Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Parts and Labour

OK everyone, here is a quick list of what needs to be done before next Thursday. It is very important that we have the parts we need by the next meeting so that we can use the time properly.

Rear Wheel Drive
Dave, the first thing we need to sort out is the drive shaft diameter. There are too many unknowns to go about calculating it, so the best thing to do is have a look at some other battle bots and try to estimate what they use (maybe here?). At a guess I would say that we are looking at around 10mm, but see what you can find. I also need you to look into some kind of gear/chain/belt drive that we can use to get power from the motor to the wheels. Have a look on the interslice and see if there is somewhere local we can get these sorts of parts from.

Once we have decided upon the shaft diameter, we need to look into bearings. Blake, I think you would be the most qualified to look into the model and type of bearings we should use. Try to find somewhere that we can get them from locally. Outer diameter isn't that important, but remember that our robot could weigh as much as 20kg (or more, with armour), and might need to push/lift another robot of similar weight.

Finally, we do need wheels, but lets see if we can salvage these from something second hand. Everyone look around for old toys or pram wheels, etc.

Batteries
Ok, Alex C is in charge of finding and purchasing batteries. At this stage, it is uncertain what voltage our drive motor will operate at, so that means we prefer many smaller cells over a few big ones:
Once again, find out what the best sorts of batteries for us are, and see where we can purchase them from.

Motor and Transmission
I am currently looking for cheap cordless drills or electric skateboards that we can use for motors and gear reduction. I am also trying to find a place where we can get a small 2 or 3 speed automatic gearbox, but I haven't had much success. In the immediate future, only the motor is important, so we can always upgrade the transmission module later on. Once I have found something suitable, I will put all the details in another post.

Chassis
This is one of the most difficult parts to design, since it needs to be able to accommodate all sorts of parts that don't exist yet. I suggest that we use a meccano-style set of parts that can be bolted together in different configurations if the parts change. Remember that we still haven't decided on a weapon or steering system, so we need something that is flexible. Phil, I hope you are up to the challenge.


Design Drawing

Sarah has moved the due date for the concept of the robot to Tuesday, which gives us a bit more time. We need to schedule a quick meeting on Monday and talk about what we have achieved and what the final robot will (probably) look like. There is a very good chance we will change the design along the way, so what is really important is that we at least have some half-baked concept drawings to hand in. =)

Update - I forgot to mention it, but what I really need from everyone is a shopping list of things that we need. We may be able to salvage them, but we will probably have to buy a lot of stuff. Put all the parts that you will need in your post, and we will organise who will buy what from where once everything is complete.

2 comments:

Alex Jarkey said...

I'll be heading into RC Hobbies on Parramatta road to see if I can source anything we might find useful (particularly on the chassis front). Reply soon if you want me to pick up something that you need!

Also, I am free anytime after 1pm on Monday. When can everyone else meet?

daveshapira said...

1pm is good, I have a break from 1-2