Featured This Month:
Features
20 PARTS IS PARTS:
A123 Battery Packs
by Donald (DongHyun) Sung
22 MANUFACTURING:
Moving on With Your
Robot by John Frizell
Events
24 Oct/Nov 2008 Results and
Jan/Feb 2008 Upcoming
Events
24 EVENT REPORT:
Roaming Robots Winter Tour
by John Frizell
26 EVENT REPORT:
Combots Texas Cup at
Maker Faire Austin
by Wendy Maxham, Team PlumbCrazy
ROBOT PROFILE – Top
Ranked Robot This Month:
28 Devil’s Plunger by Kevin Berry
20 SERVO 01.2009
PARTS IS PARTS
A123 Battery
Packs
● by Donald (DongHyun) Sung
Batteries are one of — if not
the most — important parts
of a combat robot. They are
what run the robots and bring
them to life. Besides their
importance in providing power,
they are also one of the most
dangerous parts of a robot. For
this reason, it is important to
have high quality batteries. Their
quality also determines their
available current output, as well
as their life. Caring for batteries is
crucial because of their potential
danger if not maintained properly.
There are three commonly
used battery types: Nickel Metal
Hydride (NiMH), Nickel Cadmium
(NiCd), and Lithium Polymer
(LiPo). NiMH and NiCd batteries
have been used in robots for a
long time, and are still frequently
used in the larger weight classes.
As LiPo has beomce more affordable, their popularity has grown
in insect-weight classes for their
light weight but high power
output. For the same reasons,
they are being used by a growing
number of sub-light and heavier
robots. Although LiPo batteries
can produce a lot of power in a
lightweight package, it does
comes with some drawbacks. All
batteries may be dangerous if
handled improperly, but LiPo batteries are regarded as one of the
more dangerous types because of
their tendency to burst into flames
if improperly charged or handled.
In addition to the three types
of batteries mentioned previously,
the Lithium Iron Phosphate
(LiFePO4) batteries are becoming
popular in many R/C hobbies
including combat robots. These
are commonly known as M1 or
A123 batteries. A123s and LiPo
batteries both fall under the
Lithium-Ion category and are
