Storm II has internal wheels.
Tillah uses belts to power
its spinning drum.
Totally Offensive
uses gears to drive
around the arena.
beams to form a strong skeletal
chassis. Armor and components are
then mounted to the chassis. This
arrangement allows for easy
replacement of damaged armor and
components, and easy access at any
angle. The main downside of this
type of chassis is that unless it’s very
carefully designed it will be heavier
than the other chassis styles.
The second type of chassis uses
the frame itself as armor. Instead of
working like a skeleton, this chassis
functions more like the shell on a
crab. A strong outer body with rigid
internal supports holds all the parts
and provides for a very strong
Village Idiot has a
skeletal chassis.
defense. This style tends to be
lighter than a skeletal chassis but
often leads to difficulty in replacing
or accessing parts.
The third type of chassis functions
similarly to the second, but relies on
a strong base plate for component
mounting. The armor normally is a
shell that can be completely
removed for easy access to most of
the components. The one difficulty
with a chassis like this is making it
strong enough to hold up to combat while keeping the weight low.
These are only a few of the
most popular chassis styles. There
are more options of varying
complexity and many hybrids of
the three mentioned that have seen
success in robot combat.
Armor
Choosing the right armor is
often the difference between
winning and losing in robot combat.
Do you go with the stronger,
heavier steel? Do you choose the
light, but easily cut polycarbonate?
Perhaps aluminum or titanium
armor is a better fit for the job.
You are not limited to a single
choice in armor. Often robots will
be heavily armored in areas the
builders think will be subject to the
most stress and have something
that acts essentially as a dust cover
for less vital areas. When choosing
which material, how much, and
where, you should look at the
robots you’ll likely face. If there are
very few robots with hammer
weapons, top armor is less of a
priority. With most arenas in use
today, there isn’t much need for
thick bottom armor unless it is a
structural part of your robot.
Layering different materials can
work very well in robot combat.
Having a thin layer of a material
resistant to cutting over a thicker
impact resistant material that cuts
easily can act to minimize the
negatives while keeping weight and
costs low. SV
All photos courtesy of BuildersDB
( www.buildersdb.com).
EVENTS
Results and Upcoming Events
Results Aug 12 –
Sep 14, 2008
HORD Fall 2008 was held by the
Ohio Robot
Club in Strongsville,
OH, on September
13th. Twenty-three
bots were entered.
Upcoming Events
Nov-Dec 2008
Roaming
Robots will
hold an event
in Maidstone,
England on
November 22nd.
Antweight Benelux Championship
will be held by Dutch Robot
Games in the Netherlands on
30 SERVO 11.2008