The pics below are my Bots. Both were heavily inspired by my son Matt and wife Debbie!
This is the entire Team Fast Electric Robots army as it stands now.
Pictured is my newest mw "Doom on you!", lw "Matts Slammer", mw Deb Bot, 3 antweights and the drum from our old hw "Drum of Disaster". The drum was basically all that was left after "Tornado Mere" killed it at the last RCX/Steel conflict tournament.


Doom on you, Matt's Slammer, Deb Bot

 

Doom On You


Doom on you

 The newest monster is our mw "Doom on you! DOY! came in fourth place at "Robogames" 05 and is qualified for the 05 RFL Nats. The weapon is a hardened S7 blade (whyachi) that is powered by a mini mag through a whyachi gearbox. The bot is powered by 2 intercooled battlepacks, IFI's, 2 short minimags that turn "Thompson" planetary gearboxes. Chains turn the Whyachi wheels. The frame is .060. 4130 square tube and the armor is 6160 T6 and 7075. I have all TI armor for the Nats!
This picture shows the layout and the mechanical parts of DOY!. The rear of the weapon motor is visible at the front. The two intercooled Battlepacks are in the aluminum encloses that serve as a base for the radio battery and the rx. From there, the minimags and the "Thompson" planetary gearboxes are visible. The alum motor mounts are from the RMP. This is the same set-up that Team "Plumb Crazy" uses in their bots. Matt and Wendy were very helpful with advice!

 Two IFI's (Thors) power the minimags. 10 qnd 12 guage wire is used throughout. The Whyachi power switches are awesome and I high recommend them. The weapon is powered by two twenty cell packs that are hidden in the front. An IFI "thor" spin controller makes sure I can control the blade. All the IFI's were modified by Mike Phillips to get rid of the signal amplifier. I highly recommend this mod and Mikes work.

The frame is .060 wall 4130 chromemoly tube. I put the frame together using TIG and MIG welding. All the armor is secured with screws that go into "weld nuts". This has really helped as I have not stripped a screw thread yet. The armor is 6160 and 7075 t6 but I will have all TI soon for the Nats. I also use 1/4 lexan on the sides. This worked really well as it took an incredible beating yet cushioned the rest of the bot from the hits. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

 

Deb Bot


Deb Bot

 Deb Bot/Oh Debsy is my oldest bot. It has competed at 3 Battlebots, 1 Robotica, all Steel conflicts, Robogames, etc. That bot has seen it all and was due to be retired. As fate would have it I was able to resurrect parts of it for a TV show we did and with a ton of changes that old heap became "The Devastator". Check out the "special effects" section for more info.

 

 

Fastelectricrobots.com Archive - (When they were new!)
Here are a few pics of our Bots when they started out.
Matts Bammer - in the pits.
This is Matts Bammer before the storm. As you can see there are no holes or dents and the robot is in one piece! Even though I was a rookie I have some great advise. Take a lot of before pictures so you have something to remember what your robot looked like.
Matts Bammers guts - This close up view shows that Matts Bammer and Deb Bot are basically the same animal. In fact Deb Bot was supposed to be a light weight but when I discovered that it was going to be too heavy I decided to build a second Bot that was half of Deb Bot. This "half a bot" became Matts Bammer. The Vantec 36E is covered by a stainless steel screen mesh. I would highly advise that you cover your Vantec as I had some aluminum shavings fall into it and it went "poof". I plan to modify this further by making a plastic cover with two built in fans to keep the unit cool. Vantec says you don't need to but I think otherwise. If you look really hard you can see the batteries which are on the button of the bot. I use 24 RC 2400 from Ballistic Batteries. I highly recommend them. Team Whyachi and Team Raptor use them too. Also, I'm working to improve my receiver placement which is above the right motor. It is a tight fit but I have limited space. Component placement in a bot can be full of compromises.

 


 Deb Bot - in the pits.
This is what Deb Bot looked like before the carnage started. The body is constructed from 1/8th inch 6061 T6 alum with Diamond plate on the front wedge. The motors are 2 Astroflight 60's with a final ratio of 15:1 to the 4 tires which are actually Go-Ped wheels. The batteries are 24 Ballistic Batteries 2400 nicads. The ESC is a Vantec 36E - it probably should be a 38E though. The linear actuator is a 250 lbs unit I bought from Grainger and is powered by 12 nicads. The frame was 16 gauge alum tube but I am upgrading it to either 1/8 inch alum or steel tube - I haven't decided yet.
Deb Bot - Damaged! - This is Deb Bot after a battle with "Spare Parts" that we actually won! We won on a 24 to 21 decision. Our opponent "Spare Parts" had a horizontal spinning wheel with 2 hardened steel teeth 180 deg apart. Basically this was a battle like Machavore and Vlad in that every time SP touched us he did extreme damage. My strategy was to ram him to slow the weapon, take the damage, and then push him into the spike strips and try to flip him which we nearly did several times. My strategy worked but DB sustained a lot of damage. SP's weapon tore off the side of  DB, mangled the internal frame, bent the drive sprockets, broke a rim, and literally tore off the front right corner of DB. I have to say that it was some of my best driving! Special thanks to my team mate Trent Hare for helping me put DB back together again. It was a real thrash before the next fight. Also thanks to the guys at Lincoln Welding for their help!
Deb Bots guts - This picture shows the basic layout of Deb Bot minus the drive batteries, lifting arm and actuator. The Vantec 36E fits nicely between the motors and the batteries and is well protected. The batteries actually go above the Vantec on a special tray I made. This allows for short wires which in turn makes for more power. I use Deans 12 ga wire and Deans "Ultra" connectors exclusively. The twin stage reduction is plainly visible. My Astroflight 90 motors utilize the 2.75:1 airplane gearbox and then a 5:1 chain drive which yields a 14:1 final drive ratio to the 6 inch GoPed tires. I purchased the sprockets, 35 pitch chain, chain tensioners, drive axles and pillow blocks at McMaster Carr. The lifting arm and actuator fit in the big hole in the center of the bot.