This document is a brief guide to get you familiar with the process of building your own plantweight combat robot!
It is meant for beginners who have not designed a combat robot before, so the more advanced topics/designs are purposely left out.
This guide also assumes you are not buying any additional parts; you are just using the ones that we provide for free.
When thinking about a combat robot design, it's important to start with the basics. There are 3 simple components of a combat robot that make it successful: good movement, good attack, and durability.
Wheels are the simplest and most popular way to make a combat robot move. They are simple, reliable, and durable. When designing the wheels for your robot, keep a few points in mind:
Make sure that the wheels can make solid contact with the ground even if the robot is lifted a little. Remember that there will be a lot of debris in the arena as stuff gets destroyed, so your robot may run over some of it and get lifted up.
Keep in mind that the arena floor is wooden, which won't have much grip. Most bots use foam tape around the wheels for more grip, but feel free to design your own solution.
Consider if you want your bot to be able to drive even if it gets flipped over by another bot.
If you have a large spinner, the vibration and gyroscopic forces may move your bot around. Consider how this will impact its movement.
You will be able to choose between a high-power weapon motor or a high-torque servo to power your weapon. Weapon motors are typically used to make a spinner-type weapon, and a servo is typically used to make a flipper (forklift) type weapon.
If a spinner is improperly balanced, it can create a lot of vibration as it spins, which may have undesired effects.
Smaller spinners may break easily since they are 3D-printed plastic, but will reach full speed quicker. Larger spinners are much more durable but will take longer to spin up.
Details coming soon.
At minimum, your combat robot should be able to handle getting pushed around the arena. Keep these points in mind:
There will be a lot of movement during a match, so make sure that everything is securely held down or fastened so that it won't come loose.
Details coming soon.
Make sure to read the rules and take them into account!