Hi everyone, I’ve joined because am looking for help and a have questions that just Google them is not giving me the answers i need.
Anyways I’ve been trying to find events/groups up here,but I’ve had no luck. Is they any?
I think i want my first bot to be an Antweight Flipper, but i have some Questions about it.
Why are most designs just two wheels? Is that because of weight? Or space?
When ive been looking at Flippers everyone uses a servo. Can you not just use a n10/n20 motor instead?
The Flipper mechanism, looking at 3d designs (Which i would like to design my own*bot, but have no experience with that sort of software. Any help would be appreciated) The mechanism is Geared, can you not just have a L-shaped bar?
Hopefully you’ve seen our UK/EU calendar : BBB.gd/calendar there’s a map function, robodojo near York is probably your best bet for ants in the north east.
Weight on ants is tight yep so a lot of people go 2wd to armour up more.
Servos are often used for flippers because they have a set range that’s controllable on the stick, brushed motors will spin until you center the stick or stall out. There’s pros and cons to both. You’d want a low rpm motor for a flipper to have enough torque to throw
Mechanisms for ant flippers are usually linkages a bit like this excellent diagram from Shakey:
Thanks Joe, with the armour ive read about the different types that get used so Carbon fiber is stronger then Pla so then i wouldnt need it to have it as thick as pla. So then i would save weight?
Is they a general guide to how thick people have they armor with different materials.
CF sheet is great for being rigid and lightweight so its a great for chassis panels or baseplates but it is fairly poor armour as it will tend to split or delaminate when hit.
carbon impregnated filament’s tend to be stiff and pretty robust but often need a bit more care and attention with print setup and again, can come off as brittle and prone to cracking.
What I still think is the best in terms of armour for ants is thin sheet plastic. Something like 2mm HDPE or polycarbonate is pretty hardy against spinners and there are no layer lines to split down or fracture. Cheap and easily worked with nothing more than a stanley knife.
I tend to print my chassis in nylon or ABS and bolt plastic sheet to it. There is no set rule for how thick to go, I’d say about 4mm is pretty standard for a printed “wall”. Sheet plastic is within the 1-3mm range. Some of my robot is 16mm thick but that’s just because it’s essentially a single block with holes carved out for the components to sit in.
Fusion 360 is probably one of the best and well supported hobbyist CAD programs in terms of online tutorials and advice. You can get the hobbyist version for free and there are a tonne of youtube tutorials.
There are other options that tend to be simpler like tinkercad but my opinion is use a proper engineering program from the get go and save yourself the hassle.
If at all possible I’d highly recommend coming along to spectate the BBB event in February. It’s for beetles but quite a few people bring the odd ant with them as an aside and it’s great to see everything in the flesh and get a feel for it!
