CHISEL

CHISEL is a 3 pound Beetleweight class wedge bot. The
drivetrain is from a 6V Kenner Ricochet that I picked up in a thrift
store. I took CHISEL to the 2004 Denver Robot Battles for its first
fight and took first place in a series of hard fought battles that
really pushed the limits of my Barello speed controller. For the
next fight at Robot Battles in Atlanta, I changed the 6V Mabuchi
motors to 12V Nichibo motors to reduce the current required from
the ESC. I got lots of air time from Nuclear Kitten, but the
toughness of CHISEL prevailed and CHISEL had another first
place. I fought this version of CHISEL one more time at the
ARFC Bot Bash finishing just out of the finals.

CHISEL has now been rebuilt once again as a wedge. What
makes CHISEL unusual is the drivetrain. The drivetrain is based
on two Handiworks cordless drills that are usually found in 12
pound robots, not 3 pound robots. It was a real challenge
packaging these drives with this weight limit, but I LIKE BIG
MOTORS AND I CAN NOT LIE. I wanted to use the Barello
controller because of its excellent driveability and braking, but it
would not handle the current required by the low voltage Mabuchi
motors. Once again I turned to the Nichibo motors and found a
12V alternative to the Mabuchi. It did not have as much torque as
the Mabuchi, but it had more than enough for a 3 pound robot
and it was lighter. I built a battery pack from (10) KAN-1050 cells
and mounted the controller and on-off switch directly to it. The
wheels are originally from a vacuum cleaner and are very grippy
until they get dirty.

The performance is everything I expected. It is not fast, but
speed has always gotten me in trouble before. It accelerates
almost instantly to top speed and stops just as quickly. It weighs
in at 2.96 pounds, just under the 3 pound limit. That is a good
thing, because it would be very difficult to take any weight out of
it. The first competition was Stellarcon Robot Battles on March
13th, 2005 in Greensboro where it finished first in the finals
against Rented Mule. The second competition for CHISEL was
at the MURC Rocky Mountain Showdown held at the Opus
Fantasy Arts Festival. CHISEL finished undefeated against 5
other bots in a round robin competition. This event qualified
CHISEL for the 2005 RFL Nationals.