Build Your Own Battle Robot

Building a battle robot may take a number of important parts, but many--or all-of these parts can be found in existing household toys and items. If you utilize what you have, constructing a robot that can battle in a competitive environment against other battle robots can be an inexpensive endeavor.

Things You'll Need

• Wheel base 2 Velcro pieces 4 or 6 way receiver/controller combo Battery 2 Servos Heavy duty tape Metal or wood rod Twine Carpenter's glue

Instructions

1. Strip down an old radio-controlled car down to the wheel and the base of the vehicle, salvaging the key components such as the receiver, remote control, the motor/servo(s), and the battery if it still works and can hold a charge. Alternatively, use a wheel base from any old toy or other existing scrap robot. Make use of what you have on hand.

2. Connect a piece of velcro to each side of the wheel base. Use professional strength glue to fix the velcro pieces to the base.

3. Take the receiver from the old RC car and affix it to the velcro on the top of the base. Make sure the receiver and controller combo allow for either four or six degrees of control. A receiver/controller combo of anything less will only allow for back and forth movement of your battle robot, which would not be suitable.

4. Attach the battery to the bottom of the base of the wheel base in the same way you did the receiver-via the other velcro piece. If you cannot use an old battery, find or purchase a nickel cadmium battery, as these are more reliable and efficient than the older lead-acid based batteries.

5. Attach two servos (motors) to the perimeter of the wheel base, near the wheels. Put one servo across from each other, on either side. Use dual lock tape or similar heavy duty tape to affix these servos to the base.

6. Wire all the components to the receiver. Run the wires of the two servos to the receiver. Note the channels on the end of the receiver. Each of the two servos will be attached to the receiver here, in adjacent channels. Then, attach the battery the same way, but attach it to a channel away from the servos.

7. Add any decorations you desire to build up the battle robot. Consider a toy head or something similar to add personality. However, this is optional, as the base of the robot will be functional.

8. Attach a weapon to your machine to put the "battle" in your battle robot. The easiest route to take is to attach a stationary, blunt object to act as a battering ram of sorts. For instance, attach a thick metal rod or a small log to your battle robot using some twine or carpenter's glue, depending on what works best for your situation.