Build Logs

Aug. 17, 2008

# Evaluation of the old UCLASH: Pros:
-drilling speed holes along the outer frame doesnt weaken the structure too much, and take off a nice amount of weight.
-driving on 2 wheels works if you have good motors and wheels with traction.

Mistakes I learned from:
-vehicle must be invertible or self-righting.
-nothing should stick out of the outer armor (especially the wheel axles).
-never use anything smaller than 8-32 screws on the outside (6-32s on the top plate got sheared too easy. the head just pops right off).
-after a hard hit, all nuts and bolts come loose. always use locktite or lock nuts.
-quintiple-check wires. all wires tied securely, and the connectors glued.
-test robot before competition...
-aluminum is softer than it looks (especially after getting hit with a steel weapon)
-big weapons do not necessarily mean better (especially in the case of the drum spinner).
-do not make design changes along the build process. make sure CAD is spotless before starting.
-a kinetic weapon is always at risk of destroying itself if it hits a wall or the ground, so thoroughly test its integrity.

Aug. 17, 2008

# Description and thoughts of the new UCLASH
The new UCLASH will be a wedge and drum spinner hybrid. Its basic shape will be in a typical wedgebot (the shape of Emily). Two large wheels at the back will form the drive. About 2/3s from the front (wedge side) -- 1/3 from the back (wheels side) -- there will be a drum. It will be a hollow tube of steel with extruding teeth, at most half the width of the bot itself. Most of it will not be seen, except for the parts sticking out of the top and bottom of the bot. The drum's axle will be at the plane of symmetry, so that if the bot looks the same upside down. The drum will be made relatively lightweight, but with a fast rotation.
(CAD will be uploaded when completed)
There are a few reason I am brainstorming this design. First, I noticed in last year's competition that many robots were weak against wedgebots. This was because the wedgebot would slide and lift some of the enemy wheels off the ground. Without that traction, the wedgebot could easily push the enemy into the wall. In addition, their front armor, where it was made thick, could withstand many active weapons such as drums or blade spinners. In fact, due to the incline of the wedge, many horizontal weapons simply glided off of the front, only being able to get solid hits on the side. Because of wedgebots' maneuverablity (since their drive motors were stronger and faster than those of other robot types), it was simply a matter of keeping the front side facing the enemy. When an enemy is pushed against a wall, its kinetic weapon usually suffered damage if it hit the side walls.
There are many reasons I want to add the spinning drum onto the wedge. First of all, the drum in is a good position. When the robot has undercut the enemy wheels and has it stuck on top of the wedge, the drum is in a position to tear up the wheels or impact the bottom armor where it is usually weak. The drum has little chance of getting damaged because it is mostly covered by the wedge. In short, the design allows the wedge to set up and expose the bottom and wheels of the enemy, while the drum deals the necessary damage without the risk that comes with an exposed weapon.