Looks like it was a good design, just needed a bit more interior support for the shape and maybe some manoeuverability? There were some impressive throws in that first match! 😊
@@AndyMac-16 I've just spent the last couple of days designing the next version. It's a box with wheels and some very hard steel bits on the end. It uses totally different wheels which should improve the grip, and also new ESCs (the part which tells the motor to move) that should be more responsive to the control stuff... which should make it more maneuverable. (The almost complete lack of motion Karoomba showed was related to my terrible choice of wheels... they very quickly wore out, and never gave a lot of grip, but they worked amazingly for my 1-lb test robot. One of many learning experiences.) Tomorrow or tonight, after I've picked over this design for any terrible flaws, I'll order the parts I've designed.
Karoomba didnt seem to have translational control, i was thinking that it was just a sit and spin, but it had complex electronics like a melti. What was up with that?
tldr: it was supposed to be able to translate, and it worked (in pulses) for several non-consecutive seconds during safety. Testing is important, and I didn't do enough with the final config. 2 x 1/2" wide foam wheels didn't have enough surface area on the ground for the material to transfer energy, and that was part of the reason they wore out. I was having trouble with the wheels getting the right amount of enough grip. The translation worked ok on the lighter prototypes, and in early testing of the body. I think the extra weight of the weapons put to much force on the lightweight foam tires, and they spun around without getting grip. I would see the blue indicator LEDs occasionally get sync, but then when I went to translate it went into full spin-up mode. I've made lots of changes to the source code, and it's very likely I've made a typo in something important. Unfortunately I left ordering new wheels so late they only arrived the night before I left for the event, and I thought "I won't need my laptop for anything. The code is fine." The red and green lights that keep turning on are debugging lights, and each should only turn on when the corresponding motor is on. When moving backwards, the lights should only be on for the motor on the "back" half of the cycle, and the "front" half when moving forward. The code (based on the openmelt2 source) pulses between these two states when it's up to speed. I was seeing the red and green lights for long stretches of time , which shouldn't have been possible unless it was spinning up, which it probably was. I might try with 3/4" foam wheels to see if that helps. (A 1lb robot worked for a few minutes with a single 1/2" wheel, so maybe I just need 3x the surface area with that material for 3x the weight? I hope it works, but suspect it's not just a linear relation.) So yeah. Kind of an embarrassing first performance as a meltybrain, but hopefully the next one will work better.
@@zenithparsec i'm sure you will get it figured out. Good luck and I am excited to watch it's evolution. Meltibrains are a difficult but incredibly cool class.
L'absence de soutitrage est regrettable dommage
This is awesome! I'm sorry Karoomba got absolutely munted, but I love the concept of essentially entering a buff version of stabby the roomba! 😁
It survived the main event. Unfortunately it didn't do as well as it could've if I was more experienced. My next bot is going to do much better.
Looks like it was a good design, just needed a bit more interior support for the shape and maybe some manoeuverability? There were some impressive throws in that first match! 😊
@@AndyMac-16 I've just spent the last couple of days designing the next version. It's a box with wheels and some very hard steel bits on the end.
It uses totally different wheels which should improve the grip, and also new ESCs (the part which tells the motor to move) that should be more responsive to the control stuff... which should make it more maneuverable. (The almost complete lack of motion Karoomba showed was related to my terrible choice of wheels... they very quickly wore out, and never gave a lot of grip, but they worked amazingly for my 1-lb test robot. One of many learning experiences.)
Tomorrow or tonight, after I've picked over this design for any terrible flaws, I'll order the parts I've designed.
Karoomba didnt seem to have translational control, i was thinking that it was just a sit and spin, but it had complex electronics like a melti. What was up with that?
tldr: it was supposed to be able to translate, and it worked (in pulses) for several non-consecutive seconds during safety. Testing is important, and I didn't do enough with the final config.
2 x 1/2" wide foam wheels didn't have enough surface area on the ground for the material to transfer energy, and that was part of the reason they wore out.
I was having trouble with the wheels getting the right amount of enough grip. The translation worked ok on the lighter prototypes, and in early testing of the body. I think the extra weight of the weapons put to much force on the lightweight foam tires, and they spun around without getting grip. I would see the blue indicator LEDs occasionally get sync, but then when I went to translate it went into full spin-up mode.
I've made lots of changes to the source code, and it's very likely I've made a typo in something important. Unfortunately I left ordering new wheels so late they only arrived the night before I left for the event, and I thought "I won't need my laptop for anything. The code is fine." The red and green lights that keep turning on are debugging lights, and each should only turn on when the corresponding motor is on. When moving backwards, the lights should only be on for the motor on the "back" half of the cycle, and the "front" half when moving forward. The code (based on the openmelt2 source) pulses between these two states when it's up to speed.
I was seeing the red and green lights for long stretches of time , which shouldn't have been possible unless it was spinning up, which it probably was.
I might try with 3/4" foam wheels to see if that helps. (A 1lb robot worked for a few minutes with a single 1/2" wheel, so maybe I just need 3x the surface area with that material for 3x the weight? I hope it works, but suspect it's not just a linear relation.)
So yeah. Kind of an embarrassing first performance as a meltybrain, but hopefully the next one will work better.
@@zenithparsec i'm sure you will get it figured out. Good luck and I am excited to watch it's evolution. Meltibrains are a difficult but incredibly cool class.