How to design and build a combat robot

Step 10 Enjoy your robot

Now that you have built a robot make sure to have fun with it. Take it to competition and try to do your best, remember that it isn't necessary that you win every match or event as building the machine is 75%+ the fun of the project. Every robot you build will be a little bit better than the last, and use them to improve your skills as a designer and engineer.

I hope you found this instructable both helpful and informative. Below are a bunch of other resources for bot building.

Forum for combat robotics: http://forums.delphiforums.com/THERFL/

Http://www.botcentric.com - my new robotics video show, much more diy content and news (coming soon)

Sources of parts and supplies :

AndyMark.biz - mechanical components
Banebots.com - motors, wheels, and components
Robotmarketplace - everything you need
Yarde Metals - metal suplus
onlinemetals.com - huge assortment of metal
B.G. Micro - Surplus Electonics, etc.
SDP-SI - drive componets
C&H - Surplus Electronics and mechanical
Alltronics - Surplus Electronics, etc.
All Electronics - Surplus Electronics, etc.
Northern Tool - Tools, wheels, chain transmission components
Grainger - Industrial Supply
McMaster-Carr - Industrial Supply
WM Berg - Precision Gear Products
American Science & Surplus - Surplus motors, batteries, gears, pulleys, and ?
Industrial Metal Supply - Great deals on remains stock and Steel and Al by the pound.
Team Delta Engineering - RC Interfaces, Motors and other combat specific robot parts
RobotBooks.com - Great collection of robot and electronic guidebook, fiction, toys, etc.

Comments

[Unit042]

3.5 stars. Covers most basics in accepable detail, but still nothing that hasn't already been covered in the "building combat robots" and "building combat robot weapons" books. Ho hum, nothing different, but good job at putting it up as an ible though. Perhaps you could stress (more) the importance of having a good radio control link, and driving practice. I've seen too many fights where you see something that looks like it's straight outta NASA, but drives like it's driver is drunk and desn't know what the control sticks do. I see a flaw in the featured robot design presented in the images: that spinning blade can't reach anyone unless if you get under them. Other robots don't need to get under their opponent, just bash 'em. Of course, I think you might know that already, and I'm just being redundant, repetitive, saying the same thing over again again again. Now, if you typed this instructible from memory of your own past experiences and didn't copy and paste, then good ible! (copying charts from wikipedia don't count)

[gneedel]

You bring up some valid points. As I mentioned in the article there are lots of resources online to get further information and there is probably nothing I have said that hasn't been said before elsewhere. But in this forum of an instructable none existed. I designed and built the robot featured in the photos and yes you pointed out the major flaw in the design. But there were many factors which lead me to that decision. 1) Spinning blade wepons are susceptible to huge damage if exposed, while it made it harder to engage the blade with another machine it also prevented easy damage to mine. 2) spinning weopons also have a gyroscopic effect which makes them hard to drive. This is due to the offset forces of the blade spinning with a horizontal distance from the center of gravity. I fixed this problem by centering the blade which gave me more maneuverability than other robot types. As for copying charts....I can list you all of the weight classes off the top of my head but why should I. It was easier to find a listing elsewhere and just site my source. Everything in this article I learned along the way and I would rather bring it all together and give credit to those places that I learned it from than repackage it and claim it on my own.

[RobKohr]

Know any good sites for competition listings?

[gneedel]

From step 2: http://www.buildersdb.com and http://www.robotevents.com