I've been looking on here for a few weeks now and this is the most helpful video I've found, It's okay people saying you use this motor for your wheels and this for your weapon but it's better to learn what all the numbers mean and have it explained. Thanks :)
Great video! I don't know if my Comment adds anything vital to it, but it might help anybody completely new to LiPo batteries: it took me a while to find out that the 'S' in LiPo designation - such as a '3S' pack - stands for 'series', not 'cells'. Just like a TV series which shows one episode after another, a battery pack wired in series connects the individual cells 'head to tail' (plus to minus), which multiplies the voltage. If 1 cell produces 3.5 volts; a 2S pack would produce twice that (7 volts); a 3S pack would give you 10.5 volts, 4S would give 14 volts, and so on. This is perfect for combat bots, which need massive amounts of power instantly - but only for 3 minutes at a time. The overall voltage of the pack increases, but the time each cell can deliver its power doesn't change. For combat robots facing a 3-minute fight, this is not a problem. You get a LOT of power, which is what makes these tiny machines so feisty. The alternative to wiring cells in series (giving you a high voltage, high power, but short duration battery pack) is to wire them in parallel. This means you connect all of the '+' ends together, and all of the '-' ends together. What you get is very different from a pack wired in series. You're essentially creating one huge, fat cell. So... a 3P battery (3 cells in parallel) would not increase in voltage if you added more cells. A 3P battery made up from three 3.5 volt cells would still only produce 3.5 volts (not 10.5 like the 3S pack), but it would provide that power for three times as long as a single cell. A 3.5 volt battery pack would not give your bot effective drive or weapon power, but it would just about stir a cup of hot coffee till it went cold. Not many people need a wimpy 3.5 volt combat robot that can run for 15 minutes between charges, so you won't see many 'P' battery packs in the pits. Everybody will be using 'S' battery packs with the cells connected in series. I just thought it might be worth mentioning that the 'S' stands for series, not cells. :-) Incidentally, when I started out building (1987) LiPo batteries didn't exist, so tiny bots couldn't be built either. We had nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries in our RC model planes, but they were huge, heavy, inefficient, short-lived, and stupidly expensive. No good for combat bots, because a useful ni-cad pack would have cost NASA-level money. So we used old-school lead-acid batteries from cars or electric wheelchairs. HEAVY. Heavy, and they took 12 hours to charge... Sigh. That's why our early bots were so crummy - more than half of the mass of a one-hundred pound machine was lead!
Base plate is 0.09" 6061 Aluminum. Rear is 1/16" 6061 Al. Uprights are 1/4" 6061 Al. Front and side armor is 1/16 Grade 5 Titanium. Pretty much everything is attached to Nylon 3D prints except the uprights which are tapped and the rear and baseplate screw onto them. You can learn more in my full overview video (though there were several changes I noted here). th-cam.com/video/ygi9_QRl4bE/w-d-xo.html
Just wanted to say hi. I'm not building a battle robot, but I am hacking an old electric wheelchair for a haunted house prop, and this video was really helpful. Thanks
I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Like a wiring diagram? This video is over 2 years old so I don't use all these same part anymore. In general if you connect the wires the right way and plug in a receiver and bind it to your radio it just works. RC stuff is mostly plug and play.
I do not have a wiring diagram for this exact setup but this general wiring diagram is mostly the same as what I have shown here, but I use a Fingertech switch rather than a link. See slide 16 of Building a UK Beetleweight Robot bristolbotbuilders.com/guides.html#beetle
Hey Seth, I was wondering what the AWG of the wires you were using was, or what wires you would recommend for a similar setup. I was thinking 12 AWG for weapons and 18 AWG for drive. Is this a bad idea? Thanks so much!
The minimum acceptable gage is dependant on the length of wires and exact current demands. If you are not running wires a foot long across two halves of a bot like I did you can probably use 18 and 16AWG for it all. Just keep any runs between the lipo and switch and largest current drawing components as short as possible.
@@JustCuzRobotics then it's still a good resource :) I've been watching your videos when I get stuck and don't know what to do they are all really helpful on getting started.
If you're looking for more, I have written a few articles that are useful for general robotics and also combat robotics for Maker Pro, a general DIY site focussed on Arduino/electronics/robotics projects. maker.pro/custom/tutorial/battery-systems-for-robots maker.pro/custom/tutorial/accessible-manufacturing-options-for-robotics maker.pro/custom/tutorial/motor-sizing-math
![Punching Spinner Robot Debut at RCE 2024 [Shrapnel Mine V2 Event Recap]](/img/n.gif)
I've been looking on here for a few weeks now and this is the most helpful video I've found, It's okay people saying you use this motor for your wheels and this for your weapon but it's better to learn what all the numbers mean and have it explained. Thanks :)
Great video! I don't know if my Comment adds anything vital to it, but it might help anybody completely new to LiPo batteries: it took me a while to find out that the 'S' in LiPo designation - such as a '3S' pack - stands for 'series', not 'cells'.
Just like a TV series which shows one episode after another, a battery pack wired in series connects the individual cells 'head to tail' (plus to minus), which multiplies the voltage. If 1 cell produces 3.5 volts; a 2S pack would produce twice that (7 volts); a 3S pack would give you 10.5 volts, 4S would give 14 volts, and so on. This is perfect for combat bots, which need massive amounts of power instantly - but only for 3 minutes at a time.
The overall voltage of the pack increases, but the time each cell can deliver its power doesn't change. For combat robots facing a 3-minute fight, this is not a problem. You get a LOT of power, which is what makes these tiny machines so feisty.
The alternative to wiring cells in series (giving you a high voltage, high power, but short duration battery pack) is to wire them in parallel. This means you connect all of the '+' ends together, and all of the '-' ends together. What you get is very different from a pack wired in series. You're essentially creating one huge, fat cell.
So... a 3P battery (3 cells in parallel) would not increase in voltage if you added more cells. A 3P battery made up from three 3.5 volt cells would still only produce 3.5 volts (not 10.5 like the 3S pack), but it would provide that power for three times as long as a single cell.
A 3.5 volt battery pack would not give your bot effective drive or weapon power, but it would just about stir a cup of hot coffee till it went cold.
Not many people need a wimpy 3.5 volt combat robot that can run for 15 minutes between charges, so you won't see many 'P' battery packs in the pits. Everybody will be using 'S' battery packs with the cells connected in series.
I just thought it might be worth mentioning that the 'S' stands for series, not cells. :-)
Incidentally, when I started out building (1987) LiPo batteries didn't exist, so tiny bots couldn't be built either. We had nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries in our RC model planes, but they were huge, heavy, inefficient, short-lived, and stupidly expensive. No good for combat bots, because a useful ni-cad pack would have cost NASA-level money.
So we used old-school lead-acid batteries from cars or electric wheelchairs. HEAVY. Heavy, and they took 12 hours to charge... Sigh. That's why our early bots were so crummy - more than half of the mass of a one-hundred pound machine was lead!
I've been using this as a baseline for my setup its super helpful.
lmao whats up ethan
What material is used to mount motors and armor panels at the back? And what metal is used for the base and armor? Thanks!
Base plate is 0.09" 6061 Aluminum. Rear is 1/16" 6061 Al. Uprights are 1/4" 6061 Al. Front and side armor is 1/16 Grade 5 Titanium. Pretty much everything is attached to Nylon 3D prints except the uprights which are tapped and the rear and baseplate screw onto them. You can learn more in my full overview video (though there were several changes I noted here). th-cam.com/video/ygi9_QRl4bE/w-d-xo.html
@@JustCuzRobotics thank you very much =)
Just wanted to say hi. I'm not building a battle robot, but I am hacking an old electric wheelchair for a haunted house prop, and this video was really helpful. Thanks
do you have blue print how to set all components up?
I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Like a wiring diagram? This video is over 2 years old so I don't use all these same part anymore. In general if you connect the wires the right way and plug in a receiver and bind it to your radio it just works. RC stuff is mostly plug and play.
@@JustCuzRobotics i mean diagram yes. thanks
I do not have a wiring diagram for this exact setup but this general wiring diagram is mostly the same as what I have shown here, but I use a Fingertech switch rather than a link. See slide 16 of Building a UK Beetleweight Robot bristolbotbuilders.com/guides.html#beetle
Hey Seth, I was wondering what the AWG of the wires you were using was, or what wires you would recommend for a similar setup. I was thinking 12 AWG for weapons and 18 AWG for drive. Is this a bad idea? Thanks so much!
The minimum acceptable gage is dependant on the length of wires and exact current demands. If you are not running wires a foot long across two halves of a bot like I did you can probably use 18 and 16AWG for it all. Just keep any runs between the lipo and switch and largest current drawing components as short as possible.
@@JustCuzRobotics ok that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the quick responses.
Also FYI the BECs you marked out of stock are in stock
Fixed that, thanks for the heads up. This video is rather old by now haha. I'm surprised if all the links still work at all.
@@JustCuzRobotics then it's still a good resource :) I've been watching your videos when I get stuck and don't know what to do they are all really helpful on getting started.
Good video! I shared it with the OOTA discord server in the new resource page.
If you're looking for more, I have written a few articles that are useful for general robotics and also combat robotics for Maker Pro, a general DIY site focussed on Arduino/electronics/robotics projects. maker.pro/custom/tutorial/battery-systems-for-robots maker.pro/custom/tutorial/accessible-manufacturing-options-for-robotics maker.pro/custom/tutorial/motor-sizing-math
Great video :)
you are the best