As is the case with most combat robots, our design was weapon-centric, with the rest of the bot built around accommodating our weapon. We decided early on upon a single-toothed steel weapon and refined additional design parameters (thickness, number of spokes) via Solidworks FEA.

For the weapon fixture, we strove to reduce weight while maintaining part integrity. The pocketed weapon fixture shown reduced part weight by 20% while preventing failure in critical areas, such as the areas closest to the weapon shaft hole. The weapon was driven indirectly via pulleys and a belt by a 620 Kv brushless motor.

For electronics selection, I made use of electronics we already owned as well as online tools for calculating power needs. Run Amok's Spinner Kinetic Energy Calculator was instrumental in determining a sufficient motor RPM given our weapon size and geometry. An underpowered weapon leads to slow spin-up times which opponents use to get a first strike in. The most difficult electronics challenge I faced was battery design. Typically we use LiPo batteries, however the competition banned them due to safety concerns. Our original plan was to solder together 12 2500 mAH Lithium-Ion battery cells -- creating our own battery pack would have given us flexibility in terms of power needs and space used by the battery. Unfortunately, supply issues (and a lack of electronics expertise) forced us to pivot and buy an off-the-shelf battery pack.