dRiVeTrAiN

So we got the drivetrain chain to a proper tension and now I am putting a few different bodies on it. They do different things, but eventually I would like to get multiple end effectors on at the same time. The machine is 12V sealed so I can store it sideways on the bot, then attach any 'tops' to it. It drives well and last about 25 minutes with no top plate/ end effectors, but the more motor usage per minute take more amps away quicker (well torqued motors w/ gearbox). This coupled with a slow recharge rate for the battery leaves me no choice but to bring extra batteries to future competitions!

This week, I need to rewire some low gaged wires to some better soldered 12-14 gauge....... After I grade the final exams from those wonderful students of mine. Priorities?

Teaching?!?!????

What a roller coaster of student achievment. I'll make sure to post some of our new robots from the VBRC 2009 (VA Beach Robot Competition) of which we got 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5th place (SWEPT IT!) as well as 22nd, 23rd, & 24th. That part of teaching is going well mostly; the motivated students have a thirst for learning and want to soak up info like a sponge..... and keep me busy.

Battlebots, gear boxes, and TIE FIGHTERS!?!?!!!!

So, we are getting ready for Battlebots 2009 in Cali., and the kids are putting their second weapon together (their first one exploded at high angular velocity). There will be 2 steel "teeth" that are bolted to this disk. They will wreck anything in theor way and the wedge weapon on the other side has a pneumatic flipper being fabricated for double the destruction!

The left gear box had an 'incident' with torque, so it is being reset with the smaller dbl gear & bearing and new lube.

So then the prototyping machine was over heating. It took over 7 hours for the tech to fix it (2 of the 4 thermo switches would not reset....and a little fan was not turning on at 278 degrees).

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Now we had to test it again, so I made some TIE fighters then some more DU symbols- a little smaller but still precise. Thank goodness for warranties on $32k machines!

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The 4 big ones:

The 8 small ones I made yesterday:

These are S.W. VI TIE fighters cuz we need to test the newly electrically rebuilt prototyping machine thoroughly-

See ya'll soon with more pix of more robots to conquer the other competitions we are gearing up for this April!