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Improvised Engineering Device - Combat Robot

My name is Ryker, I am a robotics enthusiast who enjoys 3d printing, making costumes and armor, 3d design, and doing anything robotics-related. I am the founder of my own solo project called “What Am I Doing” or “WAID Tech” for short. I started this project in 2020 with the intention of creating robots and learning more about different technologies, as well as sharing everything I learned with like-minded people. Since I graduated from college, I have started my first major project, a combat robot. Using my degree in mechatronics, I plan to apply the knowledge I have gained from building industrial robots to making smaller robots and challenging myself to learn how to code and push my CAD skills to their limits.

Project overview

The project is a combat robot, more specifically, it is an experimental design that will put a focus on design, complex mechanisms, and engineering. With this project, I hope to inspire other people to push themselves to create their own robots and start that project that they’ve always wanted to do.

Why make it?

I’ve known about battle bots and other competitions like the National Havoc Robot League (NHRL) and had wanted to make a combat robot for years, but never found myself able to commit to such a big project. After graduating from college, I decided it was time to do something that would challenge my skills I had gained like never before, creating a combat robot with little to no programming knowledge and a basic understanding of CAD. I also planned to document the entire project and share it with other nerds with the hopes of gaining feedback and having discussions with other combat robot enthusiasts to further my skills and knowledge.

How does it work?

The battle bot has some pretty interesting and somewhat complex mechanisms.

The first and most profound are the “Robo flippers.” These flippers were the most challenging and complex design I have ever made. Originally purely servo-driven, they have been reworked multiple times to make them not only more powerful but also modular to allow for different types of springs and servos, giving them the ability to hot swap between power levels. As for how the flippers operate, it starts with a servo spinning two bevel gears with a 1:1 ratio. As the gears rotate, a wheel that is connected to one of the gear shafts pulls a spring, creating potential energy. On the wheel is a screw that protrudes from the side. After a certain amount of rotation, the screw presses against a spring-loaded latch, pushing the latch forward. The arm of the flipper has a hooked cutout where the latch sits. As soon as the latch is moved out of the cutout, the arm is free to pivot, and the spring can now retract at full speed. Anything that is in contact with the arm will now be thrown into the air, hopefully disabling it and giving the main weapon a chance to deal some damage.

Speaking of the main weapon. The robot’s weapon will be a modified 4 bladed steal fiber cement saw blade. The blade will have 2 of the teeth cut off to make a “bite,” giving the robot the ability to spin up its blade and then smash into an opponent instead of cutting through. The saw will be belt-driven with an HTD5 belt and two belt pulleys, one on the blade and one on the motor inside the robot's chassis. Currently, the motor is planned to spin at 3000rpm but that number might change depending on the final motor choice and pulley ratio.

The robot will be powered by an ESP32. The ESP32 has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, making programming and control easier and more intuitive.

How could PCBWay help this project?

I do not have access to a CNC or any material fabrication, with the exception of a home 3d printer. Most of the robot needs to be made of metal (aluminum) to be able to withstand heavy blows and strikes from other robots. PCBWay would be a tremendous help with the sponsorship of these materials and machining them.

Photos and logs

First design (prototype)