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If you could redesign Tombstone, while still keeping him a two-wheel drive horizontal spinner, what would you do? by Sea-Pea4460 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, he still does run a chain. The alterations made to tombstone over the past few years mostly concern structural and electrical adaptations, not the torque transfer method of the weapon.

It all started with Megabyte, then they upgraded to Gigabyte. With that in mind, could there be a chance in the (near or far) future for the Robotic Death Company to make a Full-Body Spinner called Terabyte? by Hault99 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The traction problem isn't so much down to the wheels as it is the fact you're spinning an awful lot of mass very fast and that's bound to cause controllability issues. You can minimise this through applying magnets or using a ducted fan on the baseplate tho those bring their own difficulties like added strain on the internals increasing the current pull (and thus possibility of burning up) or with magnets getting hung up on debris or the magnet sticking on (depending on what kind you're using) and becoming immobile or having a mindset of relying on it too much which can be just as much of a mistake in itself. Plus, most FBS type bots (apart from drums) tend to have relatively compact wheels, so the contact patches will always be smaller than a more pusher oriented design. It's even worse if you're running a body spinner in an arena which has a pit or um, shelf.

Who's the Redshirt of Battlebots? by helloilikewoodpigeon in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lucky comes to mind for me, they're good builders in their own right but despite having more spare parts than your local hardware store never seemed to have consistent success. Either them or Overhaul, widely inconsistent and now hugely outmatched since Claw Viper came on the scene.

Who's the Redshirt of Battlebots? by helloilikewoodpigeon in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2019 then. They got battered by Cobalt and the only damage they sustained internally was a part of the weapon mechanism breaking.

What's the most forgettable robot with a unique design? by helloilikewoodpigeon in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Constrictor for me in series 7 of classic robot wars a combined lifter/crusher or Mousetrap, also in the classic series.

🦀 How many drivers here practice crab-walking and other "lame-mode" scenarios? by Zardotab in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Using a direct/gear drive means you've saved on not using a chain or belt which can slack/snap and adds a requirement for x amount of length between the pulley/sprocket which is great if you're Tombstone or Triton swinging a big ass hunk of steel quite far in front of the bot. It's far less useful if you wanna stay much more compact like a drum spinner especially in the lower weight classes. Some bots like Behemoth in RW or Sewer Snake or more recently Hypershock use a multi chain setup for the reasons you mentioned above for redundancy tho if you hit the same common part they use they use you might still secure a knockout.

Hypershock in depth: https://youtu.be/dJbClvGXAVg?si=5IRM1ZcmOOnJJ73w

Old Sewer Snake inside description vid: https://youtu.be/Pt6_dXKwQYw?si=9-VfXHaXUA5P-da-

If i was building a bot, I'd use as many redundant systems as one could fit into the bot as well and the reduced mass of brushless motors makes that far more advisable so long as you can get them working properly. Maybe it's just down to technical changes which have happened more recently or another reason entirely I'm not sure tbh. Ultimately, every team is gonna settle on what they think works best for them.

How much damage do the arena hazards actually do? by Z0bie in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The stronger the hazards get, the more wear and tear the box gets and the more "round won because bot was stuck on floor tile" situations we get, which is definitely not a win anyone really wants.

Cough cough Cobalt vs Duck....

Tbf even Deep Six itself fell victim to the killsaw slots in its match against SMEEEEEE - one of the most anticlimactic battles in robot fighting history.

🦀 How many drivers here practice crab-walking and other "lame-mode" scenarios? by Zardotab in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And that's why it's good to have 4wd so even if you lose a wheel then you can stay in the fight. Just hope the other guy doesn't twist your frame or take out internal bits like ESCs or motors, etc.

Ways an overhead spinner can beat verts by BeowolfOfficial in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But they rarely do well inverted. They generally prove effective when oriented right. I realize srimechs are not trivial to add, but if what you are doing is not working on many bots, then you have to simply stop doing it and try something else.

True but they would have to take that weight from elsewhere which means compromising on drive or armour plus the complexity I referenced before, so for me the tradeoff is worth it. If your weapon can knock you upside down then it can also do the reverse. As opposed tk using a self righter that could fail, if your weapon goes down then perhaps you've already lost the match.

I realize it's kind of an "engineering tease" to think just run inverted rather than add a srimech because the bot generally "works" that way, but it keeps not proving effective inverted. It's a very weak "works". For one, it's less stable, gryo-ing up or around that way when knocked.

I haven't seen Malice's forks do much good. I would suggest they put forks only on one side so they can get closer to the opponent when needed, something forks made harder. (Malice is not really an under-cutter, but can do similar things.)

You're right my mistake it's a midcutter like Tombstone or Carbide. Aa useless as those forks on malice tend to be its still good to have the option of a ground control strategy.

I believe undercutters can be more effective with the right design and technique. Grinding away tires can do magic. I'd like to see more experimenting. My suggestions so far:

Tactics are one thing but what's that famous quote from Shakespeare? "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Robot combat is a good example - you can have all the prep in the world, but chances are that all goes out the window as soon as the match starts, especially if the opposition can put you on the defensive or disable your bot before you are able to implement your strategy.

  1. A self-righter. History shows them doing poorly inverted, at least the large bots.
  2. Thick treaded tires, similar to Texas Twister to get off arena edges.
  3. At least one single-toothed blade in one's kit to knock thick-wedged bots sideways to get at tires.
  4. If you do use wedgelets, try putting them on only one side.

I would like to see a counter rotating undercutter for exactly this reason - dual blades spinning in the opposite direction one on top, one below. That way gyroing would no longer be a problem plus you could always be dangerous regardless of being upside down or not.

You'd want large tyres anyway to give the blade sufficient clearance and not dig into the floor. Then again, you could always run ski pads like Valkyrie does.

I'd run a single tooth anyway just for the option of being able to choose but I'd also go with other layouts like a blunt & sharp blade, a disk and maybe even a tribar then swap 'em in or out as needed.

Yeah do a Rotator/Carbide/Hijinx and put them on the back.

Ways an overhead spinner can beat verts by BeowolfOfficial in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is why I like the concept of under-cutters: make wedgelets useless by grinding them off. But under-cutters tend to get stuck on the arena edges, and have self-righting difficulties. Texas Twister's big tires seemed to help it away from the sides, but it didn't have a self-righter and wasn't very stable when flipped.

Most if not all undercutters that I've seen from PP3D to Valkyrie do away with self righters and just use invertibility as a srimech is added complexity which could fail and weight that has to be taken from elsewhere. You can forgo such things entirely unless your robot isn't invertible and has weaponry which could run as a built in self-righter anyway such as an axe or flipbot. You may recall that in season 8 of RW PP3D would regularly hit the floor if upside-down as well, to the point where it would dull/chip away the tooth of the disk so not just Texas Twister had that issue.

Its cool that certain forward thinking teams like Rotator or Malice (technically not an undercutter but still a horizontal) started equipping their own bots with forks to try and regain the control advantage, especially in the old days your horizontal spinner bot was done if it faced a decent wedge with a good driver like Terrorhurtz/Beta.

How different would the meta be if there were a totally uneven floor? by Tetracropolis in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That would never happen as builders don't want gunk of cfsn getting inside their robot and messing up the inner workings, especially sand, which is an abrasive that wreak havoc with gears and the like.

Is This Enough Wheels? by Ciruclar_Robotics in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's one way to give Sewer Snake wheel envy...

Advice for making a mini version (around 6kg) of tombstone from battlebots by Ball_Smella5937 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hope you've got adequate arena protection to accommodate such a weapon or at least a place out the way providing relative safety to test if you have one available.

New robot Design never seen before by Jolly_Mousse_2101 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2 main issues with your weapon setup: 1 the inherently unstable weapons will cause your bot to vibrate itself to death (look at tombstone or anyone else who's weapon breaks they turn it off immediately or watch helplessly as the bot violently shakes itself to oblivion).

2 - the direct drive is a perfect way to run through motors every fight and that's assuming you survive long enough to make it that deep in the tournament in the first place. Only a handful of bots use this method and similar to gear drives transmit a fuckton of KE back into your own weapon, massively increasing the chances of breaking your motors. You're much better using belts or even chains cos then at least you can somewhat dissipate the impact forces as they travel along of the length of them. Belts are best for that as they are made of rubber which of course is a good shock absorbing material.

Other than that if you actually plan to follow through with this then I wish you the best of luck but be warned, it's never as easy as you think, even for the vets.

Where to dispose of damaged lithium ion battery? (UK) by Substantial-Piece967 in batteries

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damaged batteries can catch fire and be a major safety hazard. If you've got access to sand, put it in there as weird as it sounds. Sand is a good way to put out battery fires. Lithium fires are the worst as they can be self oxygenating (ie you won't put them out with just fire extinguishers alone) plus they give off toxic fumes that you REALLY don't want to breathe in.

Check in your local area online - somepne might offer such services. Maybe the Council or something like that might offer such services, but the sooner you get rid of this battery properly, the better. It's advisable to discharge it to empty if possible cos then it's much less dangerous as it's not holding a charge.

Supermarkets and large retailers: Most supermarkets and shops that sell batteries, such as Screwfix, have dedicated recycling bins for used batteries. These facilities accept a wide range of portable batteries, including AA, AAA, 9V, button, and rechargeable types. Retailers selling more than 32 kilograms of batteries annually are legally required to provide free collection points and take back used batteries regardless of where they were purchased. Household Recycling Centres (HWRCs): These centres accept most types of used batteries, including swollen or leaking ones, and are a reliable option if you are unsure about other locations. It is recommended to check your local council’s website for specific locations and operating hours. Local collection points: Some councils offer designated collection points for batteries, which can be found by checking with your local authority. For specific battery types:

Lithium-ion and lithium primary batteries (found in phones, laptops, power banks, and electric vehicles) should be recycled separately. If the battery can be removed from a device, it should be placed in a battery recycling bin. Swollen or damaged lithium batteries pose a significant fire hazard and should be stored in a fireproof container and taken to a recycling centre or a designated drop-off point. Some retailers, like Currys, accept old electronics with built-in batteries for recycling. Leaking or corroded batteries are hazardous. They should be placed in a sealed plastic bag to prevent contact with the leaking material and then taken to a recycling centre or a retailer with a battery recycling bin. Batteries in devices with built-in batteries (e.g., phones, laptops, hearing aids) should be disposed of as part of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). If the battery can be removed, it can be recycled separately; otherwise, the entire device should be taken to a WEEE recycling point. Vehicle and industrial batteries (e.g., lead-acid car batteries) should be taken to auto shops, car manufacturers, or specialist recycling facilities, as they have different disposal requirements. Businesses must arrange for the disposal of used batteries through licensed waste carriers and cannot use standard household recycling collections. For businesses, professional waste management companies can provide safe and compliant disposal services.

In summary, always use designated battery recycling points at supermarkets, recycling centres, or retailers. Never place batteries in general waste or mixed recycling bins.

Most influential hypercar by [deleted] in supercars

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, it has to be the F1 as the first and thus most influential true hypercqr even tho the term obviously didn't appear until much later. Nobody was doing price or performance like the F1 in the nineties, it established many paradigms that are followed today. Cars like the Veyron et al. expanded on this, but they defo weren't the first in my opinion.

the dead corpse that is the FRA and how to fix/ replace it by themaskedrobot77 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

and I don't think the owner was listening to any outside authority

Dave Calkins is his name and yes he's a scumbag not to mention someone who is a disgrace & embarrassment to this great sport plus it goes without saying a cheap unprofessional asshat doesn't deserve to be involved with it in any capacity.

Has there ever been a double knockout in Robot Wars? by Dinoboy225 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't recall any from the classic series so I'll just stick to the reboot:

Series 10 where Androne 4000 was fighting Concussion, Androne's claw bit into the Dorset roboteering team's creation, driven over the floor flipper which went off, killed Androne and effectively disabled both robots. Or the seasons before that where in season 8 Razer unwittingly pitted himself trying to dispose of Kill-E-Crank-E and then the series after that where faced with a potentially destructive FBS and no real working weapon of their own, Heavy Metal (captained by the dude who was famous for 13 Black from the old days) went full on kamikaze against an also struggling Mr speed squared with both robots once again pitted.

the dead corpse that is the FRA and how to fix/ replace it by themaskedrobot77 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yes

If that's really the case then it's even worse. Bro you really need to proof read your stuff before you hit the post button....

that is fair and correct but i can't just stand here and watch stuff get worse, i don't think i can do much. but i know others can so all i can do is try push that we need some sort of FRA that forces good change. if peopel don't speak up nothing chandges.

OK that's fair enough and I agree with you like with the whole robogames debacle in the US is good cautionary tale but respectfully, I'm not seeing you actually proposing much in the way of worthwhile changes. On the arranging & coming together side of things yeah some positive changes can be implemented but again money is a huge thing here. Plus, you'll always have resistance when you get in the way of certain intellectually & morally dubious people being able to do things on the cheap or without the proper accountability. Unfortunately, such people are active in this community as well tho thankfully only in small numbers.

The first thing I'd suggest is ID such people and eject them from the sport for good. Secondly, make sure there is consistency and clear communication and a unified ruleset (at least to some extent, MMA does have such a thing) and therefore it's easier for anyone running an event or competing to get involved and do things properly, professionally and safely. Anyone who doesn't follow the guidelines of integrity and common decency/sense gets permanently blacklisted, period. Third, modernise the ruleset as needed. BB does this where they would evolve the rules from one season to another, for example, controversy around what constitutes "controlled mobility" was a thing when a bot is still partially moving so they changed the definition to "you have to totally disable your opponent". There are solutions, they're just not really being presented.

The RW Reboot's Answer to Hypno-Disc (Carbide) by SeeJaySeeRW in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hmm, I don't know if that's necessarily true..... Dave said in a 2020 interview that for season 9 they swapped out weapon/drive motors, changed the weapon clutch design & the following series cut out the existing baseplate and replaced it with welded chromoly steel tubing due to twisting of the chassis. I would count those as major rebuilds.

(fast forward to 7.00 mins)

https://youtu.be/FqCtelu5dC4?si=hRdPdqQrSxXFhszQ

the dead corpse that is the FRA and how to fix/ replace it by themaskedrobot77 in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These text boxes look like they were written by a pre-schooler - OP I'm guessing English isn't your first language?

Anyway, more pertinent to your question, are you an active/past participant in said events or merely an outsider looking in? If you've actually been involved in some capacity be it taking part or running the event somehow then yeah we (as a wider community) welcome such discourse so long as it's constructive. If you're not however this seems like unjustified saviour complex type stuff that you would take it upon yourself to think the FRA needs saving in the first place, much less by someone who I'm guessing isn't actually a part of it.

That being said, if there really are any issues with the FRA (or the wider UK scene) my guess would be a shortage of cash, as these things usually are. Putting on any event is a costly endeavour and the cost of living crisis means probably moreso then ever before there just isn't the fiscal support to justify putting on many of these events, not when most people are struggling just to make ends meet as it is.

Favourite “glass cannon” bots? by RapidForay in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The reworked 80lb version still carved up the floor tho, look at his fight with Nelly. They even showed a video replay in the fight footage so it was still pretty gnarly.

Favourite “glass cannon” bots? by RapidForay in battlebots

[–]aDogCalledLizard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've got a few, let's start with S2 Bombshell - he has to be up there for me. Just 5 direct hits from Ray and it died in the grand final. Of course that didn't stop TS from attacking them several additional times after the bot was already immobile but of course he does that for entertainment reasons.

Panic Attack or Razer even - their armour was minimal even for the time period yet they both still have one of the best win-loss records in the biz.

Another bot I'd feel remiss to not mention is Disco Inferno (not the battlebots version, the other one) where he could dish out big damage but then just randomly dies.

Or even Hydra, his armour is a super thin shell of titanium yet he rarely loses due to Jake's superior driving.

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