Antweights
Antweights are an unofficial weight class of bots less than 125 kgs.
DEDBDNME Builder: FirebeetleA pushy antweight with invincible caster armor protecting the front, Redbird drive, 1 small battery, and plastic armor.
Dust Devil Builder: FirebeetleOne of the few antweight spinners out there. Not terribly effective, but unusual. Angle motor drive, 1 small battery, and plastic armor.
Nasty Pickle 2 Builder: FirebeetleA weird little bot that uses a glitch to make it disappear as soon as it gets hit, sometimes doing up to 6000 damage in the process, although this is rare. No drive, no batteries, and plastic armor.
Soul Weevil Builder: ClickbeetleA zippy little bot with a very fast glitch drill designed to go over spinners. Angle motor drive, 1 Nifty battery, plastic armor.
Beetleweights
Beetleweights are an unofficial weight class of bots 125.1-175 kgs.
Pure WeEvil Builder: ClickbeetleA bigger Soul Weevil with two glitch drills designed to go over spinners, angle motor drive, 1 Supervolt battery, and plastic armor.
The Killer Bee BA Builder: FirebeetleAn original bar spinner design. Angle motor drive, 1 Nifty battery, and plastic armor.
Lightweights
Catapult 3.0 Builder: FirebeetleA powerful Rupt flipper that can toss bots as far as any middleweight. 2 Rupting DDT's for flippers, angle motor drive, 1 Supervolt battery, and aluminum armor.
The Killer Bee LA Builder: FirebeetleA powerful horizontal spinner with 9 razor tips, angle motor drive, 1 Nifty battery, and plastic armor.
Mourning Cloak 2 Builder: ClickbeetleA decent popup wedge with Snapper 2's for the weapon and flipper, Z-tek drive, 1 Supervolt battery, and aluminum armor.
Middleweights
Dark Cloud Builder: ClickbeetleAn invertible true full-body spinner with lots of spikes and saw blade wheels. HP Z-tek weapon power, 2 Nifty batteries, aluminum armor.
Drumblebee Larva 2 Builder: ClickbeetleA small version of Drumblebee with HP Z-tek drive, 1 Supervolt battery, and aluminum armor.
DNME Builder: FirebeetleA bot with a caster-armored V-shaped front for stopping spinners and then stabbing with its 4 pneumatic axe heads. HP Z-tek drive, 1 Supervolt battery, 1 air tank, and aluminum armor.
Event Horizon 2 Builder: ClickbeetleA wedge with a row of flipping/impaling spikes at the top, which can also be lowered via a servo for ramming. HP Z-tek drive, 1 Supervolt battery, aluminum armor.
Gnasty Builder: ClickbeetleA dual stacked Z-tek vertical spinner that can toss bots like nobody's business thanks to a feeder wedge. 1 Supervolt battery, plastic armor.
The Killer Bee MB Builder: FirebeetleA powerful horizontal spinner with 18 razor tips, angle motor drive, 1 Nifty battery, and plastic armor.
Quake 11.7 Builder: FirebeetleA very powerful popup wedge with 8 razor tips, 3 DDT's for the weapons and flipper, HP Z-tek drive, 2 Supervolt batteries, and aluminum armor.
Uber 5-Spinnered MW of Doom Builder: FirebeetleThe name says it all, a middleweight with 5 spinners. Angle motor drive, 1 Supervolt battery, and plastic armor.
The Ultimate Sacrifice Builder: ClickbeetleA popup wedge with an invincible caster-armored front. It starts out upside down and self-rights right away so the casters are on top. DDT's for the weapon and flipper, 2 Supervolt batteries, aluminum armor.
Heavyweights
Drumblebee 5 Builder: ClickbeetleA nasty drumbot with HP Z-tek drive, 2 Supervolt batteries, a rear Snapper2-powered iron spike stinger, and aluminum armor.
Drumblebee Builder: ClickbeetleThis bot is outdated by now, but it was the first bot to have a really good-looking and good-performing drum weapon. It also has a DDT-powered stinger in the rear. HP Z-tek drive and weapon power, 3 Supervolt batteries, and titanium armor.
Fallout 2 Builder: FirebeetleA pushy, caster-armored hammer bot with a unique "bent" hammer design that arches over other bots' weapons to hit their tops. 4 HP Z-tek drive, 2 Supervolt and 2 small batteries, DDT's for the hammers, and titanium armor.
The Killer Bee HB Builder: FirebeetleA powerful horizontal spinner with 36 razor tips on 4 spinners, HP Z-tek drive, 2 Supervolt batteries, and plastic armor.
Monarch 2 Builder: ClickbeetleA fast, heavily armored popup wedge with 4 HP Z-tek drive, 4 DDT's for weapon and flippers, 3 Supervolt batteries, and titanium armor.
Points of No Return Builder: ClickbeetleA bigger Event Horizon with a large rack of flipping/impaling spikes that can be lowered via servos for ramming. 4 HP Z-tek drive, 2 Supervolt batteries, and titanium armor.
Seism 12.5 Builder: FirebeetleA fast and very powerful popup wedge with 6 DDT's, 2 for flippers and 4 for weapons with 4 razor tips each. 4 HP Z-tek drive, 3 Supervolt batteries and a bunch of small batteries, and aluminum armor.
Shriek Builder: FirebeetleA powerful dual vertical spinner powered by triple-stacked HP Z-teks, named after the scary noise it makes. 4 Supervolt batteries and aluminum armor.
Thunder Cloud 3 Builder: ClickbeetleA true full-body spinner with insane power once it gets up to speed and saw blade wheels combined with invincible caster armor underneath to foil popup wedges. Burst-enhanced HP Z-tek weapon power, 2 Supervolt batteries, and aluminum armor.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
How To Build Your Bot
Combat Robot Building Guide
Choosing a Design
First of all, you need to decide the general weight range of your bot. Currently, there is a very wide range of weight classes, totaling 12.
UK Fleaweight: 75 grams
Fairyweight/UK Antweight: 150 grams
Antweight: 1 pound
Beetleweight: 3 pounds
Mantisweight: 6 pounds
Hobbyweight: 12 pounds
Featherweight: 30 pounds
Lightweight: 60 pounds
Middleweight: 120 pounds
Heavyweight: 220 pounds
Super Heavyweight: 340 pounds
Mechwars-only 390 poundsFor beginners, the antweight and beetleweight divisions are an excellent place to start. 1 and 3 pound bots are much cheaper and much easier to build than heavier bots, and they are just as much fun to fight, if not to watch. Fairyweights and UK ants could also be a good starting point, but it is harder to keep 75-150 gram bots underweight than slightly heavier bots. The heaviest weight class that you should attempt as a beginner, in my opinion, is middleweight. Heavyweight and above get pretty expensive and harder to build.
Now comes the fun part: deciding what kind of weapon your bot is going to have. I've listed some of the most common ones below. Combining multiple weapons into one bot is always a good idea (for example, a wedge and a spinner), and your bot should either be invertible, able to self-right, or really hard to flip just in case you cross paths with a flipper. Also keep in mind the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid! For example, a middleweight with a pneumatic powered weapon is not a good place to start for a beginner (we found this out the hard way). Also stay away from walkers and hydraulics for the time being. Unless, of course, you already know a lot about mechanics and engineering and stuff, then it should be okay to start there.
Pushy bots. By far the most common, simple, and effective type of bot. Pushy bots do just that: push their opponent around the arena, preferably into hazards or into the wall. The front end usually consists of either a wedge for getting under other bots or a plow. You can also put a spike on the front or rear to ram your opponent with and possibly do some damage. In order to be effective, pushy bots should be fast, torquey, durable, and have a good driver. It's a basic, all-around design good for beginners.
Horizontal spinners. The most destructive design out there, yet relatively simple. Horizontal spinners simply rotate a horizontal bar, disc, or full-body shell around at high speeds to store up kinetic energy and then transfer it to the other bot in an often spectacular shower of sparks and debris. But some of that energy will also recoil into the spinner, making spinners somewhat prone to breaking themselves on a big hit. Also, if the object being spun is even slightly unbalanced, it may cause the bot to do a "Mauler dance" and flip over. In order to be effective, horizontal spinners should have a fast-spinning weapon (at least 1500 RPM), a quick spin-up time (no more than 10 seconds), and be able to withstand heavy impacts. In general, they tend to beat vertical spinners and hammers, but lose against good pushy bots and flippers.
Vertical spinners. A vertical spinner is the same concept as a horizontal spinner, except the weapon is spun vertically to store kinetic energy. The weapon is most often a disc, a bar, or a drum. The advantage to this setup is that a large enough impact can flip the opposing robot. A vertical spinner also will not bounce away when it hits a target like a horizontal spinner, and it will not do a Mauler dance if the weapon becomes unbalanced. However, vertical spinners can tip over if they turn too quickly due to gyroscopic effects. They are also beaten by horizontal spinners very easily (except in the insect weight classes, where vertical spinners are at the top of the food chain). They are most effective against pushy bots.
Full-body spinners. Not to be mistaken for shell spinners, which are often called full body spinners although this is technically inaccurate. True FBS's are actually a rare design nowadays, but I've included it because it is so simple and was once quite common. A full-body spinner simply turns around at high speeds to store kinetic energy in the same way as a horizontal spinner. This design requires no additional motor to power the weapon, however, so it is much simpler and easier to make. The disadvantge is that full-body spinners can't move and spin at the same time. Also, due to the weight of the object being spun (the whole bot), they can't store up quite as much kinetic energy as a horizontal spinner. One effective design is to add a long tail to the bot with a heavy weapon on the end so the tip can reach high speeds. This is a basic, all-around design good for beginners.
Flippers/lifters. These bots use either a pneumatic arm to flip bots into the air and onto their back, or an electric or hydraulic arm to slowly lift the opponent and tip it over. The arm can also act as a self-righting device if implemented correctly. They are especially effective when combined with a wedge. Flippers and lifters are most effective against non-invertible bots that can't self-right. They are less effective against invertible bots or ones which can right themselves when upside-down, but can still be dangerous if they are powerful enough.
Hammers. Self-explanatory. Hammer bots have a long rod with a heavy weapon on the end that swings vertically like a hammer. They usually need to be pneumatic powered to be effective, although it is also possible to use a spring under high tension. If it is built right, the hammer can also be a self-righting mechanism. Hammer bots are basic, all-around designs, but not the best place to start for beginners.
Crushers. This type of robot uses a hydraulic or electric jaw to slowly crush the opponent or just to trap them. They can be difficult to build because the jaws need to be able to handle a lot of pressure. Crushers are most effective against slow bots so the jaws can have time to close.
Draw plans of exactly what your robot will look like, how it will work, and how parts will be arranged inside. There's no need for exact measurements yet - it's too early to see what they would be. But you should have a general idea of the size and weight of your bot before you buy the parts. Don't know what parts you need? There's a basic list just a bit further down this page.
Make your design practical! While combining multiple weapon systems is good, don't try to go overboard with it. For example, this is NOT a practical design:
It looks cool, but even a professional bot builder would have major headaches over trying to get it under 390 pounds, if it would even be possible to do. A much more realistic design, if you wanted about the same type of bot as the one above, would have a more boxy chassis, possibly with a wedge in the rear, no flipper, and only one spinner that is much better supported. Titanium armor and expensive motors like E-teks also aren't very realistic for a first bot unless you have a money tree in your backyard. I'll say it again: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Look for potential flaws or ways you could improve your design. Keep Murphy's Law in mind: "If something can go wrong, it will." Also consider your driving abilities and mechanical skills, and plan your design accordingly.
Finding and Purchasing Parts
First, the basics. Every robot needs the following components:
Power. If you didn't know this one then maybe robot building isn't for you. Batteries don't require much explanation - they need to be rechargeable and they need to meet your motors' voltage and current requirements. They should also be able to last 3 minutes with the motors under load.
Motors. Another obvious one. You need at least 2 motors for drive. Drive motors should be powerful but not spin very fast - if they do you should gear them down for less speed and more torque. Weapon motors for spinners should spin as fast as possible but still have enough torque for a fast spinup time. Weapon motors for electric lifters and crushers should have as much torque as possible but still have enough speed to move the weapon before the opponent escapes.
Transmitter and Reciever. The transmitter is the remote that you hold and push buttons on. The reciever goes in the robot and recieves signals from the transmitter. The reciever is usually light and powered by a separate power source, so about the only thing you need to worry about is frequency (only 75 MHz ground frequency is allowed for robots) and the number of channels. You will need 2 channels for driving and one more for each weapon you have.
Speed Controllers. A speed controller is what turns signals that the reciever gets into commands for the motors. Some can control multiple motors at a time while others can only control one and you must use more than one speed controller. Make sure your speed controller can handle the current and voltage going through it, as they are quite delicate! Many robots have lost matches due to burnt-out speed controllers.
Building Materials. Steel, titanium, aluminum, polycarbonate plastics, and carbon fiber are the most common building materials. For beginners, aluminum is a great material due to its light weight, decent strength, workability, and low cost. Steel is also good if you want more durability, but it is heavier and slightly harder to work with. Carbon fiber is also a good material for beginners for its extreme light weight and rigidity, but is only strong enough for very light classes. At this point, you will probably only be able to estimate how much building material you will need. Get a little more than this estimate just in case you end up needing it.
The following tools are not essential to building a bot, but they will make the job much easier:
Metal cutting tool. Usually a band saw, but if you have a lot of money, you can get a waterjet cutter or even a laser cutter. We use a band saw from Grizzly Industrial.
Drill press. You will probably need one of these if you're using rivets or screws to build your bot. A regular power drill just isn't accurate enough for most purposes. We use a drill press from Tool Shop.
Welder. If you don't want to use rivets or screws to build your frame, you will need to weld it, and for that you will need a welder.
Grinder. This is useful for shaving off extra bits of metal that get in the way or for sharpening weapons. Just don't try to grind aluminum or your grinding wheel will get all clogged with dust. We use a grinder from Ryobi.
Soldering iron. Chances are, sometime during the wiring of your bot you will have to solder some wires. We actually use a really old model that we got for free because somebody was going to throw it away, but it still works perfectly fine.
Before buying the parts, make sure everything is compatible, i.o.w. all your parts should have similar voltage and current ratings. The exception is your reciever, which will usually either have a separate battery or have a battery elimination circuit which brings down the power directly from the main battery to manageable levels.
Now it's time to get buying! The first place we always look for parts is The Robot Marketplace. If the part you're looking for isn't there, try one of the other websites on the links page on this site. If you still can't find a part, then try a Google search. Or if you're on a tight budget, with a bit of luck you can find good cheap robot parts at a surplus store. It is also a good idea to look at a few different sites and parts before buying to compare prices and quality. You don't want to get a part, only to see another one later that is better. Also keep in mind that you're probably going to need more parts later in the construction of your bot. It's unlikely that you will be able to buy everything you need all at once.
Building the Bot
Once you have all the major internal parts of your robot, lay them out on a flat surface so you can determine the size of your baseplate. The parts should be close together to minimize the size of the frame, but make sure to leave a little leeway in case something changes later on.
Now measure the amount of space the parts take up and cut out a baseplate. The baseplate should be rigid - you don't want the weight of the stuff on it to make it sag. I recommend mounting the batteries, reciever, and speed controllers to the baseplate via screws for heavy components or those needing a heat sink (such as speed controllers). For light components you can probably get away with duct tape or glue to hold them down. Don't mount the motors on the baseplate (unless you're building a very light bot like a fairyweight or if your baseplate is extra-thick). They should be attached to the frame.
Now you should know exactly how big your frame is going to be. Once you have all the pieces cut to the right length, you need to connect them somehow. This can be done by welding or by screws/rivets. If done correctly, a welded frame is stronger than a bolted one. However, a bolted frame can be easily disassembled for repairs. All our bots are held together with screws because of their simplicity and non-permanentness.
All that's left now is to assemble everything. If your bot ends up overweight, your course of action depends on by how much. If it is over the weight limit by any more than 20% of your alotted weight, I would recommend fighting it in the heavier weight class, possibly adding more stuff to it to make use of extra weight. If your bot is not overweight by much, there are several things you can do to put it on a diet.
Holes. Drill lots of holes in your frame/armor for a trendy Swiss cheese look and a lighter bot. Don't drill them too many or too big, though, or it will severely weaken your bot.
Different parts. There will usually be some parts of your bot that you can replace with lighter ones, or maybe even do away with completely. Sometimes you will get lucky and find a lighter part with equal or better performance than the one you have. If you do, get it, even if it is a bit more expensive. Otherwise, you will need to sacrifice some of your bot's power/durability to be underweight.
New chassis. There may be some way to arrange the parts such that you can shrink your frame and shave off weight. You should probably only do this if you're desparate or if it would greatly increase your bot's effectiveness.
That's all I can teach you for now, as I myself am still somewhat of a rookie. Any more useful information I learn from building bots and competing at events will certainly be added to this tutorial eventually.
Choosing a Design
First of all, you need to decide the general weight range of your bot. Currently, there is a very wide range of weight classes, totaling 12.
UK Fleaweight: 75 grams
Fairyweight/UK Antweight: 150 grams
Antweight: 1 pound
Beetleweight: 3 pounds
Mantisweight: 6 pounds
Hobbyweight: 12 pounds
Featherweight: 30 pounds
Lightweight: 60 pounds
Middleweight: 120 pounds
Heavyweight: 220 pounds
Super Heavyweight: 340 pounds
Mechwars-only 390 poundsFor beginners, the antweight and beetleweight divisions are an excellent place to start. 1 and 3 pound bots are much cheaper and much easier to build than heavier bots, and they are just as much fun to fight, if not to watch. Fairyweights and UK ants could also be a good starting point, but it is harder to keep 75-150 gram bots underweight than slightly heavier bots. The heaviest weight class that you should attempt as a beginner, in my opinion, is middleweight. Heavyweight and above get pretty expensive and harder to build.
Now comes the fun part: deciding what kind of weapon your bot is going to have. I've listed some of the most common ones below. Combining multiple weapons into one bot is always a good idea (for example, a wedge and a spinner), and your bot should either be invertible, able to self-right, or really hard to flip just in case you cross paths with a flipper. Also keep in mind the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid! For example, a middleweight with a pneumatic powered weapon is not a good place to start for a beginner (we found this out the hard way). Also stay away from walkers and hydraulics for the time being. Unless, of course, you already know a lot about mechanics and engineering and stuff, then it should be okay to start there.
Pushy bots. By far the most common, simple, and effective type of bot. Pushy bots do just that: push their opponent around the arena, preferably into hazards or into the wall. The front end usually consists of either a wedge for getting under other bots or a plow. You can also put a spike on the front or rear to ram your opponent with and possibly do some damage. In order to be effective, pushy bots should be fast, torquey, durable, and have a good driver. It's a basic, all-around design good for beginners.
Horizontal spinners. The most destructive design out there, yet relatively simple. Horizontal spinners simply rotate a horizontal bar, disc, or full-body shell around at high speeds to store up kinetic energy and then transfer it to the other bot in an often spectacular shower of sparks and debris. But some of that energy will also recoil into the spinner, making spinners somewhat prone to breaking themselves on a big hit. Also, if the object being spun is even slightly unbalanced, it may cause the bot to do a "Mauler dance" and flip over. In order to be effective, horizontal spinners should have a fast-spinning weapon (at least 1500 RPM), a quick spin-up time (no more than 10 seconds), and be able to withstand heavy impacts. In general, they tend to beat vertical spinners and hammers, but lose against good pushy bots and flippers.
Vertical spinners. A vertical spinner is the same concept as a horizontal spinner, except the weapon is spun vertically to store kinetic energy. The weapon is most often a disc, a bar, or a drum. The advantage to this setup is that a large enough impact can flip the opposing robot. A vertical spinner also will not bounce away when it hits a target like a horizontal spinner, and it will not do a Mauler dance if the weapon becomes unbalanced. However, vertical spinners can tip over if they turn too quickly due to gyroscopic effects. They are also beaten by horizontal spinners very easily (except in the insect weight classes, where vertical spinners are at the top of the food chain). They are most effective against pushy bots.
Full-body spinners. Not to be mistaken for shell spinners, which are often called full body spinners although this is technically inaccurate. True FBS's are actually a rare design nowadays, but I've included it because it is so simple and was once quite common. A full-body spinner simply turns around at high speeds to store kinetic energy in the same way as a horizontal spinner. This design requires no additional motor to power the weapon, however, so it is much simpler and easier to make. The disadvantge is that full-body spinners can't move and spin at the same time. Also, due to the weight of the object being spun (the whole bot), they can't store up quite as much kinetic energy as a horizontal spinner. One effective design is to add a long tail to the bot with a heavy weapon on the end so the tip can reach high speeds. This is a basic, all-around design good for beginners.
Flippers/lifters. These bots use either a pneumatic arm to flip bots into the air and onto their back, or an electric or hydraulic arm to slowly lift the opponent and tip it over. The arm can also act as a self-righting device if implemented correctly. They are especially effective when combined with a wedge. Flippers and lifters are most effective against non-invertible bots that can't self-right. They are less effective against invertible bots or ones which can right themselves when upside-down, but can still be dangerous if they are powerful enough.
Hammers. Self-explanatory. Hammer bots have a long rod with a heavy weapon on the end that swings vertically like a hammer. They usually need to be pneumatic powered to be effective, although it is also possible to use a spring under high tension. If it is built right, the hammer can also be a self-righting mechanism. Hammer bots are basic, all-around designs, but not the best place to start for beginners.
Crushers. This type of robot uses a hydraulic or electric jaw to slowly crush the opponent or just to trap them. They can be difficult to build because the jaws need to be able to handle a lot of pressure. Crushers are most effective against slow bots so the jaws can have time to close.
Draw plans of exactly what your robot will look like, how it will work, and how parts will be arranged inside. There's no need for exact measurements yet - it's too early to see what they would be. But you should have a general idea of the size and weight of your bot before you buy the parts. Don't know what parts you need? There's a basic list just a bit further down this page.
Make your design practical! While combining multiple weapon systems is good, don't try to go overboard with it. For example, this is NOT a practical design:
It looks cool, but even a professional bot builder would have major headaches over trying to get it under 390 pounds, if it would even be possible to do. A much more realistic design, if you wanted about the same type of bot as the one above, would have a more boxy chassis, possibly with a wedge in the rear, no flipper, and only one spinner that is much better supported. Titanium armor and expensive motors like E-teks also aren't very realistic for a first bot unless you have a money tree in your backyard. I'll say it again: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Look for potential flaws or ways you could improve your design. Keep Murphy's Law in mind: "If something can go wrong, it will." Also consider your driving abilities and mechanical skills, and plan your design accordingly.
Finding and Purchasing Parts
First, the basics. Every robot needs the following components:
Power. If you didn't know this one then maybe robot building isn't for you. Batteries don't require much explanation - they need to be rechargeable and they need to meet your motors' voltage and current requirements. They should also be able to last 3 minutes with the motors under load.
Motors. Another obvious one. You need at least 2 motors for drive. Drive motors should be powerful but not spin very fast - if they do you should gear them down for less speed and more torque. Weapon motors for spinners should spin as fast as possible but still have enough torque for a fast spinup time. Weapon motors for electric lifters and crushers should have as much torque as possible but still have enough speed to move the weapon before the opponent escapes.
Transmitter and Reciever. The transmitter is the remote that you hold and push buttons on. The reciever goes in the robot and recieves signals from the transmitter. The reciever is usually light and powered by a separate power source, so about the only thing you need to worry about is frequency (only 75 MHz ground frequency is allowed for robots) and the number of channels. You will need 2 channels for driving and one more for each weapon you have.
Speed Controllers. A speed controller is what turns signals that the reciever gets into commands for the motors. Some can control multiple motors at a time while others can only control one and you must use more than one speed controller. Make sure your speed controller can handle the current and voltage going through it, as they are quite delicate! Many robots have lost matches due to burnt-out speed controllers.
Building Materials. Steel, titanium, aluminum, polycarbonate plastics, and carbon fiber are the most common building materials. For beginners, aluminum is a great material due to its light weight, decent strength, workability, and low cost. Steel is also good if you want more durability, but it is heavier and slightly harder to work with. Carbon fiber is also a good material for beginners for its extreme light weight and rigidity, but is only strong enough for very light classes. At this point, you will probably only be able to estimate how much building material you will need. Get a little more than this estimate just in case you end up needing it.
The following tools are not essential to building a bot, but they will make the job much easier:
Metal cutting tool. Usually a band saw, but if you have a lot of money, you can get a waterjet cutter or even a laser cutter. We use a band saw from Grizzly Industrial.
Drill press. You will probably need one of these if you're using rivets or screws to build your bot. A regular power drill just isn't accurate enough for most purposes. We use a drill press from Tool Shop.
Welder. If you don't want to use rivets or screws to build your frame, you will need to weld it, and for that you will need a welder.
Grinder. This is useful for shaving off extra bits of metal that get in the way or for sharpening weapons. Just don't try to grind aluminum or your grinding wheel will get all clogged with dust. We use a grinder from Ryobi.
Soldering iron. Chances are, sometime during the wiring of your bot you will have to solder some wires. We actually use a really old model that we got for free because somebody was going to throw it away, but it still works perfectly fine.
Before buying the parts, make sure everything is compatible, i.o.w. all your parts should have similar voltage and current ratings. The exception is your reciever, which will usually either have a separate battery or have a battery elimination circuit which brings down the power directly from the main battery to manageable levels.
Now it's time to get buying! The first place we always look for parts is The Robot Marketplace. If the part you're looking for isn't there, try one of the other websites on the links page on this site. If you still can't find a part, then try a Google search. Or if you're on a tight budget, with a bit of luck you can find good cheap robot parts at a surplus store. It is also a good idea to look at a few different sites and parts before buying to compare prices and quality. You don't want to get a part, only to see another one later that is better. Also keep in mind that you're probably going to need more parts later in the construction of your bot. It's unlikely that you will be able to buy everything you need all at once.
Building the Bot
Once you have all the major internal parts of your robot, lay them out on a flat surface so you can determine the size of your baseplate. The parts should be close together to minimize the size of the frame, but make sure to leave a little leeway in case something changes later on.
Now measure the amount of space the parts take up and cut out a baseplate. The baseplate should be rigid - you don't want the weight of the stuff on it to make it sag. I recommend mounting the batteries, reciever, and speed controllers to the baseplate via screws for heavy components or those needing a heat sink (such as speed controllers). For light components you can probably get away with duct tape or glue to hold them down. Don't mount the motors on the baseplate (unless you're building a very light bot like a fairyweight or if your baseplate is extra-thick). They should be attached to the frame.
Now you should know exactly how big your frame is going to be. Once you have all the pieces cut to the right length, you need to connect them somehow. This can be done by welding or by screws/rivets. If done correctly, a welded frame is stronger than a bolted one. However, a bolted frame can be easily disassembled for repairs. All our bots are held together with screws because of their simplicity and non-permanentness.
All that's left now is to assemble everything. If your bot ends up overweight, your course of action depends on by how much. If it is over the weight limit by any more than 20% of your alotted weight, I would recommend fighting it in the heavier weight class, possibly adding more stuff to it to make use of extra weight. If your bot is not overweight by much, there are several things you can do to put it on a diet.
Holes. Drill lots of holes in your frame/armor for a trendy Swiss cheese look and a lighter bot. Don't drill them too many or too big, though, or it will severely weaken your bot.
Different parts. There will usually be some parts of your bot that you can replace with lighter ones, or maybe even do away with completely. Sometimes you will get lucky and find a lighter part with equal or better performance than the one you have. If you do, get it, even if it is a bit more expensive. Otherwise, you will need to sacrifice some of your bot's power/durability to be underweight.
New chassis. There may be some way to arrange the parts such that you can shrink your frame and shave off weight. You should probably only do this if you're desparate or if it would greatly increase your bot's effectiveness.
That's all I can teach you for now, as I myself am still somewhat of a rookie. Any more useful information I learn from building bots and competing at events will certainly be added to this tutorial eventually.
Tutorials
RA2 Tutorials
How to Mod RA2 Without 3D Studio Max. A detailed, step-by-step guide to making custom components for RA2 using only Notepad and a free decompiler program.
RA2 Building Techniques. A detailed guide of all the most useful tips and tricks for making killer bots known to the RA2 community, divided into Basic, Advanced, and Expert difficulty levels.
RA2 Component Statistics. A list of all hitpoints, damage values, electricity drain, and electricity supply for batteries, motors, and weapons. Useful for advanced builders that want optimum performance from their bot.
RA2 Bot Showcase. Not as much a tutorial as it is a showcase of bots we've made, but it gives an idea of what you can do in RA2 and might provide some inspiration.
How to Mod RA2 Without 3D Studio Max. A detailed, step-by-step guide to making custom components for RA2 using only Notepad and a free decompiler program.
RA2 Building Techniques. A detailed guide of all the most useful tips and tricks for making killer bots known to the RA2 community, divided into Basic, Advanced, and Expert difficulty levels.
RA2 Component Statistics. A list of all hitpoints, damage values, electricity drain, and electricity supply for batteries, motors, and weapons. Useful for advanced builders that want optimum performance from their bot.
RA2 Bot Showcase. Not as much a tutorial as it is a showcase of bots we've made, but it gives an idea of what you can do in RA2 and might provide some inspiration.
This is The Patch You Need To Be The Best
Firebeetle's Component Pack
A collection of additional components for you to put on your bot and mess around with. Firebeetle's Component Pack is not meant for serious fighting, but rather just for making unique, fun-to-use cheater bots. You should stick with the parts that come with the game for any bots you plan to share or use online.
Includes:
Everything from the Test Garage except ramps, now available to put on your robot.
Consolation prizes for lost tournaments, including Biggie Burgers and Fruit Punch.
Super powered spin motor, burst motor, air piston.
Clown Head Bomb - only 1 HP but very powerful.
Outside mounted battery.
Acid spike - powerful weapon.
Loudspeaker - plays music during battles.
Wildfire battery - compact, light, dishes out lots of power, but doesn't last long.
Micro motor - smaller, lighter, and less powerful than the Reversible Angle Motor.
Fortified Extender - more durable, damaging extender, but also heavier.
New to Version 2:
Component styles work.
Mega Adapter - Stack components, make stuff floating, mount batteries outside your bot, the possibilities are endless!
Distortion Field - Blow the dimensions of ordinary components way out of proportion.
Hammer Motor - Powerful motor that only rotates in a 180 degree arc for making hammer weapons.
Ghost Wedge - Sinks into the floor but not other bots, making it impossible to get under!
Sheet Wedge - Big flat wedge for making dustpans or armor plating.
Neutron Star Piece - The heaviest component ever.
Antimatter Neutron Star Piece - The lightest component ever. The only anti-ballast you will ever need.
Refrigerator - Straight from the Robot Wars Arena, it makes an evil weapon.
Fridgedy Motor - Crazily powered motor to move bots with Refrigerators on them.
Crusher Motor - The most powerful drive/servo motor ever. It is pretty much unstoppable.
New to Version 3:
Mini Magnet - A much smaller, lighter, more efficient magnet. Able to be stacked in columns to make ultra-powerful supermagnets!
Mini Hover Engine - A much smaller, lighter, more efficient hover engine. Able to be stacked in columns to make rocket boosters!
Infinity Piston - A powerful, tiny piston with extremely long range, not quite infinity but close enough. Burst and servo versions.
Acid Spikes and Fortified Extenders have new models and skins.
Clown Head Bombs are more powerful, adjusted attachment point, and an improved skin.
Biggie Burgers smear ketchup and mustard on opponent's chassis.
New music option for Loudspeakers.
New connection points added on the sides of the Refrigerator and Spent Nuclear Fuel barrel for easier attaching.
Most components have modified damage and hitpoints settings. Acid Spikes and Biggie Burgers now have frequency settings.
Slightly improved look for Fridgedy Motor.
And a few silly surprises as well...
New to Version 4:
Monster Wheel - Huge, damaging monster truck tires that you can run over your opponents with.
Rocket Wheel - Extremely grippy wheel that will move your bot with insane speed.
The Sweet Tasty Grapes crate is useful! It is now a cannon that fires grapes that will never stop bouncing around the arena.
El Tonno Eyes - Separate eye components for the special "El Tonno" style robots, available in four styles.
HP Fridgedy Motor - Even more crazily powered than the standard Fridgedy for moving bots with more than one fridge.
Empty Spent Nuclear Fuel Barrel - Lighter and more useable than the 1500kg barrel, but less powerful.
Fortified Extender txt files fixed - the new model is now actually used.
All components (except El Tonno eyes) were made non-standard to discourage their use in multiplayer.
New in V4.1 - Grape Crate collision fixed, it can now be put on your bot.
New to Version 5:
Fish - A big, floppy fish for slapping your opponent around with.
Summon: Refrigerator - A small, light platform that will conjure a fridge out of thin air when activated.
Laser Rifle - The name says it all.
Mini Laser - Smaller but less powerful version of the laser rifle.
Energy Spike - Powerful laser spike with almost zero mass, available in 3 colors and 3 sizes.
Robo-arm - A powerful servo motor with a long arm for making appendages of any sort.
Smart Zone Ballast - Heavy smart zones for weighting down your bot in unusual ways. Includes a 1,000,000 kg weight for making unstoppable juggernauts.
Chicken Motor - Tiny motor that easily performs the chicken glitch. (For an explanation see RA2 Techniques)
Rooster Servo - Servo version of the Chicken Motor.
Updated cinder blocks with new textures and new connection points allowing you to stack them like a brick wall.
The Neutron Star Piece is slightly bigger and less likely to make your bot explode in battle.
Reskinned Ghost Wedges and a few other minor changes.
5.1 patch - fixes laser rifle firing problems.
Screenshot
Download (v5.1, 2.7 MB)Download (5.1 laser patch only, 2 KB)
A collection of additional components for you to put on your bot and mess around with. Firebeetle's Component Pack is not meant for serious fighting, but rather just for making unique, fun-to-use cheater bots. You should stick with the parts that come with the game for any bots you plan to share or use online.
Includes:
Everything from the Test Garage except ramps, now available to put on your robot.
Consolation prizes for lost tournaments, including Biggie Burgers and Fruit Punch.
Super powered spin motor, burst motor, air piston.
Clown Head Bomb - only 1 HP but very powerful.
Outside mounted battery.
Acid spike - powerful weapon.
Loudspeaker - plays music during battles.
Wildfire battery - compact, light, dishes out lots of power, but doesn't last long.
Micro motor - smaller, lighter, and less powerful than the Reversible Angle Motor.
Fortified Extender - more durable, damaging extender, but also heavier.
New to Version 2:
Component styles work.
Mega Adapter - Stack components, make stuff floating, mount batteries outside your bot, the possibilities are endless!
Distortion Field - Blow the dimensions of ordinary components way out of proportion.
Hammer Motor - Powerful motor that only rotates in a 180 degree arc for making hammer weapons.
Ghost Wedge - Sinks into the floor but not other bots, making it impossible to get under!
Sheet Wedge - Big flat wedge for making dustpans or armor plating.
Neutron Star Piece - The heaviest component ever.
Antimatter Neutron Star Piece - The lightest component ever. The only anti-ballast you will ever need.
Refrigerator - Straight from the Robot Wars Arena, it makes an evil weapon.
Fridgedy Motor - Crazily powered motor to move bots with Refrigerators on them.
Crusher Motor - The most powerful drive/servo motor ever. It is pretty much unstoppable.
New to Version 3:
Mini Magnet - A much smaller, lighter, more efficient magnet. Able to be stacked in columns to make ultra-powerful supermagnets!
Mini Hover Engine - A much smaller, lighter, more efficient hover engine. Able to be stacked in columns to make rocket boosters!
Infinity Piston - A powerful, tiny piston with extremely long range, not quite infinity but close enough. Burst and servo versions.
Acid Spikes and Fortified Extenders have new models and skins.
Clown Head Bombs are more powerful, adjusted attachment point, and an improved skin.
Biggie Burgers smear ketchup and mustard on opponent's chassis.
New music option for Loudspeakers.
New connection points added on the sides of the Refrigerator and Spent Nuclear Fuel barrel for easier attaching.
Most components have modified damage and hitpoints settings. Acid Spikes and Biggie Burgers now have frequency settings.
Slightly improved look for Fridgedy Motor.
And a few silly surprises as well...
New to Version 4:
Monster Wheel - Huge, damaging monster truck tires that you can run over your opponents with.
Rocket Wheel - Extremely grippy wheel that will move your bot with insane speed.
The Sweet Tasty Grapes crate is useful! It is now a cannon that fires grapes that will never stop bouncing around the arena.
El Tonno Eyes - Separate eye components for the special "El Tonno" style robots, available in four styles.
HP Fridgedy Motor - Even more crazily powered than the standard Fridgedy for moving bots with more than one fridge.
Empty Spent Nuclear Fuel Barrel - Lighter and more useable than the 1500kg barrel, but less powerful.
Fortified Extender txt files fixed - the new model is now actually used.
All components (except El Tonno eyes) were made non-standard to discourage their use in multiplayer.
New in V4.1 - Grape Crate collision fixed, it can now be put on your bot.
New to Version 5:
Fish - A big, floppy fish for slapping your opponent around with.
Summon: Refrigerator - A small, light platform that will conjure a fridge out of thin air when activated.
Laser Rifle - The name says it all.
Mini Laser - Smaller but less powerful version of the laser rifle.
Energy Spike - Powerful laser spike with almost zero mass, available in 3 colors and 3 sizes.
Robo-arm - A powerful servo motor with a long arm for making appendages of any sort.
Smart Zone Ballast - Heavy smart zones for weighting down your bot in unusual ways. Includes a 1,000,000 kg weight for making unstoppable juggernauts.
Chicken Motor - Tiny motor that easily performs the chicken glitch. (For an explanation see RA2 Techniques)
Rooster Servo - Servo version of the Chicken Motor.
Updated cinder blocks with new textures and new connection points allowing you to stack them like a brick wall.
The Neutron Star Piece is slightly bigger and less likely to make your bot explode in battle.
Reskinned Ghost Wedges and a few other minor changes.
5.1 patch - fixes laser rifle firing problems.
Screenshot
Download (v5.1, 2.7 MB)Download (5.1 laser patch only, 2 KB)
For The Cheaters
RA2 Cheat Mode Pack
This pack adds Python scripts that enable you to enter new cheat codes in-game for various fun effects. The inputs you need to enter are greatly simplified and more user-friendly than the raw Python they are based on, so anyone can do it. The cheats include:
help() - comes up with a help menu listing all these cheats.
clear() - This turns on the FPS again, clearing out this window. Enter clear(0) to turn the FPS off again.
kill(ID) - Enter the ID number (0-3) of the bot you want to kill in the parenthesis. If left blank it will kill all opponents.
fly(power, ID) - Type in the amount of power and the ID of the bot you want to fling into the air. Both are optional, you can enter fly() to launch yourself with 800 power.
fly2() - Exactly the same as fly(), but it will launch you forward. Great for ramming.
grav(x) - Enter a number to get that amount of gravity. -1 will be upside-down, 0.5 will be half gravity, 4 is super heavy, 0 is no gravity, etc.
repair() - this will repair your chassis beyond its limit, making it near invincible. You can enter an bot ID in the parenthesis to give it to a specific bot too.
turbo() - Repairs all of your components, giving you more durable parts and high-powered mechanics. You can enter a bot ID for this one too.
score(points, ID) - give so many points to a bot. You can leave them blank and enter score() to quickly give yourself 1000 points.
color(r, g, b) - enter decimals from 0 to 1 for the red, green, and blue to change the sky color, which determines the background color for your robot photos.
time() - stops the match timer. Enter time(1) to start it again.
hurl() - randomly throws around all the computer players at 1000 power. Enter a number in the parenthesis for a different amount of power.
The pack requires that you have the 1.3 patch from robotarena.com installed. As such, it will only work with the CD version of the game.
Download (4 KB)
This pack adds Python scripts that enable you to enter new cheat codes in-game for various fun effects. The inputs you need to enter are greatly simplified and more user-friendly than the raw Python they are based on, so anyone can do it. The cheats include:
help() - comes up with a help menu listing all these cheats.
clear() - This turns on the FPS again, clearing out this window. Enter clear(0) to turn the FPS off again.
kill(ID) - Enter the ID number (0-3) of the bot you want to kill in the parenthesis. If left blank it will kill all opponents.
fly(power, ID) - Type in the amount of power and the ID of the bot you want to fling into the air. Both are optional, you can enter fly() to launch yourself with 800 power.
fly2() - Exactly the same as fly(), but it will launch you forward. Great for ramming.
grav(x) - Enter a number to get that amount of gravity. -1 will be upside-down, 0.5 will be half gravity, 4 is super heavy, 0 is no gravity, etc.
repair() - this will repair your chassis beyond its limit, making it near invincible. You can enter an bot ID in the parenthesis to give it to a specific bot too.
turbo() - Repairs all of your components, giving you more durable parts and high-powered mechanics. You can enter a bot ID for this one too.
score(points, ID) - give so many points to a bot. You can leave them blank and enter score() to quickly give yourself 1000 points.
color(r, g, b) - enter decimals from 0 to 1 for the red, green, and blue to change the sky color, which determines the background color for your robot photos.
time() - stops the match timer. Enter time(1) to start it again.
hurl() - randomly throws around all the computer players at 1000 power. Enter a number in the parenthesis for a different amount of power.
The pack requires that you have the 1.3 patch from robotarena.com installed. As such, it will only work with the CD version of the game.
Download (4 KB)
Robot Arena 2
Robot Arena 2: Design and Destroy is a computer game made by Infogrames. It is the sequel to Robot Arena. It has many new features, such as the Havok physics engine, fully 3-D environments (This includes being able to flip over other robots), and total customization of your robot. This includes chassis design, weapon placement, mechanics, and even paint. The "cheatbot" code from the original returns, this time offering a Hovercraft Engine, a Magnet, a Flamethrower, and a Cannon (Though an upgrade patch is required for the cheat to take effect). Weapons are completely customizable, including things such as mounting weapons on various attachments, such as poles, disks, and tri-bars. Although the original was not received well by players, this game has a very small (but dedicated) fanbase and small communities for the game are still active today.
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