Thunderbolt Ver 2
 Well
we all learn from mistakes, if anyone is reading this, don't use
the NPC 02423 motors for a drive train!!!!!!!! They don't have the
power, they would be great for a weapon. So here is an image of
everything all apart, just the chassis.
 So
back the design board, I did a lot more research, go the Battlebots
forum! Dick just got back from BB 4.0, and he saw a lot of good/bad
bots there and had a lot of good ideas. First off I got rid
of the cheap 10 inch tires! I went to Dan @ Cruel Robots to
hook me up with some Colson 6 inch wheels, with some very nice
5/8 hubs mounted. Here is a picture of the "pile"
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 Now
for motors. I went back the old reliable, the EV Warrior. I
had a bunch of them lying around from the old and retired Boomerang.
So this time if will be four EVs and four IFIs for power. I
got the EVs press fitted with a shaft adapter to make the goofy
sized shaft to 5/8" keyed. Here you can also see the wonderful
motor mounts that Dan @ Cruel Robots has for sale, they are
very heavy duty, yet lightweight!.
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Since I am using four EVs for the drive train I need to add
two additional IFI Controllers. I have had good luck with these
controllers in the past. Tech support with IFI is number 1!
I also added some power distribution to the main block. This
idea I got from Jon @ http://www.robot-village.com/.
Here is a pic of the electronics mounted to 1/2" lexan.
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 Got
the chassis today from our friends @ AP Laser. Dick tack welded
it and my Dad helped weld the rest. Weapons will be attachable,
and bot will be invertible. We see so many bots that have a
ton of power and speed, but once on their backs they don't go
anywhere!
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 I
got the Colsons installed, very easy to install. With the laser
cutting done, everything just fits together.
The wheels from Cruel Robots are awesome! Here is a pic of the
wheels, notice the flush mount bearing blocks.
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With the wheels installed, it is time to get the jack shafts
in! I am gearing the EVs 2.5:1 then a secondary reduction @
3.5:1. For a total of 8.75:1, yes with a jack shaft you multiply
the ratios together.
The setup offers me some redundancy, I can loose a motor, a
chain, a controller, or a wheel and the bot will still rock! |
Time to mount the motors, no problem with some kick ass motor
mounts from Dan @ Cruel Robots. Plug in a go. I also installed
the chains, all #35. My hands were sore for two days after this!
Very small space to get everything installed. Here is a pic
of the finished drive train.
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 Mounting
electronics, four IFIs all mounted, you can see my Team Delta
battery eliminator for my receiver mounted on top.
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Here is the real rats nest with all electronics installed,
I need to clean this up, some wires could fall into Victor Fans!!
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Here
is all the stuff installed, kind of a mess yet, but I could
drive it around! Yes it did work, be scared, very scared. I
do believe this is the only Middleweight bot that is made entirely
out of steel, and runs of four EVs for the drive train. You
can also see my 24 Volt SLA test batteries, I ordered some NiCAD
Battlepacks from Steve, should have them
next week!
Now
I just need to do some clean up work, bundle wires and test,
test, test. As I predicted, I am done in time for TCMW 3.x
(Jan 19-10 2002).
Wanna see Thunderbolt in action? Check
out the local coverage we got this week (AP Laser)!
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