The Hotel Lima, for Ants: A Build Diary

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Kyro
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by Kyro »

glad i could help with end points... i will see you tomorrow...
setting off at around 6:30 myself...

best of luck tomorrow...
may i suggest (if you see this in time) trimming down your power switch to the point where its hard (but not impossible) to switch off by hand... this may save a gram but mainly itll help prevent an opponent switching it off during a battle...

Luke
Team Rocket
Trappist 1(4wd grab 'n' lift)
Ton 618 (4wd expanding bot)
Io(4wd flipper)
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LimaHotel
Posts: 258
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Location: West Devon

Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by LimaHotel »

Okay, I am LATE writing this here.
AWS57 was FUN. It has me absolutely hype for whichever event I can make next!
After AWS I kinda ran straight off to London for a quick job that was going, then Brighton, Cambridge, then finally home last night. I'm stir crazy already.
So. Long overdue writeup:
I had 6 fights in competition, 2 more than I expected! Shakey's wheels (Ye, I capitulated) are impressive things, and got my two one-day-build, barely planned "competitors" rolling.
My first fight was actually the second fight of the event. Pushbot vs a fronthinged flipper - sorry, I'm TERRIBLE with names of people, let alone robots. It... was over quick.
Let's be honest here - Pushbot is not invertible, can't self right, was essentially the rolling chassis I made with a friend so we could work out the electronics. ALL I wanted from Pushbot was for it to face a few spinners so I could test out it's durability / the construction quality of my builds.
The fight also highlighted one other thing that I kinda already knew - my bots are SLOW. Somehow, my N20s are 300rpm 12V 30:1 motors! I could've SWORN I'd ordered 6v 500rpm ones. I have now. My next showing should be a little more up to speed.
Fight 2: Key Grip vs Tom Brewster? Oh my god it's Tom Brewster? It's one of Harry's ants if I recall correctly.
Quick note on Key Grip - I had to remove the key. It weighed 12g, and Key Grip was sadly 12g overweight. So I had nothing to stop robots going straight over the back, and Key Grip couldn't self right without the key.
Well. I lasted longer. I proved that I can tape some acetate to a wedge to get a good, low ground clearance, and that the flipper works. Other than that, I was very slow due to the essentially 150rpm motors, and he ran circles around me. I eventually wound up in the pit.
Good start team! I expected nothing less!
My next fight was Key Grip vs Zero. I'd just been talking to George, effectively fanboying over his BEAUTIFUL team. I thought: This is it. It's over.
So... Zero's plate at the front is double lipped. So it can break a ground clearance either way up. It also meant that my flipper on Key Grip could get a hold of the top lip of Zero's plow even if I lost the initial ground clearance. Initially, with Zreo's wheels being at the front of the bot, once the nose was off the ground, George had no means of control. I was shocked to see myself drive Zero into the pit - OHMYGOD I WON SOMETHING!!!
Next up was Pushbot against... NAMES DAMNIT! Some kinda white bitey bitey grabby grabby thing. Not a spinner. Damn. Pushbot was gonna go home without testing himself against a spinner.
... Or not? I totally lost the fight, but my opponent wound up in the pit! Pushbot, by the skin of it's teeth, goes on to fight another robot! Please can this next one be a spinner? Please?
Key Grip returned next for an epic showdown against Sprat Bait. Once again, low speed motors left me totally unable to match the driving of my opponent, and I was not the one controlling the fight. There were a few close calls, but eventually Key got stuck on the wall of one of the corner zones and, in attempts to free itself, landed on it's face. In the video you can hear me say "It can't self right without the key!" and there, sure enough, it chomps and claps away but does not self right. Key Grip is OUT
Pushbot, how the hell did you reach a later stage of competition than Key Grip? This isn't right!
Anyway. You're fighting a spinner now, right?
HAHAHA no.
Test Your Metal once again totally outdrove me (though I nearly got him in the last 4 seconds) and we essentially had a fun game of me driving over the top of TYM repeatedly. For 3 minutes. I lost on a judges.

And so ends the competition for me. Not to worry, I still have the rumble! Maybe Pushbot can take a hit yet!

I go straight for Vampire, but he's in the pits before I can get to him. Then I try to beeline for Chaotica, and get bullied a little on route By the time I get to Chaotica, he's upside down. I feel a little disappointed at this, and push him (and Vampire who somehow showed back up) into the pit. Right, okay. Tim Rackers is still around somewhere... HE'S STOPPED SPINNING WHY
Shortly after that Pushbot was upside down and I presumed out. SOmeone turned me back over just before the pits were cleared though and despite being stuck half in the pit, I was deemed still mobile? RESULT!
Being a cheatey cheater, Tom took this opportunity to put the drive belt for the spinner back on Tim Rackers. Or at least I think that's what happened? I might be being entirely unfair here. If so - Sorry Tom! Anyway, when the fight resumed, Tim Rackers was spinning again. I took a hit! I took a hit! Then Tim Rackers was in the pit. WHY JUST LET ME GET BEATEN UP PLEASE
I then, probably through simply being a low threat non-priority target, made it to the top 4. Hahahaha, because I totally deserve that.

I was gutted to miss the spinner firing squad - that would've been perfect for Push! But watching it, the squad kinda SD'd anyway, so y'know.

After the event had "finished" I did get in a couple of whiteboards. Finally. George with Vampire took a few bites out of my face then flipped upside down, was too low on charge to self right, so... hang on... Pushbot beat Vampire! That's... not the result I was hoping for, but WOOOO
I also got a fight in alongside Cannon Fodder against a big vert - can't remember the name. That one I did not win, but I took a few more hits and I am pleased to say - Pushbot is structurally sound. Sure, a gearbox got completely exploded at some point and one of Shakey's wheels got mangled, but all in all I reckon that's a pretty good result for build strength. I'm happy!

Both Key and Push have full rebuilds in the works (Key will be smaller AND HAVE A KEY and Push will be invertible and both will use lego tyres on hubs that Carl, driver of Mini Concussion and utterly awesome for this - thanks man!, linked me to. I also need to actually build Jiggy. I'm slightly concerned about the weight of the Jigsaw blades (and also the now limited supply of the pink servos) so... a grabber doesn't need to be quick like a flipper so much. I might buy a lighter, slower servo for Jiggy.
Next AWS is in June, ye? Here's hoping I won't be working and will be able to make that one!
A grabber? I CHALLENGE IT WITH JIGGY!
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LimaHotel
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by LimaHotel »

after a little browsing Hobbykinjg, I'm thinking some Hextronic MG-14s would do? 14g (so 6g lighter than the Pink servo), 2.6kg torque, 0.11s 60 degree rotation time... it's on the slow side next to the pink servo for sure, but reviews are solid and the price is low. Should work for a grabber, right?
A grabber? I CHALLENGE IT WITH JIGGY!
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LimaHotel
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by LimaHotel »

A grabber? I CHALLENGE IT WITH JIGGY!
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LimaHotel
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by LimaHotel »

Oooooh, actually whilst I'm here - does anyone have experience with pinless Lemons? I'm looking at them and they seem a no-brainer, right? Save weight and more importantly SPACE - but binding... With no pins for the plug what, do I just solder a wire across the terminal and the ground on the Bind rail, bind it, then desolder?
A grabber? I CHALLENGE IT WITH JIGGY!
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peterwaller
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by peterwaller »

I use a pair of tweezers they work well.
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LimaHotel
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by LimaHotel »

It really is as simple as that? Nice.
As soon as I get paid I'm gonna drop a fresh order of Lemons. :D
A grabber? I CHALLENGE IT WITH JIGGY!
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Kyro
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by Kyro »

a bit of bent paperclip also works... if you can find one that fits the holes snugly, its as good as any plug plus allows for handsfree operation as you can "plug" it in and leave it there until finished...

you may even find a paper clip thats correct guage and perfectly sized to be able to use one of the built in bends...
Team Rocket
Trappist 1(4wd grab 'n' lift)
Ton 618 (4wd expanding bot)
Io(4wd flipper)
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LimaHotel
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Location: West Devon

Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by LimaHotel »

And just to confirm - the plug is just a straight bridge across the signal and ground, right? IE. Top and bottom, skip the middle.
I'd be AMAZED if I'm wrong here, but just for peace of mind and to have it in clear writing from someone who knows what they're doing :D
Got paid yesterday, motors are on order, I am gonna buy me some pinless lemons, uuuuh... I still have PLENTY of polycarb and alu (Which I'm still not entirely convinced is 7075, but it held up pretty well at the aws so I may as well use what I got right?)
Rebuilds could be coming in the next few weeks! And I'm hype to finally actually build Jiggy!
I also still have that Nano2, though I'm not really sure what to use it for? I'm kinda saving it for something special / space critical where a DasMikro + lemon won't fit, but I have no idea what or when that might be.
A grabber? I CHALLENGE IT WITH JIGGY!
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Kyro
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Re: A Hotel, constructed of Limas, for Ants: A Build Diary

Post by Kyro »

yes its a straight bridge from signal pin to -

with aluminium, you can work harden it.

if you have a strong flat surface and a decent hammer, you can hammer it thinner that it already is which in turn strengthens it. you can get 6061 decently hard with this method so even if its not 7075, it will be stronger than it is now while also being a little thinner.

its not going to be on par with steel or titanium but you can get 6061 a little harder than brass, and 7075 a little harder still...

hope this helps

Luke
Team Rocket
Trappist 1(4wd grab 'n' lift)
Ton 618 (4wd expanding bot)
Io(4wd flipper)
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