Help for a big event

Please post all questions and answers in here. This way people can easily see if someone else has the same problem.

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Team Orr
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Help for a big event

Post by Team Orr »

Couldn't think of a better place to put this, so here will have to do.

So as a few of you may know last October i took part in a 24 hour online charity fundraiser called Stickaid, where i demonstrated some of Peter's lovely Antweights (If you didn't see it, theres a link here). Fortunately they seemed to enjoy them and as such i have been invited back for this year. i have been speaking to Myles Dyer (the man who hosts/runs the show) and he seems rather keen for me to do a "onscreen build" of a robot. The idea seems to be that i build a "custom Stickaid Antweight" over the 24 hours with them cutting quickly to me at the intervals, and then at the end we have some type of "epic battle" between the custom robot and some sort of "professional" robot (probably a spinner of some sort). This leaves open the possibility of me going back in 2013 and building a featherweight (As its the next size up).

The reason i am posting this here is thus. While i seem to be one of the more successful YouTuber's here i am by no means the best designer. I seem to have this horrible image in my mind that the robot i produce will be rather "unsightly", especially seeing as it is being built in such a short amount of time and for such a big event. That is why i need all of your help. A while back i tried my hand at 3D printing, i will keep it brief so lets just say "it didn't end well". However, my brief foray told me that A: i am hopeless at C.A.D, and B: 3D printing can be awesome when in the right hands. That is why i am convinced it is the right material to build my chassis out of. For one thing it will significantly reduce assembly time on the day as well as making it look a darn sight nicer. Due to my inability's with C.A.D i was wondering if any fine person would perhaps be interested in helping me design a simple chassis that i can get printed directly from Shapeways? (My Makerbot is rather inaccurate). I also think incorporating the Stickaid logo would be awesome.

Another thing: Parts. I should be able to cobble together odds and ends over the 5 month period between now and then, but if anybody happens to have a ESC or any other components they would be willing to donate for a few days, that would be great also. I would try my best to protect everything inside as best i could to try and prevent any damage.

Finally, because we intend to run a spinner (both custom designed or loaned :wink:) It would be awesome if i could borrow someones arena w/battlebox. The last thing we need is someone getting hurt so this is imperative or its a no go. I would be happy to organise a courier/pick up and drop off at a event.

I cant pay for services or anything, but i would be damn grateful, a lot of people will be seeing this (over million viewers last time) so if we put on a good spectacle we should be able to get some new people interested. If anyone can help or wants to get it contact, PM me and i will send you my Skype/MSN etc.
Thanks in advance.
- Jack
"if it wasn't for Edison we'd be watching TV by candlelight"
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by Remote-Controlled Dave »

Hi Jack.
Will is currently storing the ant arena and battlebox that I bought from Craig for me, you'd be welcome to borrow it for this if you wanted.
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by BeligerAnt »

Hi Jack
This sounds excellent!

However, I wonder whether using an entire 3D-printed chassis is really the best way to go? To me, it gives the impression of RW when it got to series 5 or 6 and you really need to be serious to stand any hope of competing. Gone were the days of cobbling together a few bits of scrap in the shed, or so it seemed.

It depends on what message you are trying to convey. if you are going for "Hey this is really cool tech, and fun" then go the 3D printing route. If on the other hand you are going for "Hey this is really cool, you too could do this and be competitive and it needn't cost too much" then the more home-made content the better.

This is not to say that you can't make some parts in advance, or even 3D print them. How about using a pre-fabricated handmade chassis (HDPE/polycarb?) and some custom 3D-printed wheels? I think Earthwormjim has designed some wheels that are available to buy from Shapeways. I know Peter W and Andy H have also made wheels this way.

Happy to provide a 5V 1A regulator for receiver/servo if you need one :)

Good luck with it!
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by Team Orr »

Hi,
Thanks for the interest guys. Dave, that would be awesome. Drop me a line a bit closer to the event and we can figure out transport etc. Gary, you make a very good point. I am trying to find a mid ground between "Uber tech" and well... this. To me 3D printing seems like a reliable solution to most of my concerns. The 3D aspect is in josh's hands now so i will leave that up to him. We also have plans to build a "interesting" spinner to be its opponent and hopefully join the ranks of my team afterwards. Theres also a chance we can get sponsors involved to help lighten the cost's a little bit. Any other help would be awesome too.

It all seems to be going rather well :D
"if it wasn't for Edison we'd be watching TV by candlelight"
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by bitternboy »

I'm with gary on this one.

I really can't see any point in a pre made 3d chassis for this sort of thing. Chassis and bodywork can be as simple as just putting a single bend in a piece of HDPE or metal and still give very good results. If you were to show a 3d printed chassis alongside what you were doing to show what is achievable with more time and effort, I think that would be preferable. Just slotting some components into a bit of plastic doesn't really constitute as building a robot to me.

I don't want to put a spanner in the works, I'm sure whatever you did would give a great impression, but putting myself into the shoes of a teenager with no experience of engineering or electronics, I would be far less daunted by an easy homebuilt method and more likely to give antweights a go.

Just my opinion though. :)
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by Remote-Controlled Dave »

Just slotting some components into a bit of plastic doesn't really constitute as building a robot to me.
Ahh Jonathan, high five dude! :D
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by EpicentrE »

Disingenuously over-simplifying something to make it sound brainless doesn't really constitute a valid argument to me, if I'm honest ;).

On topic, however, I agree that a 3D printed chassis isn't going to give the right impression to the viewers. Something made of a few pieces of bent polycarb (or similar) held together with simple fixings such as double-sided tape, cable ties etc. would seem to be the most logical choice. You could still have the polycarb cut and scored ready, and show the plans so people can see how you've designed it and easily replicate it with their own materials if they so wished (like the Pants kit does/did?), but it would only take you a couple of minutes to bend it and fix it all together.

There are loads of great designs of all shapes and types that are constructed using very simple techniques, and I'm sure you can find inspiration from those if you're concerned about the outcome not looking "cool" enough, and I'm sure we'd all be happy to give you creative input on whatever designs you come up with for this.
Last edited by EpicentrE on Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by bitternboy »

Ahh Jonathan, high five dude!
*High Fives* :)
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by Andrew_Hibberd »

I would suggest making a 'net' of parts similar to what Simon has on his site, that can be cut out with tin-snips/large scissors and holes drilled out using a cheap drill from Argos. This can then be bent with pliers into the correct shape and assembled using double sided tape.

I would be tempted to avoid servo drive as well, unless you pre-rotary mod them. This also avoids the tricky part of attaching wheels to the horns. If you got most of the soldering out of the way before hand or used simple parts with connectors it could make for a quick build. I would also be tempted to avoid making a spinner, as it could be seen as a safety concern.

IMO
cheap sanyo motors
pololu wheels
sabretooth controller
a cheap 2.4GHz rx (4ch orange)
a cheap 2.4Ghz tx
2 cell lipo
2mm polycarbonate armour - may take some effort to bend but would be bomb proof to some serious spinner hits
Servo lifter, linkages can be made from the 2mm polycarbonate on the net plan
m2 bolts and nuts to hold it together
some 2mm rods for hinges

The plans could be available from the web site to print onto A4 paper, with a pdf explaining how to make the bot (ikea style) and where to get the parts. Would need a really snazzy design to make it look mean.
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Re: Help for a big event

Post by bitternboy »

Sounds perfect, not too simple to make it dull (although in my opinion simple is better, whatever scott says :) ) and not too complicated or expensive to make it inaccessable and daunting.
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