controller are you using? Because the motors should all be able to take the max 8.4v from a fully charged 2s lipo.

It's just the reciever and servo electronics I'd be worried about. Most speed controllers have a 5v regulated output for the reciever so it should be alright and people say that servos can be alright on the full battery voltage.

Polycarbonate is what quite a lot of people use. I personally have used what I think was HIPS, some ABS and some PCB with the copper removed.

[Paddonjon]

Hmm sounds a good idea using plastic from dvd cases a stuff

i will get like 2 long rivits to go on front to make it stand up while using flipper ( these like plastic rivits if you put them in the wronge way there like casters )

my speed controller is just a servo circuit board which i have just soldered the new motors to and then that just connects straight into my reciever... but im having problems with that... it seems a bit juttery and i cant always use the trim to stop the wheels moving when im not touching the controller also one motor seems to move faster than the other.

so do think this be ok:

7.4 lipo >> reciever >> servo speed controller >> motor

[daliad100]

I don't think many recievers can take 7.4V let alone 8.4V

You can either buy a speedo with an in built regulator or...

try putting a 5v regulator between the battery and reciever and hook the positive wires from the servo and servo speedo up to the positive battery wire you can avoid burning out your reciever.

To hopefully solve the trimming issues try replacing the potentiometer with a pair of 2.2k resistors to get it close enough and use the trims to centre it.

[Paddonjon]

Ok i will try that... thanks

and about the trimmers.. i have already replaced the potentiometer with a pair of 2.2k resistors i never really tried it with the potentiometer though tbh

what are the pros and cons of using a speed controller over servo circuit board, and is there any differnce in weight ? what is meant by mixing on a speed controler ?

I have also seen this transmitter/reciever set

Link >>> http://www.digital-photo-keyrings.co.uk ... p?PID=3332

Do you think it looks alright ?

[daliad100]

One of Peter Wallers planet 5 speed controllers is a pretty good bet.

It's very light, has mixing , has an inbuilt reciever so is very small and has full battery voltage to the weapons servo.

http://antweightwars.co.uk/Controllers.htm

As for cost

If you supply me a receiver it would be ?35 plus ?2 p&p but if you want me to supply the receiver it is an extra ?10

So less than a 5a sabertooth(the other option) from technobots and its much smaller and lighter.

[Paddonjon]

wow that looks amazing.. hes also got an option for the planet t5 set i wanted ! thanks for that m8 i will try and contact him and see if he would mind making me one are all the options the same price though ?