Last Rites does function while inverted. In some of my matches against the more sloped wedges (Blizzard here is more of a plow than a wedge) I will spend more of the match upside down than right side up :)
Not really - in order for someone to damage a wheel they need to get past the weapon. If they can get past the weapon, I'm already losing :) Any armor or protection I would give the wheels would take weight away from the frame and weapon. It really comes down to making the best compromises you can on where you would like to devote your weight.
We originally used belts in all of the horizontal spinners for the team. They are great for transferring power. But there were some issues, which caused the switch. First, the width of a belt with enough strength to transmit that much torque is substantially more than the width of chain. Last Rites uses #50HD chain - when I used belts I had to use a belt that was 1.5 inches wide! This saved over an inch in the height of the robot. Also, chain simply holds up better in a combat environment.
The controls are backwards when upside down. I've driven that way often enough that it doesn't really bother me. I could program the radio to switch when its upside down, but I've already gotten used to it this way so I plan on leaving it like that.
As for weapon shape, I have some with beveled edges that are somewhat propeller shaped. But it's more to have a sharp edge on the weapon rather than any kind of air management. The kinetic and gyroscopic effects play a much bigger role in stability than air management. Still fun to think about though :)
I really want the biggest hit I can deliver reliably. Having more (and lighter) weapons might be effective, it's just not how I want to build it. The bad part for me though is I really have no "plan B". If the weapon goes down, I am pretty much going to lose :) Multiple blades would at least give some options. You should build one and compete!
WD's wedge was at just the right angle to make TS flip about. Plus, they rammed harder than Blizzard. Econ's ramming rule: if you hit a spinner hard enough, the spin-bot flies at least as hard as you (the rammer). Light tapping won't do. It's hard on both bots, but gives you a chance. Remember Econs' Rule and you rule big spinners. Ray will stop grinning when he sees your bot.
NfsfanAndrew: Yes, but sometimes the action is transferred to a blade or the floor such that it has a less harmful effect on one or the other bot. I observed a lot of spinner on wedge and spinner on broken spinner fights. Econs Ramming Rule stands, per observation. It's partly how Witch Doctor was able to break Tombstone's weapon despite a conked spinner, and how Whoops won against Last Rights.
Yeah, that's accurate for Last Rites. It gets expensive keeping that much kinetic energy functional. On the other hand, my other HW bot Great Pumpkin hasn't cost me $1000 in total for all the years I have competed with it :) It just depends on how serious you really want to be.
agustin val you have two fights, one where it experienced absurd verticle forces from a 70 pound drum on a drum spinner, and another where it was still functional after taking out the absurdly durable ghost raptor (i mean its made of titanium and it took an 84 KJ of force several times like a champ) also thats not including what said solutiong could do (i have a few ideas but im not sure if theyd work personally)
Whoah! That match just might have been more entertaining than any match shown on the new Battlebots series. Blizzard is a TANK! Even though it took a beating from Last Rites, it held up right until the very end where it got flipped. Great match!
I mean an obvious brilliant performance from Last Rights, but let’s talk about the durability of blizzard. There’s 100 other 220 pounders that would have been a pile of scrap metal after taking that many high kinetic energy hits. Very interesting match. I’d love to see the before and after pics of blizzard from this match.
There is a small modification that would, I think, improve LR's effectiveness. Opponent here always attempts to present the thick defensive plate to the spinner blade. Both bots are capable of rapid rotational locomotion, but on LR, a hook on the back end would be able to grab the edge of the other bot’s thick plate. This would spin around the other bot, exposing its vulnerable tires.
Have you considered shaping your weapon a little more like a propeller, so it will generate downforce and hopefully lower the bot when it gets knocked upwards? Also, any particular reason going for chain over belts for the weapon? I would have figured that the desired speed would merited the higher efficiency of belts. Great bot BTW, if I was competing last rites and sewer snake would be the bots to beat, but fighting you would definitely be more tense.
Really? Wow. Right from scratch, eh? I've already learned a bunch from this hobby. Like gear ratios and counteracting gyroscopic forces(In RC planes, the prop spins and turns the plane. Directing the motor slightly downward or to the right counteracts this). I just started. I'm still in my first year of HobbyGrade RC. Bought a Hobbyzone Champ RTF, then an Atomik Brian Deegan 1/18th scale Short Course, and my biggest RC is an Axial EXO Terra.
With me having absolutely no electrical experience beyond messing with 9V batteries, is it hard to learn how to build a robot?I'm currently learning how to make power box thing for an on-the-go battery charger. Like a flight box with a 12V battery in it and a panel with switches for battery level and charging RC Batteries and what-not. Yeah, that's all the experience I have.
That'd just be counter intuitive, I'd say - I seem to remember seeing that the blade weighs around 40 kg (though I don't quite remember specifics) but that's not including the drive system and the reinforcements, so it'd just end up being two smaller and likely weaker blades. Look at 13 Black from Robot Wars, it tried that but just couldn't match the destructive potential of Hypno-Disc, who only had one... Just my thoughts on the matter though!
Blizzard was plenty tough, but it needed to do more than block Last Rite's blade with it's face. If it got around to LR's sides and pushed it around into the walls, it might've been able to win.
Sierlea There are quite a few videos of last rites losing here on YT, and that's how they do it. Pretty much everybody will have a weakness and this one is that it has no protection on the entire 180 degrees around the back. The ones i remember winning were all bulldozers that could push it around and have a front end that could take hits from LR spinner.
+littlegoobie This is actually the worst possible way to take on a bot of this design. Attempting to push Lastrites from the side opens up yourself to a direct blow from the blade, and because Lastrites wheels are placed in the center of mass, it can pivot instantly while you try to reorient yourself. The best way to take it on is to get a glancing blow off a hard flat surface to cut the weapons momentum, and then push as hard as you can to the nearest wall.
just a suggestion here maybe cut down a couple of mills off the top so last rites can function still if it gets flipped over or if you cant reduce the height get slightly larger tires.
I used the purple paint because Royal Purple (synthetic lubricants) was a sponsor of the event and I wanted to be more coordinated. But yes I agree, I like the blue paint better. I might even try anodizing the weapon mount to match at some point :)
The two robots obviously share a lot of similar design ideas, and even quite a few parts. But they are in different weight classes (220 pounds for Last Rites vs. 250 for Tombstone) so there are substantial differences between the two as well.
Some events, like BattleBots, require some sort of active powered weapon. Other events like RoboGames here, do not. It is a viable strategy, just to build something tough enough to withstand the big energy bots and see who can survive the longest.
+Ray Billings Hey Ray. HUGE FAN of Tombstone/Last Rites!!! Sorry about Battlebots getting cancelled. Guess the champion will have to find a new competition to own...
I've taken a lot of drafting and engineering classes over the years, but I don't have a degree. Combat robotics is literally a "school of hard knocks" :)
Hey Ray I just saw your fight with sewer snake and you looked a bit too cocky there such as toying with him in the beginning only to lose later on that must've been embarrassing
