Servo - July 2008

Position the front plate accurately on your drill press using a tapered pin made from the shank of an old drill (see Figure 3). This will keep the new mounting points accurately in position; important if you have a pre-made gearbox to fit.

Drill each of the mounting holes out to fit your preferred screw size; 5 mm for M6 and #17 for 12-24 sized screws.

Tap the new holes and take extra care to remove all the swarf from the inside of the plate; you don’t want conductive chips falling into the armature! Re-assemble the motor as detailed in previous tips; if

you combine this tip with the stronger case screw tip, you will have one tough motor.

Neutral Timing

Mag motors can be timed slightly advanced or retarded, although I find that advanced timing makes hardly any difference so I leave them neutrally timed. If you want to experiment or need to adjust the timing after repairs, here is the quick way to do it. Mark a line along the case so it meets the rear end bell, as shown in Figure 1. With the case screws loosened enough to

just turn the case, rotate the case left until the screws touch a magnet. Mark the position of your line on the rim of the endbell. Now rotate the case left until the screws stop on the opposite magnets. Mark this position on the endbell rim. The marks on the rim represent the extremes of forward and reverse timing; draw a line midway between your two extremes and this is your neutral timing position — too easy! SV

You can contact Nick via his build thread at www.robowars.org/forum/viewtopic.php ?t= 74&start=0.

EVENTS

Results and Upcoming Events

Results Apr 14 – May 12, 2008

HORD Spring 2008 was held in Brecksville, OH on April 19th. Twenty-five bots were registered.

Rotunda Rumble was held at the Mall Of America in Minneapolis, MN on April 25th. Twenty-seven bots were registered.

Smackdown in Sactown IV was held on April 27th in Sacramento, CA. Eight bots were registered.

BotsIQ: The Competition 2008 was held April 30th–May 4th in

Miami Beach, FL. One hundred thirty-five bots were entered.

Roaming Robots presented Fenton Manor 2008 on May 4th in Stoke On Trent, England.

Upcoming Events for July-August 2008

D. W. Robots will present Pennsylvania Bot Blast 2008 in Bloomsburg, PA on July 12th. Seventeen bots were registered at press time. For more details, go to www.dwrobots. com/ tournament.html.

War-Bots Xtreme will present WBX-V “Taking the Fifth” on July 26th in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Nineteen bots were registered at press time. For more details, go to www.war botsxtreme.com.

The North East Robotics Club will present House of Benson – Barnyard Brawl in Winchendon, MA, on July 26th. Thirty-six bots were registered at press time. For more details, go to www.nerc.us.

Roaming Robots will present Guildford 2008 in Guildford, England on June 15th, and UK Champs 08/RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England on July 12th and 13th. For more details, go to www.roamingrobots.co.uk.