The Journey Begins

So hear we are again, doing a robot build against the clock.  I have a deadline to have a drive-able robot chassis before August 25th 2018. Parts started to arrive at the end of last week somewhat to my surprise.  Now that they are here the real work must begin.  Prior to me actually doing any assembly, the components of the chassis need to be machined and It looks like I'll be doing it the old fashion way, without a CNC. 

I'll be documenting the build process right here on the blog.  Hopefully, manually milling the components won't be as daunting a task as it may seem.   

Introducing Hazmat Beta

Project:  Hazmat Beta
Event:  Robot Battles @ DragonCon 2018
Weight Class: 30LB

Well here you have it folks, my first official robot project in several years.  It's been a long while since I actually built a mobile robot and this marks the fist time ever that I'll be building one for my very own personal use.  You see, ever since Battle Bots 1999, I've been wanting to build a new Battle Bot in order to return to the competition, but the numerous twist and turns of life have steered me far away from that goal, until now.  So I thought, because a Battle Bot is so expensive to make, why not make a robot to compete in Robot Battle instead.  Robot Battles, for those unfamiliar, is the oldest fighting robot competition.  It has been running since the 1980's and is currently being held every year at DragonCon in Atlanta, GA.  So this year I've invested in the software/tooling that I need in order to design and build this robot from scratch.  This is great for several reasons.  First I have a chance to get my feet wet again in designing and building a mobile robot at a much lower cost than building a 250 LB Battle Bot.  Also, this gives me something for the students to experience at the STEMS fair that I attend every year.

About the robot:
This is a 30 LB omni-directional robot designed for maximum mobility.  It has a drive train unlike any I've ever seen before.  Currently, the primary weapon is in the vein of a bulldozer blade (not shown) that is attached to a linear actuator.  Right now the robot is a bit over weight, so I have much tweaking to do to get the weight down prior to fabrication.

Stay tune to this blog for updates and coverage of both the STEMS fair and the actual Robot Battles event in Sept.

Coming Back

What's up everyone.  I know that I've been gone for a long while, but now it's time for me to return here.  So be on the look out for new content coming soon.