MAN UFACTUR IN G:
TE N TAC LE
CALCULATOR REHOSTED
BY KILLERB TICS
● by Kevin M. Berry
The combat robotics community was deeply saddened by the
passing of Steve Judd last year. Steve
was an icon in the sport, and left
behind a lasting legacy in many
areas. One of those — his
Torque/Amp-Hour Calculator — is a
standard tool used by dozens of
builders, and one of the first
“pointers” usually sent to new
builders.
Once again stepping up in
support of builders everywhere, Dick
Stuplich of Killerbotics volunteered
to re-host the calculator, with the
gracious permission of Nora Judd —
another long-time participant and
advocate of combat robotics.
Along with the Tentacle
Calculator, Dick also supports a
Sprocket Center Distance Calculator,
a Chain Length Calculator, and a
Bandwidth/Data Type Calculator.
This is in addition to BotRank — the
“by popular demand” comparison
site for bot fighters — which is the
data source for the (currently on
hiatus) “Top Bots” column here in
the Combat Zone.
Open Melt – Generous
Sharing or a Threat to
Society as We Kn w it?
● by Kevin M. Berry
The author — in a blatant attempt o up his word count and thus
his income — summarizes material
he’s already sold to SERVO once ...
In February and March ‘08,
Combat Zone published a tutorial
and “State of the Melt” series on the
amazing and unique bot drive
system: translational drift. Because
bot builders are genetically
incapable of using the correct,
technical terms for anything, this
brain twisting drive methodology
quickly became known as “Melty
Brain.”
30 SERVO 06.2010
