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www.servomagazine.com/index.php?/
magazine/article/march2012_
CombatZone
30 SERVO 03.2012
BUILD REP
RT:
Shaka v. 3 – Part 1
Design Goals and Methodology
● by Thomas Kenney
Shaka Version 2
in Hindsight
One of the largest bots
among the MH fleet and the
deadliest of all the bunch, the
first complete rebuild of our 30 lb
Featherweight, Shaka (full build
report in the October ‘09 SERVO)
kept the basic layout of our first
Featherweight while improving
every aspect of the design.
Before even considering investing
time, money, and spare parts,
what aspects justify a full
redesign? And contrary to that,
what actually did work?
Though the 7 lb weapon and
accompanying parts took up a
significant portion of the robot in
both volume and weight, it also
sported a pair of 18V OS De Walt
drive setups capable of shooting
the bot across the arena at
impressive speeds, and hardened
1/8” 4140 steel sloped 70° along
the side for armor. Ablative
pieces of 1/2” UHMW protected
the front when fighting other
spinners, alongside a set of steel
skids that fed any wedges
straight into the weapon. The
light weight of the Lithium
Polymer batteries helped fit all
these in, providing all systems a
reliable 22.2V, and in later
competitions, a separate 37V to
the similarly efficient Axi
brushless motor — itself
responsible for bringing the
weapon up to such dangerous
speeds.
