Arthropod-themed combat robotics

Defy Ant 2 Status: Retired Class: Antweight (1 lb) Description: Driven by two mini Sanyo gearmotors. The weapon is one 3 3/8" saw blade and one 3 3/8" titanium bar (because I screwed up on the other titanium bar and didn't have time to make a new one). The weapon is spun by an Eflite 5400kv brushless motor powered at 11.1 volts, geared down 4:1 for a theoretical max RPM of 14,985. The frame is angled aluminum bars from Menards, and the top and bottom armor is carbon fiber. This rebuild of the first Defy Ant fixed a lot of issues, most importantly Defy Ant 1's tendency to lose its wheels and destroy itself with its own weapon. Defy Ant 2 could spin the weapon at max speed, drive around, and hit stuff without a problem. However, the construction was still quite fragile, and while it could take the vibrations from its own weapon, it didn't fare so well against an opponent's weapon. No Hapless Victimbot this time around; Defy Ant 2 was pitted against vicious vertical spinner ANTI right off the bat, and damaged beyond repair in the first couple hits. Shame; I bet I could've finally beaten HVB. Fight Record: 0-1 (Twin Cities Mechwars 9) More Pictures: Early build of DA2 DA2 insides DA2 with prototype plow Videos: Defy Ant vs. ANTI - 3.5 MB Defy Ant vs. ANTI (2) - 4 MB Weapon test - 2.5 MB

Defy Ant 1 Status: Retired Class: Antweight (1 lb) Description: Driven by two mini Sanyo gearmotors. The weapon is two 3 3/8" saw blades spun by an Eflite 5400kv brushless motor powered at 11.1 volts, geared down 4:1 for a theoretical max RPM of 14,985. The frame is angled aluminum bars from Menards, and the top and bottom armor is carbon fiber. This was my fist attempt at building a real robot and I had no idea what I was doing. Considering that, it didn't turn out half bad. Looks cool, at least. The idea was to make a vertical spinner with a wedge in the rear so I could scoop up bots and feed them into the saws if I needed to, instead of hitting them head-on. This didn't work for a few reasons: One, it was too slow to scoop much of anything, two, the wheels were not well attached and had a tendency to fall off after a minute or so, and three, the weapon had a tendency to self-destruct after a short time spinning at max speed. I didn't catch these problems before my first tournament because the battery only came in the mail the day before. So I arrive at Twin Cities Mechwars 8 and draw a "ByeBot" named Hapless Victimbot for my first match. It's a shoddy contraption of exposed electronics, a bit of plexiglass, and a rusty knife blade, not meant to be a threat, just get destroyed for the entertainment of the crowd. All right, this should be easy. Things start off well as Defy Ant's saws spin up with a roar... but then they stop, and I can't get them started again. Turns out the friction caused the bearings holding the axle to melt, freezing the weapon in place. All right, I still have a backup wedge, time to try pushing... but then the wheels fall off and I can't move. I'm forced to forfeit with HVB barely touched. Later, I glue the wheels back on, put some lube on the weapon axle, and get back in the arena for a grudge match. This time Defy Ant manages to cut HVB's plexiglass armor... but then the weapon freezes again! This time all the teeth on the pulley belt driving the weapon have been stripped away, leaving a useless loose piece of plastic. Time to try pushing again... but despite my best efforts gluing, once again the wheels fall off and I must forfeit a second time. Fight Record: 0-2 (Twin Cities Mechwars 8) More Pictures: Early build of Defy Ant without weapon