Antweight Bot

In the Combat Robotics club, members designed a robot for competition. My team created a vertical spinner robot.

To start, we decided on general parameters for our robot and then researched and selected all of the consumer off-the-shelf (COTS) components. I created the CAD models of our COTS components and designed the robot body in SolidWorks. Our final design included a TPU body, two TPU forks on the front designed to scoop the opponent into the weapon, two TPU forks on the sides to protect the wheels and stop the opponent from maneuvering around the bot, a carbon fiber top plate, carbon fiber inserts connected to the weapon motor for rigidity, and a waterjetted steel weapon.

We initially prototyped a 3D printed model to cost effectively verify the design before moving on to using carbon fiber and steel parts. This allowed for drive and weapon tests before the design was finalized.

Takeaways

Through this project, I learned in depth about SolidWorks assemblies and got firsthand experience with prototyping and design.

Lessons learned:

  • Distribution of work and communication between partners is key for a team to perform efficient work

  • Rapid prototyping is a useful tool in design when it can be done efficiently, both in terms of time and money

  • Organization and accurate file names are critical and can lead to less time wasted down the line