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Post by Un Autre Monde on Mar 26, 2008 17:59:31 GMT -5
Gabriel versions 1 to 1.25 active until March 2008 WEIGHT: 100kgs DIMENSIONS: 100 x 75 x 50 cm SHAPE: Elongated triangular pyramid with steep rear and very shallow front COLOUR: Black with yellow and black chevron tape highlights on the joins and around the weapons. DRIVE: 2 S28-400 Magmotors driving 2 wheels running off 5 NiCd packs at 30v SPEED: 14mph average, 20mph max GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at front due to spring hinged nose, rising to 7mm at rear ARMOUR: 3mm aluminium baseplate, 7mm titanium armour on rest of body (7mm hardox in critical areas and edges). WEAPONS: A high pressure pneumatic front hinged flipper, consisting of the front edge of the body, running from 2 2.5kg CO2 tanks and a hydraulic ram giving 35 flips in a match and capable of flipping 100kgs and lifting several times more than that. Also has hardened steel spikes located on either side of the front point, and it can spin in place to try and do damage with these. SRIMECH: Via the weapon, which should have enough force to pull it over if it becomes stranded on its back. NOTES: Components shock mounted for protection vs. spinners and impacts STRENGTHS: Difficult to get a grip on due to the shape WEAKNESSES: So-so armour, flipper not really capable of OOTAs Joey's notes: So, here we are...the first ideas I had when I considered joining the Fanfic community were based largely on series 2 and 3 of Robot Wars, which I had been watching a lot, and not as much on what was considered 'state of the art' at the time. Late one evening in January I produced a Paint pic of a triangular pyramid robot - based on the very similar chassis as seen in the Robot Wars computer games - and that looked quite similar to what would eventually become Gabriel even though it had an axe. The version that eventually made it to FRA had the same triangular shape, which is a design that I have always liked, a hydraulic ram operated front hinged flipper - inspired by Gravedigger - that wasn't too good, S28-150 Magmotors, weakish armour and no spikes. With a little help it eventually morphed into what is seen above (after a very brief detour as a Mag-powered axebot ) with a still rather good Paint pic (which unfortunately took bloody ages to do) eventually accompanying it. It was a heat finalist in Eye Of The Robot 4, beating Terrorhurtz along the way, but then underwent a redesign with a more effective shape, as I realised the pyramid design was too high to really get in underneath opponents. That and I had learned that Envy used the c40-300 Mags and I wanted to have some of that...muahaha... Martijn Benschop had most of the involvement in the original design aside from myself, while Leo van Miert also contributed with the dimensions and regarding hydraulic rams. Many thanks to them for assisting my fledgling robotics career
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Post by Un Autre Monde on May 23, 2008 12:12:06 GMT -5
Gabriel II active from March 2008 to May 2008 WEIGHT: 100kgs DIMENSIONS: 105 x 80 x 35 cm SHAPE: Elongated triangular pyramid with steep rear and very shallow front COLOUR: Largely yellow, with a red and yellow striped flipper and black shapes on each side. Kind of like No Objections in a Gabriel shape. DRIVE: 2 C40-300 Magmotors driving 2 inner wheels with Vulkalon treads for grip, running off 3 NiCd packs at 24v SPEED: 14mph average, 20mph max GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at front due to spring hinged nose, rising to 6mm at rear ARMOUR: 3mm aluminium baseplate, with composite 5mm titanium (5mm hardox in critical areas) and 7mm HDPE on the rest of the body. WEAPONS: A high pressure pneumatic front hinged flipper, consisting of the front edge of the body, running from 2 2kg CO2 tanks and a 70mm hydraulic full pressure ram with high flow rate, giving 25 flips in a match and capable of flipping 100kgs easily and lifting several times more than that. Also has hardened tool steel spikes located on either side of the front point, and it can spin in place to try and do damage with these. SRIMECH: Via weapon. The back has spikes to prevent stranding NOTES: Components shock mounted for protection vs. spinners and impacts. The main changes from the previous Gabriel, aside from the colouring and armour, are that it is now slightly wider and quite a bit lower, giving a lower centre of gravity and making it easier to get other robots on the flipper, and the drive has been upgraded. To make room for the changes, the gas capacity has been reduced and the armour made slightly thinner. STRENGTHS: Difficult to get a grip on due to the shape, low centre of gravity WEAKNESSES: Awkward shape for pushing with Joey's notes: Gabriel II was done just before I took a holiday in Egypt (quite boring actually) and was probably the best thing I had designed up until that time. The shape changed to allow it to get under other robots better and as I learned shallower sloped armour worked better for delfecting horizontal spinners, while the armour was made thinner and a protective outer layer added that made it more realistic while also incorporating a 'crumple zone' to protect from impact (although in all the time this was used I can't remember this ever being important ) The flipper was meant to be basically the same as the previous version, but as I didn't have MSN I didn't have too much input into how Kody did the CAD and so it ended up with a flat plate at the front, and no spikes. This was partially what prompted the advance to version three, although I mean no disrespect to Kody I wasn't really happy with the shape change and elected to redesign it once again (a move also prompted by watching a few rammers with spikes, I wanted something that could pull off high speed ramming and put holes in people) Gabriel II did respectably in AJWars: Another Era, beating Requiem before losing not entirely dishonarably to Infusion, and also won a battle (against Crimson Thunder) that Daniel Stickler staged as an example of how to write in fanfic. Kody Kunz kindly CADed the robot for me, while Shane Swan provided some input into ram size, and the choice of motors after a few people became confused between C40-300s and C40-500s.
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Post by Un Autre Monde on Nov 10, 2008 9:03:58 GMT -5
Gabriel III active from May 2008 to November 2008 WEIGHT: 100kgs DIMENSIONS: 105 x 80 x 30 cm SHAPE: Elongated triangular pyramid with steep rear and very shallow front COLOUR: Yellow, with a black flipper and black shapes on either side of the robot. The spikes are shiny silver, as are the optional skirts. DRIVE: 2 LEM-130 motors run at 36v from 3 NiCad packs, driving two semi-pneumatic rear wheels with Vulkanised tyres for grip. The control is worth noting, as these two wheels are normally run as one with forwards/back movement, and a castor at the front is rotated via a custom high torque servo mechanism +/- about 75 degrees giving car type steering, however the robot can also be driven with the two rear wheels seperately in standard tank steering with the front castor being passive. This gives maximum controllability at both low and high speeds, as the mode of drive can be switched via the transmitter. SPEED: 16mph average, up to 30mph max TURNING CIRCLE: About 1m when in car steer mode (enough to still function as a thwacker and move in fairly tight spaces), 0 when in tank steer mode GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at the very front point, rising to 14mm at the rear. Side and rear 4mm titanium skirts can be fitted giving 0 all around. ARMOUR: 5mm T6 aluminium baseplate, with composite 5mm titanium (5mm hardox in critical areas) and 7mm HDPE on the rest of the body. WEAPONS: The main weapon is the front hinged flipper, which this time is part of the edge profile of the tetrahedron (i.e. triangular) rather than Gabriel II's flat plate. The flipper has one set of rear facing Mute-style barbs on its edge to trap opponents, and is powered from 750psi CO2 stored in one 3kg tank, and a 80mm full pressure hydraulic ram with high flow rate giving about 20 uses in a fight. Also, the front point has spikes either side to cause damage by spinning, but these are now more blade-shaped than spike shaped, and made of hardened tool steel. SRIMECH: Via weapon. The back has spikes to prevent stranding, and because of the body shape it is very unlikely to do a Mute when self righting. NOTES: Has components shock mounted to protect from spinners, impacts, and life in general. STRENGTHS: Difficult to get a grip on due to the shape, low centre of gravity, very maneuvrable WEAKNESSES: Not really much of a pusher Joey's notes: The infamous car steered/tank steered version Having seen a few rammers with spikes, and the damage they had been able to cause through pure ramming power and kinetic energy, I had the idea to make speed more of a focus in one of my robots. With Fire And Ice/Phoenix Down being tracked and more of a pusher it fell to Gabriel to use this concept, which was up for a redesign anyway due to dissatisfaction I was having with the current shape. At the time I had an interest in car steering mechanisms, which allow control at much higher speeds than tank steering (trying to turn with car steering at 30mph is easy, while with tank steering...well...it's not easy) and Gabriel III incorporated this to allow for high speeds, and in the belief that it would help me to scoop up other robots and hold them on the barbs that now adorned the front flipper. LEMs were used to produce more power, but otherwise in my head it was unchanged. This version encountered less success than the previous one had, losing to Spin Dash Unleashed in the first round of one of Kody's tournaments after the castor was sawn off and inspiring a series of measures designed to combat low mounted weapons. It was afterwards not used as much as it should have been, while I was slowly thinking of ways to better it, until a second place finish in Mechanical Maelstrom prompted a redesign for the next tourney by Lewis Matthews, as my faith was renewed in the shape and weapon (but not the car steering) My thanks go to Leo van Miert and Martijn Benschop, the former for confirming that the switch between car and tank style steering was possible and the latter for producing an extremely good CAD of the design, that was so good I used it for the next version as well...
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Post by Un Autre Monde on Apr 25, 2009 6:21:18 GMT -5
Gabriel IV active from November 2008 to April 2009 WEIGHT: 100kgs DIMENSIONS: 105 x 80 x 30 cm SHAPE: Elongated triangular pyramid with steep rear and very shallow front COLOUR: Yellow body, black flipper, black shapes on either side and shiny silver skirts and spikes. DRIVE: 2 C40-300 Magmotors run at 36v from 4 NiMh packs, driving two rear wheels with urethane rubber treads for grip on the arena floor. The motors should survive at 36v due to a 300A current limit and the use of timing belts in the speed reduction, which should slip if the wheel locks up and therefore save the motor. SPEED: 18mph TURNING CIRCLE: Zero (well, due to the wheels being at the back it's not exactly zero, but it turns on the spot) GROUND CLEARANCE: 0 at the very front point, rising to 14mm at the rear. Side and rear 3mm 2014 aluminium skirts can be fitted giving 0 all around. ARMOUR: The whole top and internal subframes are constructed from a 5mm titanium/vanadium alloy monocoque, which is double skinned in a few key areas like the nose for extra ramming and structural strength, with first line impact reducing 7mm welded HDPE armour over the top of that. The base is 5mm 2014 T6 aluminium and is recessed somewhat into the bodyshell/chassis for added protection if flipped. The front nose has an additional layer of 2mm spring steel over it which is sprung down to the ground to get underneath other robots. WEAPONS: A forward hinged pneumatic flipper of the same design as its predecessor's, but modified somewhat; it's powered by an 80mm custom built ram that can operate at up to 2400psi, the actual operating pressure being determined by what gas is connected and from there controlled from the transmitter by a variable regulator, so the flipper runs on anything from 150psi to full pressure CO2 (750-800psi) to, if the tournament rules and assorted conditions allow, full pressure nitrogen (2400psi). The standard gas supply is a 2kg bottle of CO2 giving around 10-15 uses at full pressure with more on low pressure. (If I use anything other than that, I'll state it on entry) The front spikes either side of the nose pointing sideways have been made slightly smaller to not get in the way as much, are made from hardened tool steel, and should cause a fair bit of damage should I go into thwackbot mode. SRIMECH: Via weapon, which can self right at any pressure. The back has spikes to prevent stranding, and because of the body shape it is very unlikely to do a Mute when self righting. NOTES: Where possible, components are shock mounted to cut down on damage from spinner impacts. STRENGTHS: Difficult to get a grip on due to the shape, low centre of gravity, extremely good weapon that shouldn't waste gas, quite powerful and generally very tough. WEAKNESSES: The Smiths Joey's notes: With Mechanical Maelstrom 2.0 on the horizon, Gabriel was up for a redesign once more to correct what I saw as some of the flaws in the previous version. Basically, car type steering was out and monocoques were in, to cut a long story short Titanium/10% vanadium alloy was a material I had initially used because of Daniel Stickler and Nick Schuch's successful usage of it, but it was only in late October of 2008 that I became aware that it had other properties that made it a cut above traditional titanium, as it were. It seems to be roughly equivalent to Hardox 400 for tensile strength, and actually tougher for impact strength, but at only half the weight. So with monocoques being the 'in' thing at the time I made the entire body out of it, as a continuous shell with a removable base. I had also been looking at M2XT, the successor to series 7 series semi finalist M2, which had a variable pressure pneumatic system controlled from the transmitter through computer electronics. Seeing an opportunity to save some gas I appropriated this for use on Gabriel, and when all was done it was hailed...by myself...as 'the ultimate front hinged flipping vapourbot'. And it very probably was...except I quickly grew dissatisfied with how complex the design ended up. I didn't think the variable pressure actually added that much of an advantage, and the monocoque might not have been strong enough to take a real bashing...I wanted a return to simplicity. So while this version is the one entered in most of the current competitions, I prepared a new Gabriel to satisfy my desires for something simple yet brutal... Martijn Benschop's Gabriel III CAD was reused for this version, which changed very little on the outside.
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Post by Un Autre Monde on Apr 25, 2009 6:37:17 GMT -5
DIMENSIONS: 110 x 80 x 25 cm SHAPE: Elongated triangular pyramid, with a comparatively steep rear and shallow front...and large ears, which are explained below COLOUR: See the pic, mostly yellow and black DRIVE: 2 C40-300 Magmotors run at 32v (from 40 x 2.3ah A123 lithium ion cells giving 32v and 9.2ah in four packs), geared 10:1, driving two rear urethane rubber coated 2014 aluminium wheels. No castors, just runs on the nose cone. SPEED: 16mph GROUND CLEARANCE: 0mm at the front due to the nose cone, which scrapes the floor, rising to 12mm at the rear underneath removable side and rear 5mm 7075 aluminium skirts. CHASSIS: TIG welded 2mm wall 25mm stainless steel box section frame ARMOUR: 4mm Hardox on both sides and the rear, mostly welded into one shell for extra strength. The base is 5mm 2014 aluminium (recessed into the chassis somewhat to protect from low mounted Spin Dash type weapons) and the front nose cone is 10mm hardened S7 tool steel. WEAPONS: A front hinged full bottle pressure pneumatic flipper, constructed from 5mm stainless steel and fed from two 1.1kg CO2 tanks into an 80mm bore hydraulic ram, giving about 2.8 tonnes of lifting force and good for around 30 full power flips. There are two hardened S7 tool steel spikes located at the back of the nose cone as well, one either side, and these are brought into play by spinning the robot around, essentially making it double as a thwackbot. SRIMECH: The flipper. The rear is at such an angle that stranding there is very difficult (and operating the flipper will unbalance it onto its back) NOTES: Where possible, Gabriel V's internals have been shock mounted to prevent too much shock damage from spinners and ramming attacks. The robot sports two removable triangular 'ears' at the back of each side, which are made of 15mm UHMWPE (supported by a bar of the chassis' box section) and designed to stop robots from going over Gabriel from the front and driving over the back and down. STRENGTHS: Can hear the opposition coming from some distance away ;P Well armoured, maneuvrable, powerful with an effective and fast weapon. WEAKNESSES: Loud music, as it can damage the sensitive ears and remove its ability to hear opponents coming. Joey's notes: I had wanted to make Gabriel simpler for quite some time, feeling that the variable pressure and titanium monocoque was a bit too complicated and fussy. After thinking about this for a while, I began to make some doodlings on scrap pieces of paper - Gabriel V is the first machine of mine that was designed more in ye olde fashionede methodes ;P - and after making a few enquiries about chassis material and calculations of force, a rough set of stats began to take shape. The C40-300 Magmotors were reduced in voltage from version IV, initially to 30v and then increased to 32v as I decided to save weight by switching to lithium ion cells (which don't use standard voltages) while the flipper reverted back to a simple full pressure design with a larger ram. The shell ditched the protective HDPE and changed materials to a one piece Hardox design. Gabriel had a proper chassis for the first time as well, inspired by Envy's construction, and late in the design process it gained two ears, which replaced the barbs and should be better at keeping opponents on the wedge. Andy thinks they make it look like a Rattata and I'm not complaining about that and they have through CADing become the robot's distinctive feature. I'm grateful to Aaron Knight, Andrew Jackson, Kody Kunz and Shane Swan for their input and constructive criticism, and Martijn Benschop for doing another extremely w00ty CAD for me. I'm also grateful to Tracy Farber who, after two years of this being a robot and one extremely mad MSN conversation, created the moe-anthropomorphised version! Thanks so very much people ^_^ I'd also like to apologise to all the readers of this section for how pretentious these notes have become...sorry for inflicting all this bollocks on you, heh
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