FRAME CONSTRUCTION
These are the actual wheels and motors that are going into the bot. The motors and
gear boxes were harvested from cordless drills, purchased from Harbor Freight for
$14 apiece. The slip clutches were disabled so the wheels are always engaged. I
machined a two-piece split hub for each wheel. The detail missing from this images
includes the recessed axle bolt and the recessed shoulder where the hub mounts to
the gear box. These wheels are not coming apart in battle!
The five main pieces of the frame have been cut out and folded. Cutting and folding these
aluminum pieces was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. But then, I am always
frustrated by how quickly I can imagine something vs. how long it takes to actually make it.
Fortunately, I had a guy helping me who has done a lot of metal work in his past and who is
more of a perfectionist than I am, believe it or not. But in this case, that's a good thing.
I am very pleased with how the parts came out! However, it was a long road to fruition.
First off, after I cut all the pieces out, someone took one of them, thinking it was scrap
(I left the pieces at a metal cutting machine for 5 minutes) and cut it, so I had to make
another one. Then, when we bent the pieces, they broke - it was the wrong grade of aluminum,
so I had to start completely over. But now they're here.
Here is the frame just sort of propped up on the workbench. Nothing is attached at this
point. One of the motor mounting plates is visible in this shot, but what you cannot see
are two tabs that are bent outward from the seat where the motors sit, around which is a
hose clamp that secures the motors to the tabs. Simple, strong, and easily removable. One
of my design objectives was to make it easy to replace critical components in the event they
get damaged in battle.The tray on top is where the batteries sit (at least they will, initially, unless and until I determine if they are vulnerable there). What may not be evident is that the tray has been shortened by a couple of inches along its length. This was done because the longer version prevented the wheel height from being adjusted properly. This also required a reconfiguration of the battery pack.