Battlebots and Robotica links--Sherline tools for robot builders

Welcome BattleBots® and Robotica® competitors and fans! Sherline makes precision tools that will help you build a winning robot or anything that requires small metal parts made to precise tolerances. They're fun and easy to use and far less expensive than full size shop tools. To learn more, visit our home page at

www.sherline.com

This highly informative site can be of great benefit to anyone new to working with metal. Included are instructions for the use of a lathe, a milling machine and all kinds of machining accessories. It's all free, so bookmark this site and save it for when you need to solve a machining problem.

Below are some other links that will be of interest to those who are interested in robot battles.

Team Kritical Mass has competed successfully in the first Robotica competition and is now building an even more impressive entry for the next Battlebots competition. Watch for the Sherline logo on Kritical Mass II. Sherline tools were used for building some of the close-tolerance parts on the robots.

Here is Kritical Mass II ready for shipping to San Francisco for the filming of the next round of BattleBots. It sports no less than five 1-horsepower motors, 80 NiCad batteries, 6-wheel drive and full titanium armor, top and bottom. The frame is 4130 chrome-moly tubing. The TiN-coated blade spins and 8000 RPM and on the other end is a carbide ramming point. Control is through an 8-channel radio control transmitter.

Here is the latest fighting machine from Jeff Cesnik and Team Kritical Mass. Manta was built to compete in the Robot Wars television series in England. Jeff has returned from the competition but cannot divulge the results until the show airs. Watch for the American version of the show that started it all to be offered soon. In the meantime, check out the British Robot Wars site at www.robotwars.co.uk.

Rules of the Robot Wars show prevent corporate logos from being appearing on the machines other than the builder's own address, so the Sherline logo could not be displayed; however, Jeff was able to hang a few banners in his pit area. (Click on small photo for larger image.)

http://www.cesnik.com is the link to the page of Team Kritical Mass. See how Jeff Cesnik and friends built this monster wedge with the “spinning blade of death” and get some inside details on the filming of the Robotica television show. Kritical Mass II was just completed and will be competing in the next Battlebots series wearing the Sherline logo.

Jeff's robots have run up a pretty impressive record. Most recently Manta placed as follows in RobotWars E.W. Series 1:

Civil War Series (champion!):
Manta vs. TigerCat - Won
Manta vs. Spike – Won
Manta vs. $6M Mouse - Won

U.S. Championship (placed 3rd):
4-way Melee – Won
Manta vs. Panzer Mk II – Lost

World Championship (placed 3rd):
4-way Melee (US, UK, Italy, Germany) – Won
Manta vs. Drillzilla – Lost

Jeff has added more powerful motors for the next round of Robot Wars Series 2 in London. Robot Wars will be shown on TNN starting April 6, 2002, and TLC will air Robotica Series 3 starting in June or July, 2002. Watch for Jeff's robots.

Results just in: Manta appeared in three episodes of Robot Wars, Series 2 and scored as follows:

Manta vs. TriloByte vs. MadCowBot (e-way melle) — Won
Manta vs. Rocky Bot Boa — Lost
Manta vs. Joker— Won
Manta vs. General Chompsalot— Lost

http://www.battlebots.com This link will take you to the headquarters of the Battlebot competitors. Get photos, stats and competition results for all the entries. Read about the rules and various weight classes. Perhaps you and your robot would like to be the next star on this show. Start planning and building now! Visit the Battlebots store too for robot-related items for sale.

http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/robotica/robotica.html The Learning Channel hosts the Robotica series. Go here to find out more about the competition and the competitors. Sponsored by The Learning Channel, Robotica is a series of competitions that pit battling robots head to head in several events culminating in a “dual to the death”. You will also find links to some of the other highly informative Discovery Channel sites.

The BEAM/WCRG Robot Games http://www.robotgames.com The Western Canadian Robot Games in Calgary include events that range from battles (Sumo Wrestling), maze navigation and walking robot triathalons to other special events like firefighting and solar-powered car races. (Sherline Products is also a sponsor of this event.)

http://www.botbash.com BotBash began as a small, local event in Phoenix about five years ago with three robots duking it out in a chalk circle. Now it has grown in popularity to the point they must limit the 2002 competition to 70 robots. Check out their site for rules and past winners. This is becoming a popular competition event for robots from 16 ounces on up to 120 pounds. They are also seeking sponsors to help them build a new competition arena and expand their program.

http://TeamTentacle.Architeuthis-Dux.Com Team Tentacle uses a Sherline 5400 mill to produce many parts for their battle robots. Steve Judd was part of a very successful team (Team WhoopAss) at BattleBots SF 2001, and he is going to the next Robotica with a new team, after which he will participate in BattleBots again (with Vampyroteuthis). Watch for Team Tentacle's Sherline-built machines.

http://www.extremerobots.cjb.net The group of young builders at Team eXtreme is represented by Tyler and Scott Tyssedal. They show the enthusiasm and inventiveness of people just getting started in robot competition. Not all robots are made from titanium and cost a lot of money to build. Many entrants can have fun building clever projects on a low budget. The keys to success are good ideas, good craftsmanship and good tools. Tyler says they also offer "bulletproof carbon" and a kevlar/carbon blend that makes very light, strong armor for robots.

(We welcome submissions of other robot competition related links. E-mail craig@sherline.com)

TABLETOP MACHINING by Joe Martin

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If you are new to making precision metal parts, this book will be a great source of information to you. It covers all aspects of working with metal and using small machine tools to produce the parts you need for any project...including robots. Whether or not you intend to use Sherline tools for your projects, this book will still give you all the basics you need, as using a lathe or milling machine to cut metal is a process that is in most ways independent of size or specific brand of machine.

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If you’re just starting out or if you are dissatisfied with the results you are getting with the old “drill and file” method, it’s time to seriously consider putting some Sherline tools in you shop. Sherline lathes and milling machines are designed to work just like big machine shop tools except that they are perfectly sized to build the smaller parts needed for robots. These machines are capable of working with aluminum, brass, steel and even tough materials like stainless steel and titanium to make very precise parts. Holding tolerances of a thousandth of an inch or less is quite common on machines like these. Their small size makes them both affordable and easy to operate. This is the perfect way to get started in machining.

· To read instructions for use of any of our machining accessories, go to our Accessories Page

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