Spring Break, Day 3

Post date: Mar 21, 2012 7:32:27 PM

Mostly piddling around today. Not much to do on the 'bot until the batteries arrive.

• Built a wider wedge, one that better protects the front wheels.
• The pan-head screws holding the bottom armor in place were very-nearly scraping the floor, so I replaced them with counter-sunk flathead screws. Believe it or not the extra 2 mm or so of ground clearance make a difference!

And then there is this:

In the early design drafts of this 'bot, I was toying with the idea of nearly-360 UHMW bumpers surrounding the 'bot, thinking the combination of curved surface (harder to find a flat spot to push) and springiness (absorb spinner energy) would be an advantage. I had plenty of 1/8" UHMW left over so I tried a 180-degree version this morning and what you see is the result. Bonus: convenient carry-handle!

I'm not committed to keeping it yet (I still have the straight side-rails) but I get to ponder it for a while...